On-chain Bretton Woods System: stablecoin, US Treasuries, and the new structure of the dollar in the 21st century

In the new wave of digital finance, stablecoins are not so much disruptors of the old system, but rather "digital relays of the Bretton Woods System"—carrying the credit of the US dollar, anchoring US debt assets, and reshaping the global settlement order.

I. Historical Overview: The Three Structural Leaps of Dollar Hegemony

The new stage after 2020 is a reconstruction process of the digitalization, programmability, and fragmentation of the dollar's credit base, with stablecoins being the key connection in this reconstruction.

2. The essence of stablecoins: On-chain "USD-Treasury" anchoring mechanism

Stablecoins, especially USDC, FDUSD, and PYUSD, which are pegged to the US dollar, have an issuance mechanism of "on-chain dollar certificates + US Treasury bonds or cash reserves," forming a simplified version of the "Bretton Woods System":

This indicates that the stablecoin system has essentially rebuilt a "digital version of the Bretton Woods framework," with the anchor shifting from gold to U.S. Treasury bonds, and from national settlement to on-chain consensus.

III. The Role of U.S. Treasuries: The "New Reserve Gold" Behind Stablecoins

Currently, the reserve structure of mainstream stablecoins has the highest proportion of US Treasury bonds, especially short-term T-Bills (1-3 month government bonds):

USDC: Over 90% of reserves are allocated to short-term US Treasury bonds + cash;

FDUSD: 100% cash + T-Bills;

Tether is also gradually increasing its allocation in US Treasuries while decreasing commercial paper.

▶ Why did US Treasury bonds become the "hard currency" of on-chain finance?

Highly liquid, suitable for handling large on-chain redemptions;

Stable returns can provide issuers with spread income;

U.S. dollar sovereign credit endorsement enhances market confidence;

Compliant and friendly, can be used as a regulatory compliant reserve asset.

From this perspective, stablecoins are "new Bretton tokens backed by T-Bills as gold," embedded with the credit system of the U.S. Treasury.

4. Stablecoin = an extension of US dollar sovereignty, not a weakening.

Although on the surface, stablecoins are issued by private institutions, which seems to weaken central banks' control over the US dollar. But in essence:

Each USDC issued must correspond to 1 USD in U.S. Treasury bonds/cash;

Each on-chain transaction is priced in "dollar units";

Every stablecoin in global circulation expands the radius of use of the US dollar.

This allows the United States to "airdrop" the dollar into global wallets without the need for SWIFT or military projection, representing a new paradigm of outsourcing monetary sovereignty.

Therefore, we say:

Stablecoins are the "unofficial contractors" of American monetary hegemony. —— It is not a replacement for the US dollar, but rather pushes the US dollar onto the blockchain, onto a global scale, and into the "unbanked zone".

V. The prototype of the Bretton Woods 3.0 system has emerged: digital dollar + on-chain US Treasury bonds + programmable finance

In this framework, the global financial system will evolve into the following model:

This means that the future Bretton Woods System will no longer take place at the Bretton Woods conference table, but rather through negotiations and consensus among smart contract code, on-chain asset pools, and API interfaces.

6. Risks and Uncertainties: How far can this system go?

7. Conclusion: Stablecoins are not the end, they are the "midfield supply station" of the global governance of the US dollar

Stablecoins appear to be private innovations, but they are actually becoming a "de facto bridge" for the U.S. government's digital currency strategy:

It connects the old finance (U.S. Treasury bonds) with the new finance (DeFi);

It extends American financial sovereignty to the smart contract layer;

It allows the US dollar to maintain its dominant position in the digital transformation.

Just as the Bretton Woods System established the dollar's credit through gold anchoring, today's stablecoins are trying to rewrite the monetary governance structure with "on-chain T-Bills + dollar settlement consensus."

Stablecoins are not a revolution, but a reconstruction of US debt, a reshaping of the dollar, and an extension of sovereignty.