The narrative of the dollar's demise is greatly exaggerated. The currency isn't dying; it is being "recompiled" for a 24/7 economy.
In the last week, the picture became crystal clear. Visa launched settlement on Solana, and J.P. Morgan unveiled "MONY"—a tokenized fund on the Ethereum blockchain.
This is no longer a test. The private rails are live. The currency stays. The plumbing evolves.
The Rails Are Becoming the Story
A cluster of December developments made this shift visible in plain daylight.
On December 16, Visa announced it would enable financial institutions to settle obligations in USDC (a dollar-backed stablecoin) over the Solana blockchain. Visa’s stablecoin settlement volume had already reached an annualized run rate of $3.5 billion as of November.
That number is small compared to total card volumes, but the point isn’t scale today. It’s mechanics. Settlement can now happen seven days a week. Weekend holds and holiday closures become less central. The consumer experience doesn’t change, but the back end modernizes radically.
From Concept to Treasury Tool
Stablecoins are only one layer. The more consequential shift is that cash-like instruments themselves are being tokenized.
J.P. Morgan just launched MONY, a tokenized money-market fund on the Ethereum blockchain, seeded with $100 million.
BlackRock’s BUIDL fund now holds $2.9 billion in assets, commanding 39% of the tokenized Treasury sector.
These are not speculative ventures. They are operational tools designed to move dollar liquidity 24/7, bypassing the limitations of the legacy banking window.
The Macro Reality: Bigger Than Saudi Arabia
Why does the U.S. government allow this? Because the "New Dollar" is the ultimate buyer of U.S. debt.
Following the passage of the GENIUS Act in June 2025, regulatory clarity has arrived. The result is staggering: Stablecoin issuers now collectively hold more U.S. Treasuries than Saudi Arabia.
By encouraging dollar-backed stablecoins (while blocking a government CBDC via Trump's executive order), the U.S. effectively outsources the infrastructure build-out to the private sector while anchoring global liquidity to U.S. sovereign assets.
What This Means for Capital
For investors, the edge here is structural. A 24/7 settlement world pulls focus toward the institutions that can operate on both tracks: legacy rails and tokenized rails.
None of this requires a "new currency." It requires something more mundane—and more durable: a new substrate that lets the dollar move at software speed without abandoning the compliance systems that keep large institutions comfortable.
The world is not switching away from the unit. It’s upgrading the pipes that keep it liquid.
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Written by Deniss Slinkins
Global Financial Journal
