A report prepared for Scott Bessent, Secretary-designate of the Treasury.
The global monetary order is under increasing strain. Rising fiscal instability, mounting debt burdens, and escalating geopolitical competition are reshaping the foundations of international finance. Rival powers, led by China, are pursuing strategies to reduce their exposure to the US-led dollar system, create alternative financial networks, and expand their influence by exploiting vulnerabilities in the existing order. Through measures like issuing dollar-denominated bonds, building gold reserves, and advancing digital payment systems, China seeks to challenge US dominance and reconfigure global capital flows to its advantage. These developments present both a clear threat and a strategic opportunity for the United States.
To sustain its leadership in this increasingly contested environment, the United States must adapt with a forward-looking strategy that redefines the terms of global economic engagement. This strategy must integrate monetary, technological, industrial, and geopolitical policies to address structural vulnerabilities, reinforce US economic resilience, and counter the ambitions of adversarial powers.
At the heart of this potential geoeconomic strategy lies a renewed monetary system—a “Bretton Woods 3.0”—that combines the stability of traditional reserve assets, like gold and US Treasuries, with emerging financial tools such as Bitcoin and dollar-backed stablecoins. By leveraging these assets, the United States can modernize its financial architecture, stabilize its fiscal position, and strengthen trust in the dollar system. Tools such as long-term bonds, strategic gold revaluation, and expanded swap lines would align allied nations more closely to the US-centric financial network while creating buffers against fragmentation. Domestically, revitalizing the American industrial base, directing credit toward sectors of strategic significance, and achieving energy independence are essential to rebuilding economic strength. This effort would require a departure from speculative financial practices and overreliance on short-term liquidity. Instead, a recalibrated approach to credit allocation—through mechanisms like deregulation, strategic wealth funds, and financial sector reforms—will ensure that investment fuels long-term economic growth, technological innovation, and supply chain resilience.
On the international front, the United States can deploy its financial and technological strengths to create a durable geoeconomic bloc. Privileged access to American innovations in artificial intelligence, energy systems, and digital infrastructure will provide powerful incentives for alignment. These technologies are critical not only to global competitiveness but also to reinforcing the cohesion of the US-led economic system, offering allies clear benefits for cooperation while denying adversarial powers the tools needed to challenge US influence.
Bitcoin, often referred to as “digital gold,” offers the United States a strategic advantage aligned with this strategy. Its scarcity, portability, and decentralization make it an ideal complement to traditional reserve assets like gold. By establishing a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve (SBR), the US can diversify its national balance sheet, hedge against systemic financial risks, and secure an asymmetric advantage over competitors.
Bitcoin’s growing adoption as “digital gold” by institutional investors, corporations, and even nation-states underscores its utility in the digital age. The US is well positioned to leverage this asset, as we hold the most bitcoin among other nations (~207,000 bitcoin), have the largest mining share (>35%), and the most secure and popular exchanges.
Coupled with dollar-backed stablecoins, Bitcoin can enhance the global reach of the dollar network, particularly in emerging markets, where the long arm of China’s digital authoritarianism seeks to gain traction. Supporting these tools positions the United States at the forefront of financial innovation while reinforcing the global dominance of the dollar system.
This strategy is not merely about financial competition; it is a blueprint for securing economic leadership, stabilizing fiscal vulnerabilities, and maintaining technological dominance over near-peer competitors. By harmonizing monetary reforms with domestic industrial policies and international economic statecraft, the United States can dictate the contours of a reimagined global order, resetting on terms that favor our national security and continued prosperity.
The increasing acquisition of gold by central banks over the last few years has not gone unnoticed. Less apparent, however, is a more recent, and less overt, move by some states toward bitcoin as well. Gulf states and others may already be diversifying into bitcoin. President-elect Donald Trump’s election and pro-Bitcoin statements may have fired the starting gun for a global sovereign and institutional race to adopt bitcoin. Even though we kicked this race off, the United States risks falling behind.
The stakes could not be higher. Failure to act risks ceding ground to adversaries who aim to dismantle the foundations of US economic and geopolitical power. By embracing bold, integrated measures—anchored in modernized reserve assets, industrial revitalization, and technological leadership—the United States can cement its status as the cornerstone of global stability and prosperity for the twenty-first century.
The full report is available for download here.
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