Barrels to Bytes

AI infrastructure and stablecoins are creating a modern petrodollar system

The dominance of the US dollar has long relied on structural demand tied to scarce and essential commodities. In the 1970s, oil fulfilled that role. The petrodollar system—where Saudi and other OPEC oil exports were priced in dollars and recycled into US Treasuries—created a self-reinforcing global need for the US currency, underpinning American fiscal …