The Biggest Buyers of On-Chain US Debt Aren’t Where You’d Expect

Holders in Italy, Portugal, and Singapore each own a larger share of geolocated tokenized US Treasury value than US holders, according to Chainalysis. The US ranks fourth at 10.5%.

Its 2026 North America report argues that foreign stablecoin and tokenized Treasury buyers add demand for US debt.

A Retail Route Into a Wholesale Market

Tokenized Treasury debt grew 125% in the 12 months ending July 1, 2026, from $6.86 billion to $15.42 billion. US government debt was the largest real-world asset (RWA) on-chain, holding 42.8% of all tokenized RWA value. BlackRock’s BUIDL fund retook the top spot among these products in late August.

Most geolocated value sits outside the US. Holders in Italy account for 29.9%, followed by Portugal at 18.8% and Singapore at 18.2%.

Japanese holders make up 16.4% of geolocated holders, the most of any country, but just 0.4% of value. Chainalysis says a small group of large foreign holders drives the market, while a broader retail base builds smaller positions.

Tokenization shrinks the minimum investment and removes the need for a US brokerage account, the report says. That lets retail investors in Lisbon or Singapore buy a wholesale instrument directly, the report adds.

These buyers tend to hold tokenized Treasuries rather than post them as collateral, the report finds. Treasury lending activity contracted 23% over the period, the only RWA lending category to shrink.

“A holder outside the United States who buys a tokenized Treasury product is creating demand for US government debt rather than for their own government’s,” Chainalysis added.

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Digital Dollars Take the Same Path

Stablecoins open a second channel for that foreign demand. Tokens from American issuers are backed largely by short-dated US government debt. As a result, dollar stablecoins bought abroad also feed demand for that debt, the report notes.

Dollar tokens also dominate the market. They account for 99.1% of stablecoin order book volume, while euro stablecoins hold just 0.45%. Euro tokens trail even after the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation improved conditions for their issuers.

Circle’s USD Coin (USDC) gives a sense of that scale. The US-based issuer reported $73.3 billion in circulation at quarter end, up 19% from a year earlier.

The preference for dollar tokens also holds in Canada. By June 2026, stablecoins made up 44% of Canadian dollar order book trading, up from 30% a year earlier. USDC led that share, while little trading flowed to Canadian dollar stablecoins.

For Morva Rohani, executive director of the Canadian Web3 Council, that shift comes at Canada’s expense. She said dollar stablecoin purchases build demand for US government debt that Canadian debt could otherwise capture.

“This is a trend that Canadian policy-makers are following closely,” Rohani noted.

Ottawa has laid the groundwork for local alternatives. Canada’s Stablecoin Act received Royal Assent on March 26, 2026, clearing the way for Canadian dollar tokens. The full regime still depends on supporting regulations.

For now, Canadian dollar stablecoins remain tiny next to their US dollar rivals. Chainalysis says local alternatives will need market uptake, not just new laws, to catch up.

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