US stablecoin market could exceed $2 trillion projection by end of 2028, thinks Treasury Secretary Bessent

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a Wednesday Senate hearing that the U.S. dollar-backed stablecoin market has the potential to surpass $2 trillion in the next three years.

Bessent's comment came as he affirmed a remark from the Senate Appropriations Committee, which mentioned an estimate that the GENIUS Act would expand the USD stablecoin market to $2 trillion by the end of 2028.

"I believe that stablecoin legislation backed by U.S. treasuries or T-bills will create a market that will expand U.S. dollar usage via these stablecoins all around the world," Bessent said. "I think that $2 trillion is a very reasonable number, and I could see it greatly exceeding that."

Earlier in the day, the Senate voted to move forward the landmark stablecoin bill, moving it closer to a final vote. The GENIUS Act, once enacted, requires stablecoins to be fully backed by U.S. dollars or similarly liquid assets. It mandates annual audits for issuers with a market capitalization exceeding $50 billion, and includes language regarding foreign issuance.

Progress on advancing stablecoin legislation was backed by President Donald Trump, who previously stated that he wants to sign the bill before August.

"In the history of the U.S. dollar as a reserve currency there have been numerous passages along the way where many people assumed that the U.S. dollar would lose reserve currency status and there's always been a new mechanism that has cemented that," said Bessent, reiterating the Trump administration's determination to strengthen the dollar's status with USD stablecoins.

U.S. dollar-linked stablecoins currently have a total market capitalization of $246.9 billion, which accounts for over 96% of the entire stablecoin market .

With swift progress on the GENIUS Act, the U.S. stablecoin space has seen numerous developments, including major banks such as the  Bank of America  preparing to launch their own stablecoin, and USDC issuer  Circle going public  earlier this month to see its  stock surge 235% on the first day of trading.