Circle Internet Group (NYSE: $CRCL) President Heath Tarbert warned lawmakers on Wednesday that the United States could lose its financial influence if the next generation of money and capital markets develops on infrastructure governed outside the country.
Testifying before the House Financial Services Committee, Tarbert argued that the rise of stablecoins, tokenized assets, and blockchain-based settlement is turning financial infrastructure into software, according to his written testimony. He claimed that this is giving governments a new battleground over where money moves and which laws govern it.
“Congress cannot determine which technologies will succeed. It can determine whether American law, American institutions, and the dollar will remain embedded in the systems that do,” Tarbert said.
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He pointed to its declining share of global foreign-exchange reserves. The dollar accounted for 57.13% of reserves in the first quarter of 2026, down from more than 70% in the late 1990s, according to figures cited in his testimony.
However, Tarbert argued that stablecoins could reinforce the dollar’s position. He cited research estimating that roughly 98% of stablecoin value is denominated in US dollars, arguing that dollar-backed tokens are already helping carry the currency into blockchain-based financial markets.
He urged Congress to fully implement the GENIUS Act, which established a federal framework for payment stablecoins, including reserve requirements, redemption at par, disclosures, and compliance with anti-money laundering and sanctions rules. The law is scheduled to take effect no later than January 2027.
Tarbert also called for lawmakers to close potential offshore loopholes, arguing that dollar stablecoin growth should occur through supervised issuers operating under US rules.
“The dollar’s position was built. It can be built upon. It can also be spent down. Which path prevails will depend on more than this Committee,” he said.
Circle is best known for issuing USDC (CRYPTO: $USDC), the second-largest stablecoin by market cap with a circulating supply of 73.7 billion tokens.