Yesterday, the Kremlin lobbed a financial grenade into the already fragile halls of global trust.

According to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s adviser Sergey Kobyakov, Washington is preparing to stiff the world by using crypto—specifically stablecoins—to “wipe out” its over $37 trillion debt burden.

Or, to put it in plain English: the Russians are accusing Uncle Sam of planning the oldest trick in the book, just dressed up in new, digital clothes.

And while the allegation sounds like propaganda (and almost certainly is), it deserves a closer look. Because what Kobyakov just described is not only possible, but eerily familiar to anyone who remembers FDR’s gold confiscation or Nixon’s “temporary” suspension of the dollar’s convertibility into gold.

The Americans have done it before. The only question is: would they dare do it again—this time with stablecoins?

The Accusation

Here’s what Kobyakov said:

The U.S. has devised a crypto scheme to erase its massive debt at the world’s expense. “The U.S. is now trying to rewrite the rules of the gold and cryptocurrency markets. Remember the size of their debt—$ 35 trillion [sic]. These two sectors (crypto and gold) are essentially alternatives to the traditional global currency system. Washington’s actions in this area clearly highlight one of its main goals: to urgently address the declining trust in the dollar. As in the 1930s and the 1970s, the U.S. plans to solve its financial problems at the world’s expense—this time by pushing everyone into the ‘crypto cloud.’ Over time, once part of the U.S. national debt is placed into stablecoins, Washington will devalue that debt. Put simply: they have a $35 trillion currency debt, they’ll move it into the crypto cloud, devalue it, and start from scratch. That’s the reality for those who are so enthusiastic about crypto.

Here’s how that would go, in simple steps:

1. The US would launch a digital dollar (let’s call it the eUSD), a government-backed stablecoin.
   
   
2. The Treasury would then roll its mountain of debt into this shiny new system.
   
   
3. At first, everything looks the same. A dollar’s a dollar, whether in paper, pixels, or blockchain.
   
   
4. Then the US would quietly “adjust” the peg, dilute the backing, or inflate the eUSD supply.
   
   
5. Result: the real value of the $35 trillion owed to creditors collapses. America’s balance sheet looks cleaner, while its creditors are left holding Monopoly money.

Or, as Kobyakov put it, debt is shoved into stablecoins, devalued, and reset.

That’s not innovation. That’s just a default in digital drag.

How the Scam Would Work

Let’s game out the scenario in more depth, hypothetically:

Step 1: Announce a Digital Dollar.

Washington rolls out the eUSD, selling it as a form of modernization. The pitch writes itself: “China’s got a digital yuan. We need to compete. Our digital dollar will fight fraud, fight terrorism, make payments faster, and save the planet.”

Step 2: Convert the Debt.

The Treasury says, “We’re upgrading. Your Treasuries will now be settled in eUSD.” Creditors—from pension funds to the People’s Bank of China—grudgingly comply.

Step 3: Move the Goalposts.

After the bulk of the debt has migrated into the eUSD system, Treasury tweaks the rules. The peg is broken. Say, one old dollar equals 0.70 eUSD. Or maybe the eUSD is suddenly tied to a “basket of assets” that’s worth less than before. Or the Fed just prints eUSD like confetti.

Step 4: Watch the Value Collapse.

The eUSD tanks against hard assets, such as gold, oil, and other currencies. Creditors’ real returns evaporate.

Step 5: Mission Accomplished.

America’s $35 trillion debt mountain shrinks in real terms. Creditors take the hit. Washington calls it “financial modernization.” History calls it default.

The Fallout

Here’s the thing: as much as this trick might “solve” the US debt problem on paper, the fallout would make Baghdad’s “shock and awe” strikes look like firecrackers.

First, the dollar’s trust premium would die. The whole reason the dollar works is trust. Once America stiff-arms creditors with a digital rug-pull, the dollar’s reserve status is finished. Central banks will dump it. Sovereign wealth funds will run for the exits.

Second, the US Treasury bond market would implode. The US Treasury market isn’t just big—it’s the foundation of global finance. If Washington plays cute with debt repayment, Treasuries stop being “risk-free.” Investors will demand punishing yields—if they bother lending at all.

Next, America would import hyperinflation. The US relies on imports for everything from semiconductors to sneakers. If faith in the eUSD craters, imports skyrocket in price. Your savings shrink—your grocery bill balloons. The middle class gets hollowed out.

Then the world would find alternatives. BRICS is already building gold-based settlement systems. Europe has the euro, such as it is. China has the yuan, and is building its own digital version of it. True crypto believers will pile into Bitcoin. Suddenly, America’s “exorbitant privilege” of printing the world’s reserve currency is gone.

Finally, America’s geopolitical power would evaporate. The dollar will have been a weapon, but no more. Sanctions work because the world needs dollars. If the dollar dies, so does America’s biggest lever of power.

Why Russia Is Pushing This

So, is Washington secretly planning this maneuver? Probably not. Heck, I hope not. The damage would outweigh the benefits a hundred to one.

But that’s not really the point.

Moscow’s game here is psychological.

They want the world to ask: “Can you really trust Washington?”

Remember: Russia has been forced into alternatives since the 2022 sanctions tsunami. They’re settling trade in yuan. They’re hoarding gold. They’re tinkering with their own blockchain rails.

Every time they suggest that America might default, they nudge the rest of the world a little further away from the dollar.

“It’s Déjà Vu All Over Again!”

Here’s the part that should give you chills: this wouldn’t even be new.

In 1933, FDR confiscated Americans’ gold and then revalued it from $20.67 to $35 an ounce, effectively defaulting on creditors.

In 1971, Nixon closed the gold window. Foreign creditors could no longer exchange dollars for gold—another stealth default.

In 2025, could Washington issue a digital dollar, then pull the rug? If history rhymes, it’s not impossible.

Default isn’t always a loud bang. Sometimes it’s a quiet rules change.

The Russians’ Rude Reality

Let’s be clear: the Russians aren’t giving us tomorrow’s headlines. They’re planting doubt. But the accusation sticks because it’s plausible.

And plausibility matters. When the world already suspects America can’t pay its bills honestly, even whispers of a digital rug-pull push nations toward alternatives.

The tragedy? Washington doesn’t need to do this. The mere suspicion that it could do it is enough to accelerate the end of dollar hegemony.

Whether or not the eUSD scam ever materializes, the damage is already done, both by Washington’s historical hand and Moscow’s faux concern about another instance of American dishonesty.

Wrap Up

If you’re holding dollars, Treasuries, or dollar-based assets, understand the risk: your purchasing power is not sacrosanct. It never has been.

Diversify into hard assets—gold, silver, productive land, energy producers, even Bitcoin if that’s your cup of tea. These are things no bureaucrat can de-peg with the stroke of a pen.

History tells us the US has defaulted before, twice in living memory. Kobyakov may be playing politics, but he’s also whispering a truth no one in Washington wants to admit. When push comes to shove, America will not hesitate to pay back creditors in cheaper money.

That’s not a conspiracy. That’s historical precedent.

Russia may be trolling. But the fact that you didn’t laugh this accusation off the page?

That says far more about the USG’s trustworthiness than it does about you.