Sam Lyman, head of research at the Bitcoin Policy Institute, a Washington DC-based digital asset advocacy organization, argues that Bitcoin and US dollar-pegged stablecoins share a symbiotic relationship that benefits both assets. Speaking to Cointelegraph, Lyman explained that the largest Bitcoin trading pair is BTC/USD, which includes Tether’s USDt, a stablecoin backed by cash deposits and short-term US government debt. This dynamic, he says, makes Bitcoin adoption directly beneficial to the broader US financial system.
Lyman draws a parallel between this relationship and the historical connection between the dollar and oil. Under the petrodollar system, which emerged in the early 1970s, international oil transactions are priced in dollars, generating sustained global demand for the currency. He suggests that stablecoins and Bitcoin function in a comparable way, reinforcing demand for dollar-denominated assets as crypto adoption grows worldwide.
On the regulatory front, Lyman urged US lawmakers to advance stablecoin legislation currently outlined in the GENIUS regulatory framework without departing from its foundational principles. He framed robust stablecoin regulation as essential to preserving US dollar hegemony and maintaining a competitive position in global geopolitics. Staying the course on this framework, he argued, would help the United States protect its financial influence as digital assets become more prominent internationally.
By contrast, China has repeatedly banned both Bitcoin and stablecoins, which Lyman describes as a significant threat to the government’s capital controls. He explained that the Chinese economy relies heavily on restricting the movement of money, particularly preventing wealthy individuals from transferring assets out of the country. Both Bitcoin and dollar-pegged stablecoins undermine that system by enabling permissionless cross-border transactions.
In 2025, China reaffirmed its stablecoin ban and moved forward with the digital yuan, a central bank digital currency designed to control capital flows and capture a larger share of the foreign exchange market. Unlike decentralized stablecoins, central bank digital currencies are fully programmable and remain under the direct control of the issuing government or central bank. Lyman noted that this approach reflects China’s broader strategy to maintain financial oversight while still participating in the digital currency space.
Despite these bans, Lyman says they have largely failed to suppress permissionless crypto activity within China. Bitcoin mining and stablecoin flows continue to move in and out of the country, even under the blanket prohibition. According to Hashrate Index, Chinese mining pools currently account for more than 36% of the global mining pool hashrate, which represents the total computing power contributed by mining pools to secure the Bitcoin network.
Originally reported by CoinTelegraph.
