Heath Muchena

Stablecoins are becoming a new pipeline for exporting the currency and recycling US debt
In the halls of Washington stablecoins are no longer a fringe curiosity — they are fast becoming a cornerstone of US financial strategy.

We’re entering a new world order, but not the kind you hear about in political speeches. The old model, where governments held power, is giving way to something stranger and more dangerous: stateless corporate influence, powered by AI, surveillance tech and trillion-dollar asset managers or corporate giants.

Beneath the noise, the cryptocurrency is powerful: a financial system that doesn’t need bailouts, borders or political promises.

While the US leans on tariffs and sanctions to reassert its global dominance, China answers with patience, pragmatism — and a 5,000-year historical memory.

For centuries, gold has been revered as the ultimate store of value. It has outlived empires, sustained economies and shielded investors from inflation. But what happens when the system designed to trade and store gold turns into a house of cards?

In a cashless future, who controls your money? We’re living in an era where cash — real, physical cash — is quietly disappearing. In Sweden, shops barely accept banknotes. In Nigeria, cash shortages spark protests as mobile money dominates. Even the US sees more stores going card-only, no questions asked.

Let’s face it – payments today are broken. Hidden behind glossy apps and sleek card networks lies a system so bogged down with middlemen, fees, and inefficiencies that it’s bleeding businesses dry.

As America stares down the barrel of a $35-trillion debt, policymakers, investors and, increasingly, the public are clinging to a single thread of hope: AI.

In today’s economy you’ve probably noticed that things feel, well, off. Inflation remains a headache, government debt is rocketing, and central banks seem caught between a rock and a hard place. What’s driving this chaos? A phenomenon called fiscal dominance — government deficits are overshadowing monetary policy and private sector activity as the key driver of economic trends.

Today’s market shows hallmarks of being in the middle of a bull run.

The global financial landscape is on the brink of enormous change and as always crypto is in the eye of the storm. With Donald Trump reclaiming the presidency, we’re not just looking at a political shift — we’re staring down a potential reset of the global monetary system.

Let’s call it like it is: the global economy is doing a high-wire act and the safety net below is looking sketchy. Between America’s ambitious industrial revival, relentless money printing and the Federal Reserve’s balancing act of keeping inflation in check without tanking markets, we’re in uncharted territory.

Kate Krukiel, GM of UN Digital Solutions Centre and managing director of Sera Afrika, says emerging tech can address business and societal challenges. In this Q&A, Kate shares her insights on applications of key emerging technologies including AI, robotic process automation (RPA), and blockchain – technologies expected to drive what has been called the "fourth industrial revolution" (4IR), a tech-fueled, fundamental transformation in industrial processes and a jump in productivity.

You might be distracted by the daily soap opera of politics — the tweets, the sound bites, the headline-grabbing salvos lobbed by Donald Trump and his band of billionaire confidants. But peel back the theatrics and something far more consequential is unfolding, quietly but decisively.