Arthur Hayes: Stablecoins Could Unlock $6.8T in Treasury Demand for US Banks

Former BitMEX CEO Arthur Hayes posits that major US banks could catalyze a $6.8 trillion Treasury demand surge through stablecoin adoption. By converting idle deposits into short-duration government debt instruments, institutions like JPMorgan may redefine capital efficiency in public finance.

Blockchain infrastructure—particularly networks like Base—would underpin this transformation. Hayes highlights reduced compliance overhead and AI-driven automation as key advantages over legacy systems. The mechanism effectively turns customer deposits into a liquidity flywheel for Treasury markets without pressuring yields upward.

This thesis emerges as banks explore blockchain-based digital dollars. The eight largest US institutions currently hold sufficient deposits to execute this pivot at scale, potentially creating a symbiotic relationship between decentralized finance and traditional government debt markets.