Report: U.S. Accumulates Bitcoin as Global Stablecoin Demand Rises

According to a new study from Chainalysis, the United States is building up its bitcoin holdings while sending dollar-backed stablecoins to the rest of the world.

The Wednesday report from Chainalysis, titled "North America: Inside the Growth of Agentic Commerce," stated that in 2026 the United States became a net importer of bitcoin for the first time since 2022.

Data shows that institutional investors have been purchasing bitcoin this year, while retail participants are mostly selling.

The report stated, "A dollar stablecoin is a way to hold dollars without an American bank account, and Americans already have one."

It added, "The rest of the world is pivoting to a digital dollar because it meets a need that American users don't share. Meanwhile, Americans are leaning harder on bitcoin as an infinitely scarce store of value."

The report further noted that U.S. dominance continues to increase. Since spot bitcoin ETFs were launched in 2024, America's share of global bitcoin activity has gone up in every reporting period. This happened even though the overall U.S. crypto economy, valued at $2.78 trillion, shrank by 2.2% during a severe bear market, though it still held onto most of its near-doubling from 2025.

In January 2024, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission gave the green light to bitcoin ETFs, following a decade of rejecting such products.

The ETFs, overseen by major Wall Street firms including BlackRock, Fidelity, and most recently Morgan Stanley, achieved the most successful launch of any ETF in history.

Institutional investors and Wall Street firms can now purchase shares of these funds, which follow bitcoin's price and handle the actual buying and selling of the cryptocurrency.

According to the report, the ETF approval has contributed to the industry's maturation and has made the U.S. a larger bitcoin investor overall.

Meanwhile, stablecoins have made U.S. debt the "currency-of-choice for peer-to-peer economies as well as businesses working across borders," the report noted.

It added, "In the 2026 period we continued to see stablecoins enter new use cases most especially abroad, benefitting the U.S. companies, and the U.S. government, with billions of dollars in economic activity."

Since taking office, President Donald Trump has signed several pro-cryptocurrency laws and executive orders. The GENIUS Act, enacted in 2025, permits banks and other organizations to issue stablecoins provided they back the tokens with assets such as U.S. Treasuries and disclose their reserves on a monthly basis.