How the U.S. Sells Its National Debt - What a clever strategy

How the U.S. Sells Its National Debt

— The Triple Strategy: Treasury Bonds, Stablecoins, and the Trump Card (2025)

As of 2025, the United States’ national debt has surpassed $36.2 trillion. From a traditional economic perspective, such a staggering number seems insurmountable. Yet, the U.S. is not only undeterred by its massive debt—it actively leverages it. But how?

This in-depth article explores the core mechanics behind that question.

Today, the U.S. employs a three-layered market strategy to essentially sell its debt as a product:

1. Traditional diplomacy-driven Treasury bond markets

2. Cryptocurrency-backed digital debt through stablecoins

3. Political-symbolic assets like the high-value Trump Card

1. The U.S. National Debt: How Bad Is It?

• Total Debt: $36.2 trillion

• Debt-to-GDP Ratio: Over 122%

• Annual Interest Payments: Over $580 billion

• Yearly Deficit: Roughly $2 trillion, and structurally persistent

From the outside, it may seem the U.S. is on the verge of bankruptcy. However, paradoxically, U.S. Treasury bonds remain the world’s most traded safe-haven asset. The dollar continues to serve as the dominant global reserve currency.

So, why does the global market still trust American debt?

2. Strategy ① Traditional Treasury Market via Allies

For decades, the U.S. has maintained its fiscal position by selling government bonds to its strategic allies—Japan, South Korea, and the EU. This wasn’t merely financial; it was symbolic of diplomatic loyalty and alignment.

But this pattern is shifting:

• Japan and China are reducing their Treasury holdings.

• Global inflation and interest rate hikes have led to structural weakening in foreign demand.

This forces the U.S. to tap into alternative liquidity sources beyond traditional state actors.

3. Strategy ② Digital Debt via Stablecoins

In the mid-2020s, the U.S. made a pivotal shift: integrating cryptocurrency ecosystems into its debt market infrastructure. At the heart of this shift lie stablecoins such as USDT (Tether) and USDC (Circle).

• These coins are pegged 1:1 to the U.S. dollar.

• Issuers use short-term U.S. Treasury bills (T-bills) as reserves to maintain this peg.

📊 Real Examples:

• Tether: Holding ~$98.5 billion in U.S. Treasury bills

• Circle: Holding ~$26 billion in similar assets

Effectively, millions of crypto users around the world are indirectly purchasing U.S. debt. It’s no longer just central banks—it’s the global digital market.

Legal frameworks followed suit. In 2024, the GENIUS Act passed in the U.S. Senate, requiring that a significant percentage of stablecoin reserves be held in U.S. Treasuries.

In simple terms: The U.S. sells its debt via private crypto infrastructure, reshaping the nature of sovereign finance.

4. Strategy ③ The Trump Card – A Political Asset for the Global Elite

Perhaps the most controversial component of this debt management evolution is the emergence of the Trump Card:

• Unit Price: $5 million

• Buyers: Over 70,000 within 6 months of launch

• Total Revenue: Estimated over $4 billion

Despite not offering official citizenship or residency, the card acts as a symbolic "VVIP entry ticket" to the U.S., with potential investment perks, exclusive events, and soft-access pathways to business residency.

In unstable regions—Taiwan, South Korea, Israel, the Middle East—this card is being interpreted not merely as a luxury product, but as a geo-political survival asset.

Its perceived value includes:

“Symbolic alignment with America”
“Escape route from geopolitical collapse”
“Elite-tier political insurance”

Some buyers now treat it as a superior investment to gold or real estate.

5. The United States Doesn’t Repay Debt—It Monetizes It

Here lies the core strategy: America doesn’t aim to eliminate its debt. Instead, it designs, packages, and sells debt to different classes of global consumers.

Strategy Type	Target Group	Characteristics
Traditional Bonds	U.S. Allies (Japan, Korea, EU)	Diplomatic, long-term trust-based buyers
Digital Treasuries	Crypto investors worldwide	Private sector, decentralized blockchain users
Trump Card	Global ultra-wealthy	Political-symbolic, risk-hedging asset

These markets cross-subsidize one another:

• When allies cut back, crypto fills the gap.

• When digital trust wavers, political symbolism through the Trump Card prevails.

The result? A resilient, multi-channel debt absorption system—without needing to reduce actual debt volume.

6. Final Reflection: Debt as a Product

The U.S. doesn’t treat its debt as a burden. It treats it as a monetizable, customizable financial product:

• Tailored for nations

• Reshaped for decentralized investors

• Repurposed for global elites seeking survival or migration

The result is a nation that maintains hegemony through debt, not in spite of it.

The U.S. is the only country in history that grows stronger by selling its insolvency.

 

📚 References

• Business Insider: “Foreign Demand for U.S. Treasuries Shows Cracks” (2025)

• Reuters: “U.S. Senate Approves Stablecoin Bill (GENIUS Act)”

• Bank for International Settlements (BIS): “Stablecoin Reserves & Treasury Linkages” (2024 Q4)

• CBS News: “Trump Card Surges Past 70,000 Sales Within 6 Months”

• Tether/Circle Official Reserves Reports