US Debt Hits $39.4 Trillion, Stablecoin Treasury Demand Grows

The US gross national debt crossed $39.4 trillion, Treasury data show. That works out to roughly $115,000 per citizen.

The milestone arrived months after the debt passed $39 trillion in mid-March and about nine months after it cleared $38 trillion in October 2025. The first eight months of fiscal 2026 produced $1.2 trillion in deficits. At that pace, annual deficits could exceed $2 trillion, Treasury data indicate.

The debt ceiling, raised to $41.1 trillion under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act in 2025, still has room. CBO projections show it could become binding by mid-2027. Debt held by the public, excluding intragovernmental holdings such as the Social Security Trust Fund, has surpassed $31 trillion.

Stablecoin issuers have become large buyers of US Treasury bills. Tether, the company behind USDT, holds hundreds of billions of dollars in US Treasuries, its quarterly attestations show. The growth of stablecoin reserves makes these issuers significant participants in short-term government debt markets. Some analysts argue regulatory changes targeting stablecoin reserves could affect Treasury demand.