U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said digital assets could help strengthen the U.S. dollar's global dominance as technology becomes an increasingly important source of American economic influence.

Speaking Tuesday at Ripple's Swell conference with CEO Brad Garlinghouse, Bessent argued that the power behind the world's reserve currencies during history derived from military strength, but it’s increasingly shifting toward technological leadership.

"We will keep our military umbrella, but I think more and more it's becoming a technology umbrella," Bessent said.

He pointed to the growing divide between U.S. and Chinese technology ecosystems, where countries and companies face choices over whose artificial intelligence systems and semiconductor technology to adopt. Bessent said he sees digital assets as part of that competition, with the financial infrastructure countries may choose influencing the U.S. dollar’s reach.

"I think that digital assets are going to be no different, and we are going to win in the digital asset stack, and that's gonna continue to fortify the [U.S.] dollar," he said.

His remarks offered a broader rationale for the administration of President Donald Trump’s push to bring crypto businesses onshore, framing digital assets not just as a financial market but as part of the infrastructure that could sustain U.S. economic influence. The administration has already secured passage of the GENIUS Act, which established a federal regulatory framework for stablecoins, cryptocurrencies designed to maintain a fixed value against fiat currencies like the U.S. dollar.

S. currency in countries where local currencies face inflation or sharp swings in value.

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