U.S. Banks’ Stablecoin Sabotage: Why China’s Digital Yuan Might Just Outshine the Dollar

by

As China unveils its latest parlor trick with the Digital Yuan, the crypto cognoscenti have emerged from their velvet-lined bunkers to warn that America’s banking mandarins are busy sawing off the branch they’re sitting on. 🌳🔪

The Unedifying Spectacle of American Financial Statesmanship

On a day ending in “y” – Tuesday, to be precise – Coinbase’s Chief Policy Officer, Faryar Shirzad, regaled Congress with tales of legislative heroism akin to Horatio at the bridge, albeit concerning the so-called GENIUS Act. “Tokenization is the future!” he declared, as though summoning forth a new Jerusalem, while simultaneously lamenting that banning stablecoin interest might hand China a golden goose. 🏦💸

In a missive to X (formerly known as Twitter, for those still clinging to the 2010s), Shirzad opined that the People’s Bank of China’s announcement – paying interest on its Digital Yuan – was “sobering and timely,” which is diplomat-speak for “we’re doomed.” Meanwhile, China’s Deputy Governor Lu Lei casually redefined money itself, granting e-CNY the legal status of bank deposits. How very continental of them. 🐉

From January 1, 2026, Chinese citizens may earn interest on their digital yuan, a move Shirzad insists could “hand global rivals a big assist.” One wonders if he’s ever considered the existential dread of a world where non-US stablecoins thrive. 🌍💔

Stablecoin Rewards: A ‘Matter Of National Security’? How Very Novel.

Shirzad, ever the dramatist, insisted that protecting the dollar’s primacy is more important than shielding “incumbent interests,” which is a polite way of saying “stop whining, banks.” Coinbase’s Brian Armstrong and Variant’s Jake Chervinsky chimed in, with Chervinsky declaring stablecoin bans a “matter of national security.” Because nothing says existential threat like a token that accrues 0.01% interest. 🛡️🔐

The banking lobby, meanwhile, continues to clutch its pearls over stablecoin rewards, insisting they’ll collapse the financial system like a soufflé in a hurricane. Yet the GENIUS Act – signed by Trump in July, that bastion of bipartisan unity – only prohibits issuers from paying interest, leaving exchanges to “easily circumvent” the rule. How very loophole-y of them. 🕳️

In October, Shirzad dismissed banksters’ fears as “ignoring reality,” which is rich coming from a man paid to spin crypto as the second coming. Yet here we are: the U.S. risks becoming a monetary backwater while China plays 4D chess. 🎲

Read More

2026-01-01 07:19