Can Asia and Africa Break Crypto’s U.S. Shackles?
Other day I was staring at a ledger of U.S. Treasury data, feeling a cold shock of understanding. The values on the screen told a story that few yet dared to admit: the financial order laid down after World War II was cracking at the seams, and a new era of digital dominion was quietly taking shape.
A new generation with new burdens
From my conversations in Dubai to forums in New York, I sensed a shifting ethos. A generation is coming into its own, inheriting not only national debts but also the collective memory of colonial exploitation, climate neglect, and institutional betrayal. Young professionals in Sri Lanka speak of hyperinflation; farmers in Kenya fear currency collapse; students in India question whether democracy will deliver anything but debt.
Meanwhile in the global arena, China has ascended. In the thirty years prior it dragged 800 million of its poorest citizens out of dire poverty, lifted its exports into every continent, and consolidated its place as the world’s factory. It has overtaken many old industrial powers in both capacity and ambition.
In contrast, Western democracies touted infrastructure, liberal values, soft power but under those promises lay an ever rising mountain of debt. The United States now carries a national debt approaching $38 trillion, as reported in U.S. Treasury data and fiscal monitors. The Joint Economic Committee notes that in 2025 alone, U.S. debt has crossed $37.43 trillion in gross national obligations, with debt held by the public exceeding $30 trillion.
That figure is not a remote statistic. It is the backbone of U.S. strength and its weakness. As interest payments balloon, social programs stall, and geopolitical flexing must be paid for by issuing more bills.
I realized then that the anchor of the global system –the hegemony of the U.S. dollar– was showing signs of deterioration. But more alarmingly, the digital frontier the realm many believed would escape sovereign control was being captured from within. The code was not free. It was being codified.
The digital conquest of money
I trace the trajectory from 2025 onward. The U.S. government, in reaction to spectacular financial failures and political pressure, passed sweeping stablecoin legislation. Private money issuers that once claimed independence were now required to back every unit with U.S. Treasuries or equivalent liquid assets. Regulation was no longer an external force – stablecoins themselves became instruments of state policy.
At the same time, corporate mints of stablecoins accelerated. In July 2025, Tether reportedly minted more than $8 billion USDT in a single month to meet surging demand. In September 2025, it continued the aggressive pattern. Across Ethereum and other blockchains issuance soared.
This was not organic growth. It was engineered liquidity.
I often reflect on the paradox: the very technology created to escape centralized finance was repurposed to strengthen central control. The U.S. quietly absorbed private monetary systems, making stablecoin issuers custodians of its debt and enforcers of its regulation.
A rebirth of colonial logic
To readers in Asia and Africa, this may sound familiar. For centuries we endured external instruments of value – colonial currencies, gold standards, Bretton Woods structures. This new era is digital colonialism. The West grants us blockchain rails, but the rails return value to its central banks.
I see it in Nigeria where USDT is used to preserve burning local salaries. I see it in Latin America where stablecoin remittances map directly to dollar liquidity. The message is clear: global south nations must compete not merely in trade but in the architecture of money itself.
“Code can imprison minds as easily as it frees them.”
– Munawar Abadullah
This is the narrative I offer: the West is rewriting the rules of money in code, and the global south must respond not with complaint, but with new designs.
Section 2: The Illusion of Decentralization and Engineered Inflation
That brings me to the heart of the matter: the myth that Bitcoin and DeFi are immune to inflation. As I watched markets and studied on-chain flows, I came to see that the proliferation of stablecoins is the engine driving hidden inflation in crypto’s so-called safe havens.
Bitcoin’s fragile pedestal
Bitcoin is celebrated as digital gold. It has a capped supply. It is immutable. It is permissionless. But those attributes do not shield it from inflationary pressure. Why? Because inflation today operates not at the level of token counts but at the money supply overlay created by stablecoins.
When entities like Tether mint billions, they inject new purchasing power into the crypto economy. That new power must allocate somewhere. Bitcoin, as the largest asset with perceived scarcity, becomes a magnet. In 2025, a $2 billion mint by Tether on Tron shook markets. That newly issued USDT did not just sit idle – it flowed into exchanges, liquidity pools, and trading desks.
Bitcoin’s price surged as more stablecoin liquidity chased the limited BTC supply.
I call this engineered scarcity inflation. Just as central banks print fiat, stablecoin issuers mint digital dollars. Those dollars flow into crypto assets and reshape price dynamics.
The M2 analogy in code form
I liken stablecoin issuance to M2 money supply in traditional finance. The analogy is precise: both represent near-money instruments that can enter transactional use. When Tether and Circle expanded their supply by $7 billion in response to market stress, they were not reacting, they were fueling.
In that moment they filled the role the Federal Reserve played in fiat systems.
Thus Bitcoin is not inflation-proof. It is convexly exposed. Every time stablecoins expand, they inject upward pressure into the perceived value of scarcity. It is a hidden lever, deliberately wielded.
They mint what they cannot mine, and Bitcoin pays the price.”
– Munawar Abadullah
The irony is that decentralization served to obscure centralized control. I have seen major DeFi protocols rely on USDC and USDT for collateral. The backbone of supposedly autonomous systems is built on regulated bricks.
Case study: Tether’s minting cycles
In mid-2025 Tether minted $1 billion USDT. Again and again. It moved capital into markets long before public awareness. Exchanges adjust their reserves accordingly. Institutional players take positions. Retail follows momentum without knowing why.
On chain, these events precede price surges. They act as soft signals. In academic work, Tether’s share of U.S. Treasury bills is linked to yield suppression, its presence in the debt market translates into interest savings for the U.S. government.
In that sense stablecoin demand indirectly subsidizes U.S. borrowing.
This system rigs the outcome. The U.S. national debt continues marching upward. Yet it hides behind the guise that crypto volatility is natural. No – it is orchestrated.
Section 3: The Counter Strategy – How the Global South Must Reclaim Sovereignty
Having traced the digital co-optation and inflation mechanics, I now turn to what I believe is possible. I write this not as prophecy but as a blueprint for resisting digital colonization. Nations of Asia, Africa, Latin America must act.
Option 1: Asset-Backed Currency and Institutional Independence
The first line of defense is to tie new digital currencies to real assets not just to U.S. debt. China is arguably uniquely placed to do this. It may revive gold-pegged or resource-credited crypto mechanisms. A BRICS currency that limits minting, ties to hard assets, and operates on interoperable rails is essential.
I expect China will promote a commodity-backed digital yuan and encourage partner economies to adopt dual-currency models. Nations like India, Nigeria, Kenya must likewise explore stablecoins backed by regional assets – minerals, agricultural output, solar credits.
This is not radical. It is survival. Inflation kills the bottom 50 percent hardest. The West engineered instruments to exploit poor currencies. Global South must neutralize that weapon with guardrails built into code.
Option 2: Sovereign rails and decoupled blockchains
Countries must build permissionless yet sovereign rails. They should deploy regional blockchain networks for payments, identity, and trade that do not route through U.S. controlled exchanges or custody systems. These rails must interoperate but not yield sovereignty.
Imagine a West African digital payment protocol that settles in local fiat, not global stablecoins. Or a Southeast Asian blockchain hub that facilitates trade in local tokens. These would reduce dependence on U.S. dollar rails.
Option 3: Debt resistance via tokenized swaps and alternative capital
I foresee innovations in sovereign debt instruments. Imagine a tokenised debt swap wherein matured U.S. debt obligations are converted into utility tokens that must generate exchange value inside regional economies. This is akin to the Tokenized Sovereign Debt Conversion Mechanism concept being explored in academic circles, where bonds are converted into performance tokens with built-in burn mechanisms and smart-contract constraints.
These tools allow states to minimize exposure to U.S. dollar inflation and force renegotiation of power balances.
Option 4: Diplomatic and economic alliances
State actors must coordinate. Economic blocs like SAARC, ECOWAS, ASEAN, and the African Continental Free Trade Area must pool reserves, create common digital currency frameworks, and leverage collective negotiation to push back.
When 20 nations issue interoperable regional stablecoins, Western dominance weakens.
Final reflections and call to action
As I watch these forces collide, I remain both concerned and hopeful.
The American system has privatized its money printing machinery. It mints stablecoins backed by U.S. Treasuries while hiding its debt behind code. If unchecked, one engineered crisis could collapse trust, wipe out $38 trillion in obligations, and rewire control globally.
But this is not inevitable. The global south has purpose, creativity, history, and urgency. While the West configures tomorrow’s money, Global South must build currency systems that reflect our values. We must reclaim sovereignty in code.
I close with my conviction:
“West seized the rails. Global South must build new tracks.”
– Munawar Abadullah
Let our collective struggle be not to decry the system but to redesign it.
