The rise of stablecoins isn’t just a fintech story. It’s also about an upgrade to national security.

Cash is untraceable. That makes it ideal not only for everyday transactions, but also for criminal enterprises, terrorist financing and rogue state activity. By contrast, stablecoins — that transact on blockchains — deliver dramatically better traceability. In many cases, stablecoin transactions can be frozen or even clawed back. For law enforcement, that’s a real game changer.

The old advice to “follow the money” becomes much more feasible when stablecoins make financial flows traceable in real time, without the smoke screens of offshore accounts or anonymous shell companies.

That’s one reason we’re now seeing real political momentum for stablecoins in Washington. In its July report, the President’s Crypto Working group acknowledged “unlike traditional assets, the technology underlying digital assets enables ways to mitigate the risk of illicit transactions.”

The GENIUS Act passed with bipartisan support, giving stablecoin development a clear legal path. Major banks are onboard, too, with JPMorgan, Citi, Bank of America, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley all referencing stablecoin........

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