US dollar‑pegged stablecoins and Bitcoin (BTC) have a “symbiotic” relationship that mutually benefits both as adoption rises, Sam Lyman, head of research at the Bitcoin Policy Institute (BPI), told Cointelegraph. He noted that the largest Bitcoin trading pair is BTC/USD (commonly via Tether’s USDT), and that this dollar‑denominated trading reinforces the role of the dollar.
“Bitcoin is beneficial to the US system because the largest Bitcoin trading pair is BTC/USD,” Lyman said, adding: “There is a symbiotic relationship between BTC and the dollar system because BTC is most frequently traded in dollars. So, I do see those things as being mutually reinforcing, which runs contrary to the narrative around BTC that it would actually undermine the dollar.”
Lyman compared the BTC‑stablecoin‑dollar relationship to the petrodollar system, where oil priced in dollars historically increased global demand for the currency. He urged U.S. lawmakers to continue developing stablecoin regulations under the GENIUS framework without departing from core principles, arguing this would strengthen and protect U.S. dollar hegemony and help maintain geopolitical competitiveness.
On China, Lyman said the People’s Republic has repeatedly banned Bitcoin and stablecoins because they threaten the country’s capital controls, which are central to keeping money inside the economy. China reaffirmed a stablecoin ban in 2025 and pursued the digital yuan, a yield‑bearing central bank digital currency (CBDC) designed to control capital flows and capture a larger share of the foreign exchange market. CBDCs are fully programmable and controlled by their issuing government or central bank, he noted.
Despite bans, permissionless crypto activity tied to China has persisted. Lyman pointed out that even after mining crackdowns, Chinese mining pools still account for more than 36% of global mining‑pool hashrate, according to Hashrate Index.
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