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Russian Advisor Accuses Washington of Using Crypto and Gold to Address Massive Debt
The claim that the United States is leveraging cryptocurrency and gold to sidestep an enormous national debt has resurfaced this week after comments from a close adviser to President Vladimir Putin. Speaking at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, Anton Kobyakov — deputy chairman of the forum’s organizing committee and a presidential aide — argued that Washington is attempting to rewrite the rules of the gold and cryptocurrency markets to relieve its roughly $35 trillion debt burden.
Kobyakov said the U.S. could move liabilities into digital formats like stablecoins and then devalue them, effectively restarting from a diminished baseline. He described crypto and gold as alternatives to the existing global currency architecture and framed recent U.S. moves toward digital assets as efforts to arrest eroding trust in the dollar.
What Kobyakov Claimed
According to translations published by Russia Direct and quoted at the forum, Kobyakov warned that the United States is trying to "rewrite the rules of the gold and cryptocurrency markets" and that stablecoins in particular will play a central role in any debt devaluation strategy. "Put simply: they have a $35 trillion currency debt, they’ll move it into the crypto cloud, devalue it—and start from scratch," he said.
Putin’s advisor Kobyakov: The U.S. has devised a crypto scheme to erase its massive debt at the world’s expense.
Why This Matters for Crypto Markets and Global Finance
If true, deploying stablecoins or other tokenized instruments to reprice sovereign liabilities would be a novel and highly disruptive use of blockchain and digital assets. Even without such a dramatic scenario, the debate highlights persistent questions about the role of crypto and blockchain in the international monetary system: Can digital assets reduce reliance on the dollar? Will stablecoins alter global capital flows? And how will regulators, central banks, and exchanges respond?
Crypto industry leaders have publicly suggested that severe fiscal stress in the U.S. could boost demand for decentralized digital assets. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong previously said escalating debt dynamics might fuel Bitcoin’s case as a potential global store of value. At the same time, U.S. policymakers have taken steps to clarify how stablecoins should be regulated.
Regulatory Shifts and Market Signals
This year, the U.S. moved to create clearer legal frameworks for digital asset activity. In July, President Trump signed the GENIUS Act into law, establishing a regulatory path for issuing and trading stablecoins. Treasury officials have also voiced that digital assets could strengthen the dollar’s global position rather than undermine it; Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was cited as saying crypto could bolster U.S. monetary influence.
Meanwhile, asset tokenization is gaining traction in traditional finance. Nasdaq filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to permit trading of tokenized stocks and to record securities in tokenized form, signaling institutional interest in blockchain-based markets for equities and other assets.
Russia’s Own Digital Asset Moves
Kobyakov’s remarks come as Russia gradually reopens to select digital payments and blockchain use cases after a 2022 ban on crypto payments. Russian state media reported in July that a state-owned defense manufacturer was developing a ruble-backed stablecoin slated to launch on Tron — a sign Moscow is also exploring how stablecoins might support trade and cross-border settlements.
What Crypto Investors Should Watch
- Policy actions: Watch for regulatory decisions from the SEC, Treasury, and other agencies that could shape stablecoin issuance and compliance.
- Tokenization momentum: Nasdaq’s SEC filing and similar proposals could accelerate institutional adoption of tokenized stocks and securities.
- Market signals: Continued official endorsements or cautionary statements will affect market sentiment for Bitcoin, stablecoins, and gold as alternative stores of value.
Kobyakov’s comments add political context to an ongoing global conversation about currency sovereignty, debt management, and the place of digital assets in international finance. Whether his characterization reflects a concrete strategy in Washington or serves as geopolitical rhetoric, the intersection of crypto, gold, and sovereign debt will remain a focal point for investors, lawmakers, and blockchain developers alike.
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