TechFlow News, February 23: According to The Block, Geoffrey Kendrick, Global Head of Digital Assets Research at Standard Chartered Bank, and John Davies, U.S. Rates Strategist, stated in their latest research report that stablecoin issuers are gradually becoming one of the largest buyers of U.S. Treasury bills (T-bills). The report forecasts that the stablecoin market capitalization will reach $2 trillion by the end of 2028, driving an additional $800 billion to $1 trillion in demand for Treasury securities—primarily concentrated in the 0- to 3-month maturity segment.
Standard Chartered estimates that, when combined with additional demand from the Federal Reserve’s Reserve Management Purchase Program and mortgage-backed securities (MBS) maturity rollovers, total new demand for short-term Treasuries could reach approximately $2.2 trillion by 2028. Meanwhile, net Treasury supply over the same period is expected to be around $1.3 trillion, resulting in a shortfall of roughly $900 billion. To bridge this gap, the U.S. Department of the Treasury may need to adjust its debt issuance structure—shifting part of its long-dated Treasury supply toward shorter maturities. Specifically, reallocating approximately $900 billion from longer-dated securities into short-term Treasuries could theoretically allow the U.S. to suspend 30-year Treasury auctions for three consecutive years—a practice previously implemented between 2002 and 2006.
Currently, Tether—the largest stablecoin issuer—has a circulating supply of approximately $185 billion and holds over $120 billion in U.S. short-term Treasuries, placing it among the world’s largest holders of short-term U.S. Treasuries. On the regulatory front, the GENIUS Act, enacted in July 2025, established a federal regulatory framework requiring U.S.-regulated stablecoin issuers to back their tokens with high-quality, liquid assets, with short-term Treasuries serving as a core reserve asset class.
