Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong has claimed Bitcoin provides healthy competition for the US dollar, which in turn pressures policymakers to maintain fiscal discipline and helps preserve the US dollar’s dominance.
“[Bitcoin] provides a check and balance on the dollar in the sense of if there’s too much deficit spending or inflation in the US, people will flee to Bitcoin in times of uncertainty,” Armstrong argued in an interview on Tetragrammation with Rick Rubin on Thursday.
“It might be okay to have 2-3% inflation if the economy is growing at 2-3% but if inflation outstrips the growth of the economy, you’ll eventually lose the reserve currency status, and that would be a massive blow to the United States.”
He said that Bitcoin (BTC) indirectly keeps the dollar in check by ensuring the Federal Reserve and financial regulators avoid actions that could undermine confidence in the US economy, he claimed.
“So I actually think in a strange way, Bitcoin is helping extend the American experiment,” the Coinbase boss concluded.
Bitcoin is good for USD.
It creates competition in a way that’s healthy for the dollar, which helps to provide a check and balance against high inflation and deficit spending. pic.twitter.com/iHjQCJVqCb
— Brian Armstrong (@brian_armstrong) December 28, 2025
America’s debt is growing at $6B a day, nearing $38T
US national debt has boomed to $37.65 trillion, and is now rising by $70,843 per second — or nearly $4.25 million per minute — according to the US Congress Joint Economic Committee’s debt dashboard.
In early October, JPMorgan touted Bitcoin and gold as the “debasement trade” amid increased uncertainty in the dollar.
Bitcoin soared to a $126,080 high on Oct. 10 but has since retraced 30% to $88,210, but gold has continued its tear, setting its latest high of $4,545 per ounce on Friday.
The Trump administration signed an executive order to establish a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve in March, a move several US Senators said could mitigate the nation’s mounting debt.
However, the reserve currently stockpiles seized Bitcoin without purchasing any and the Bitcoin Act of 2025 bill — which purports to support the SBR — is still in the early legislative stages in Congress.
Stablecoins may do better at preserving dollar dominance
Other industry pundits argue that stablecoins have a bigger role in cementing the US dollar’s status as the reserve currency than Bitcoin.
Related: Crypto sentiment holds ‘extreme fear’ for 14th straight day
In addition to creating strong demand for US debt, stablecoins are pushing the US dollar into the hands of individuals and businesses worldwide, Polygon Foundation CEO Sandeep Nailwal said last month.
“Dollarisation 2.0 is happening in real time — from LatAm to Africa, entire economies are being rewired around digital dollars.”
The US passed the GENIUS Act in mid-July, seen as one of the most comprehensive stablecoin frameworks to date.
The stablecoin market currently sits at $312.6 billion, a figure that the US Treasury estimated in April would reach $2 trillion by 2028.
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