I am not even challenging the need for KYC, but I would challenge the expectation that USD will remain king for the foreseeable future.

If the idea is, like you said, just about being able to convert between different asset classes, we could have OTC desks that would be taking crypto and (after following proper KYC/AML regulations) giving you any of stock/bonds/real estate titles/commodities/etc, and vice-versa, without any need of USD as intermediary.

The only currency denomination that could work to evade the feds for a contract like what you're describing is CNY, which would basically require you to be Chinese and/or have a trusted party and be big enough to negotiate something like this. Maybe a couple thousand people in the world could do it

Who is talking about evading the feds?

Why else would you want to avoid transacting in USD?

- The exchange rate from USD <-> country where I live can be expensive

- Because every USD <-> local currency may have processing fees (credit cards on retail, withdrawal fees for large FX traders)

- Because some banks use the opportunity to slap tons of other fees

By holding crypto, one can legally avoid all of these costs.