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The FinTech Revolution: How Crypto is Reshaping Finance

December 02, 2024 / 30:47

This episode of the Future of Finance podcast discusses the future of fintech with guests Alesia Haas, CFO of Coinbase, and Michelle Lai, a Wharton alum and crypto startup expert. Key topics include the mainstream acceptance of cryptocurrencies, the role of stablecoins, and the impact of regulatory frameworks on the fintech landscape.

Alesia Haas emphasizes that cryptocurrencies have solidified as a mainstream asset class, citing the rapid growth of Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs and the increasing number of crypto users globally. She highlights the importance of new products like stablecoins and layer two protocols that enable fast and affordable transactions.

Michelle Lai shares her perspective on the evolution of the crypto market, noting the shift from skepticism to acceptance among major financial players. She discusses the potential of crypto to transform financial transactions and improve consumer experiences, particularly through innovations in payment systems.

The conversation also touches on the regulatory environment, with both guests expressing concern about the U.S. falling behind in establishing clear crypto regulations compared to regions like the EU. They highlight the importance of fostering innovation and collaboration across borders.

In conclusion, both Alesia and Michelle predict significant changes in the financial system over the next five to ten years, driven by advancements in crypto technology and a growing demand for financial freedom and flexibility.

TL;DR

Alesia Haas and Michelle Lai discuss the mainstreaming of crypto, the role of stablecoins, and regulatory challenges in fintech's future.

Episode

30:47
00:00:06
Itay Goldstein: Welcome everyone. This is the <i>Future of Finance</i>
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podcast, <i>Future of Finance</i> miniseries here at Wharton Sirius XM.
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I am Itay Goldstein. I am a Professor at the Finance
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Department and the Chair of the Finance Department here at
00:00:22
Wharton. And today, we are going to talk about a very exciting
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topic, the future of fintech. Throughout the history of
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finance, technology has always played a central role. We saw
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many technological advancements, starting from ATM and going to
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credit cards. And usually we had the incumbents in the finance
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industry adopting all these technological revolutions. But
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what happened in the last ten years or so has been a little
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different. And this is why it got this name, fintech.
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Basically, what we saw was that the pace of technological
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advancements has been much faster than before. But maybe
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even more peculiar and more exciting is the fact that a lot
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of the technologies are being introduced from the outside,
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kind of trying to change the structure of the industry and
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challenge the incumbents. And this is why this fintech wave
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has been so exciting and generated so much attention.
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Today, we have two excellent guests to talk about these
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changes and what is on the horizon when it comes to
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fintech. We have Alesia Haas, who is the CFO of Coinbase.
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Hello, Alesia.
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Hello.
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Great to see you.
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And we have Michelle
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Lai, who is a Wharton alum and key player in many of the crypto
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startups and innovations. Among other things, she is a board
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member of Electric Coin Corporation. Hello, Michelle.
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Nice to be here, everyone. Although I'll say it's the
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Electric Coin Company.
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Electric Coin Company. Thank you very much. So great to have you,
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Alesia and Michelle. And let's dive right in. So we are all
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thinking about cryptocurrencies, starting from Bitcoin, and then
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we had many other cryptocurrencies, and still have
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them, and they sort of go up and down. If you're looking at it
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from the point of view of an outsider who is just hearing
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about it, seeing some of the developments, but not fully
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understanding what's going on, what can you say about crypto?
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Has crypto now become mainstream? Is it about to
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become mainstream? Is it meeting the expectations given what we
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had in mind when it started? Alesia, let's start with you.
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Thank you, and thank you for having me. So I think it is no
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longer debated whether crypto is here to stay. That was a
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conversation we had ten years ago. Is this niche? Today, it is
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solidified. It is a mainstream asset class. And I think you can
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look to examples of this. The ETF approvals that we had
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starting in January of this year with the Bitcoin ETF, and then
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just this summer, with Ethereum ETF, have now given crypto
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the official stamp of approval from both regulators and major
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institutional partners, and we've seen incredible engagement
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there. Spot Bitcoin ETFs have become the fastest growing ETFs
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of all time. There were over $17 billion in net inflows, and we
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are seeing broad adoption. We're seeing new capital flow into
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these ETFs. We can also point to the number of people that own
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crypto, both in the US and globally. Over 52 million
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Americans have transaction in crypto. Four hundred million people
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around the globe. When you look at the G20 countries, you can
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see that they are driving regulation in their markets. You
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can see this with MiCA in the EU. In the US, we have bipartisan
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support for crypto regulation, even though we have not seen the
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approvals that we need here to have comprehensive regulation
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here in the US. And then we get into, like, new products like
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stablecoins. And layer two is like Base, which is a—
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stable— I'm sorry, which is a protocol that we've built on top of
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Ethereum, which enables fast, cheap transactions. We are
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seeing huge developer activity now building new apps on these
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protocols that enable fast, cheap, easy to use fintech
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products. And this is what I think will then become what
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really becomes daily conversations, daily use cases.
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How do we use payments that are fast, cheap, global? And we've
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seen developer activity. We saw eight times sequential developer
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activity in Base in the middle of the year. We saw growth in Q3.
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And so this is where we really think that the future is going,
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to build these ubiquitous, fast, cheap, global payment
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infrastructures.
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Great. Michelle, what do you think about it from where you
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sit in the industry?
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I don't blame some people for having doubt. We've gone through
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a lot of market cycles. Many existential crises, the most
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recent one being, I think, 2022, and a lot of the centralized
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crypto players went down. And that's— that's when Itay and
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I first met, actually. And I think growing out of that we— we
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have persisted. And to Alesia's data points, we have regulators
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coming in. We have governments wanting to implement CBDCs and a
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lot of other initiatives that I see as indicators that the world
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now has moved on from asking if it will stick around. You know, you
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have all your large financial players, like PayPal, BlackRock,
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Franklin Templeton, even UBS, a couple of days ago, making their
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mark in the industry. And these are organizations that don't
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change their minds very often on the big things.
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So you both mentioned that this is here to stay. It's kind of
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now a fact on the ground. It's big, there are a lot of people
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paying attention to it, trading it, investing in it. But I think
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the main question that comes to mind is, how exactly is it going
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to change the financial system? Is this going to make consumers'
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lives easier in any way? Is this going to reform the way that we
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are doing payment, the way that we are consuming and paying for
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things? So what should we expect going forward from fintech and
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from cryptocurrency more specifically?
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This is the first time that we've seen a new payment rail.
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So much of the innovation over the last couple of decades has
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been better user experiences. Front end technology. But
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they've been going through similar back end rails. Now
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we're innovating from the rails up, and that is what I think is
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going to transform the next generation. One of the things
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that we talk about as we've moved from the internet
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standpoint, as we were offline, then we're online, and now we're
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moving on chain. And so this is really the next generation of
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the internet, and we're going to be rebuilding transactions as
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well as a lot of just social applications on these new rails.
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So I do think that we are going to see crypto blockchains
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transform the way we transact. It's going to bring value and
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data closer together into transactions, and that will then
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underpin all of the financial transactions. My belief is that
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we are going to see this happen behind the scenes in many ways,
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and so I think we'll get to a place where everyone is
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transacting on crypto rails, and they don't even know that
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they're doing it. One of the things that is different about
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crypto today is we talk about, "Oh yes, I bridge my asset and
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I'm sending it on chain, and it's alphanumeric characters."
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That is for the early crypto adopters. This is for the
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advanced users. This is too complex for mass market
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adoption. But we're seeing a lot of progress now with, for
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example, Coinbase released Basenames. Now I can send you crypto
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on chain just with a simple name, very like an email
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address. This is where we need to go with crypto to make it
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ubiquitous and easy to use for everybody to be using it. But
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yes, I think payments will happen on chain, and when you
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think about it, this rail— like, you think about credit cards.
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They're expensive. For the merchant, not for the individual
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consumer, but for the merchant. So they are expensive. You think
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about ACH. It is slow. Cheaper, but slower. It takes two to
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three days. And then you think about things like Alipay, which
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are fast and cheap, but they're not global. They're very much a
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closed loop system. Crypto offers you fast, cheap, global
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and that is what is unique about crypto,
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which is what's going to drive a lot of adoption.
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- Michelle, where do you see the main uses?
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Yeah, so one thing I love about Coinbase is how it's been such a
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proponent for consumers. How to use crypto in their everyday
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lives, how to make their lives a lot easier and faster. I think
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the— just one point to add to the consumer side is recently,
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Stripe acquired a stablecoin company for more than a billion
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dollars. This is kind of a reverse acquisition, because
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this company was trying to be the Stripe of crypto. So I think
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you have this very wonderful, like, from within these companies
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we're trying to rebuild rails that have existed pretty well,
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but now are— time for— for a revamp. The other thing I wanted
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to contribute is, beyond the consumer space— you know, a lot
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of people who go to Wharton end up in the fund management industry and
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Coinbase has been supporting many of these large issuers in
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making things like— and correct me if I'm wrong, Alesia— on the
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Bitcoin, Ethereum, ETF side, that's obvious. The part that I
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really like that Coinbase is helping is with what you call
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risk-weighted— sorry, real world assets. Going back to my RW from
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BIS ratios. So, real world assets. And these are where you
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can invest your tokens, such that the underlying issue— or invest
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in money market funds. It's kind of a reverse crossover, which—
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which I like. I think also for the more kind of banking,
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mergers and acquisition industry, where I'm really
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excited about is applying crypto and crypto-adjacent technologies
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to improve the dealmaking process. So for example, in an
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M&A deal, there are a lot of trust assumptions between each
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party. And so far, we've intermediated that by paying
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escrow agents, or assuming that the repeat game set up ensures
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that people will be acting fairly. But there are very
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cutting edge, frontier math- based technologies that can
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obviate some of those trust assumptions, and I'm super,
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super excited about that. Also, one more thing is Singapore just
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announced in the last few days a framework for commercializing
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tokenization for funds and fixed income. So they've involved 40
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organizations over seven countries— and seven countries in
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some of these experiments since, I think, like, a couple years
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ago, or even more than that. So I'm super excited for how the
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industry that most Wharton people graduate into will be
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influenced and upgraded through crypto and crypto-related
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technologies.
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So you both mentioned stablecoins. And from what I hear
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around this is indeed an area where people have a lot of hope
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for— you know, one of the things about cryptocurrencies, and I
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think the reason that some people are skeptical about them,
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is just the huge volatility. You look at the prices, it's kind of
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like a roller coaster. And this is exactly what stablecoins are
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trying to fix, to make it stable. But the question, of course, is
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how credible it is. We saw episodes of runs on stablecoins.
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So I think we all understand it really depends on
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the model that you're using. So, Alesia, what do you think about
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stablecoins? Is this credible going forward? Are the benefits
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really that big to justify the attention it's getting?
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- I think they are. And people are definitely using stablecoins.
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I think it's really important to look at stablecoin transaction
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volume. It's probably the most telling trend happening in
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crypto right now. So in 2023, stablecoin transaction volume
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was about $10 trillion. 2024 is on pace to double that.
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Year to date, we're near $20 trillion. And I think then you
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need to look to your second question around, are they
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actually stable? And the answer of that is yes, when the
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reserves are backed one for one. So for example, USDC, which is a
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stablecoin that we offer in partnership with Circle— we
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think it's preferred for payments because it's regulated,
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it's transparent, and it's up more than 300% year-to-date in
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its total market cap. And we're seeing adoption in a variety of
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use cases. For payments, for looking at it as a stable payer
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for trading crypto, but also as savings assets in many countries
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where consumers don't have access to US dollar bank
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accounts, but they want to hold a US dollar asset. And this is
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providing them a unique way to get that exposure, to hedge
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their risk from other currency inflation in their own country.
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So when the reserves are transparent and held dollar for
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dollar, we do believe they are stable. And we've seen evidence
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of that. And then they provide a reliable store value, and we are
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seeing that— them being adopted, because of what I mentioned
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earlier. That they're faster, cheaper and more effective, 24/7.
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There's very few things that you can access 24/7, and instantly
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self custody on your own. They're very unique in that way.
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And Michelle, do you share the same opinion about stablecoins?
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And maybe taking it a step further, how do you think stable-
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coins are going to interact, potentially, with CBDCs? And do
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you think that CBDCs could potentially replace them?
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Hmm. Well, spicy second question. But on the first part,
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so, Alesia's take, I largely agree with. However, stable-
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coins— most stablecoins are USD based. So to the extent you
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believe the USD is stable, then stablecoins are largely stable.
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But I know a lot of people who believe that longer term, they
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are not. And a lot of people believe that to the extent the
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issuers are centralized, you don't really have something that
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is true to the ethos of crypto when it was first founded. So
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there are continuing efforts to create a different kind of
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stablecoin. Vitalik's favorite one is RAI. It's been around
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since, I think, 2021. it's eth- only collateral. There's no peg,
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and they use interest rates to manage demand and therefore
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price. And it's so far actually been relatively stable. It's
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been— it's been roughly around $2.8 to $3 in the last few years,
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which is pretty remarkable, because it's been a volatile
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last few years. So that's one edge take. In terms of CBDCs,
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it's unclear right now, I think where— what the— what the
00:16:06
prevailing CBDC take will be. In general, the countries
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that I'm aware of that are making serious efforts to do
00:16:15
this, these projects, they are focused on quick settlement. And
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I do think that that use case is highly valuable. You can see
00:16:29
with— for example, BRICS Pay was announced sometime— sometime
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recently, where to avoid long settlement times between certain
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currencies that are not your mainstream currencies, they've
00:16:40
had to create an alternative path. I think CBDCs is an effort
00:16:44
to do a similar kind of thing. There are concerns that I and
00:16:49
many players in crypto worry about, such as surveillance, and
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whether that leads us a step closer— closer to, you know,
00:17:00
outcomes that we may not want. <i>1984</i> type of scenarios. But I
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think if we have sensible players in governments around
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the world, we will be able to avoid such a scenario, because
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there have already been parties that have expressed concerns.
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I'd like to add on, if I could, to Michelle's comments, because I
00:17:25
agree with much of what she said. So on the first, I think we
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should also say that the goal of stablecoins is to have the coin
00:17:31
represent the underlying asset. And so with regards to, is it a
00:17:35
US dollar backed stablecoin, the goal is the stablecoin
00:17:37
represents a US dollar. A euro coin represents the underlying
00:17:42
euro. I agree with Michelle that many in crypto believe that the
00:17:46
reason Bitcoin came was it's supposed to be the decentralized
00:17:49
currency, where you can then own an asset that isn't controlled
00:17:52
by a centralized government. That is up to the user, to decide what
00:17:56
their allocation of their investment portfolio or their
00:17:58
day to day use case should be. But the stablecoin's goal is to
00:18:01
just represent the underlying asset, which could be a basket
00:18:04
of goods, could be an individual currency, could be Ethereum,
00:18:06
could be other things. I just wanted to share that
00:18:08
perspective. And then my view on CBDCs, which I think is worth
00:18:14
adding to this conversation, is— stablecoins, to me, it's like a
00:18:19
new technology, much like a credit card, much like an ATM.
00:18:21
It's a new way to hold and access a dollar. That was left to
00:18:26
fintechs, as you opened up this conversation, Itay, to really
00:18:30
drive innovation. And so how we distribute dollars, how we can
00:18:34
transact with dollars, how we use assets, has really been left
00:18:39
to private industry, and I think that that will continue in the
00:18:42
US. Because ultimately, when you think about at least a US dollar
00:18:45
backed stablecoin, there's no change to monetary authority.
00:18:48
It's still representing a dollar. Those dollars are still held in
00:18:51
traditional financial institutions. The mechanism of
00:18:54
transacting on a blockchain is really just a technology
00:18:57
innovation, much like we've seen in generations before.
00:19:01
Yeah. And touching on that, thinking about the government—
00:19:05
because the government obviously plays an important role in CBDC,
00:19:08
but it also plays an important role if you think about the
00:19:12
regulation of fintech and the crypto markets and so on. And
00:19:18
Alesia, you mentioned MiCA as one piece of legislation and
00:19:23
regulation. And I think we all know that in the US, things are
00:19:28
a little slower than that. So do you have any concerns about that
00:19:33
going forward? Do you think that there needs to be a change?
00:19:37
I do. I think the US is at risk of losing its leadership
00:19:41
position in technology, in finance, if it doesn't establish
00:19:44
clear crypto regulation soon. And as you noted, we have seen
00:19:48
countries like the EU with MiCA, others in Asia, they're really
00:19:52
setting the standard. And they're creating environments
00:19:54
that are fostering innovation. They're driving investments. And
00:19:58
I do believe it's a matter of our national security to defend the
00:20:01
dollar as the world's reserve on chain currency, just like it has
00:20:04
been for the past decades. We think that clear regulations
00:20:09
attract entrepreneurs. They encourage developers to
00:20:12
innovate, they build businesses. And right now, I think that
00:20:15
we're ceding that pole position to other regions to build the
00:20:19
next wave of financial innovation. But we have— there
00:20:23
is hope. There is a lot of hope, because what we've now seen over
00:20:26
the past year has been a recognition of this by many
00:20:30
policy makers and regulators. And there's clear bipartisan
00:20:34
support in Congress that's building momentum. And I think
00:20:37
that we have optimistic hope that going into 2025 we're going
00:20:41
into the most pro-crypto Congress that we have seen, and
00:20:44
that there's real hope that we can get legislative clarity here
00:20:46
in the US to really keep driving this technology.
00:20:49
Just to add a data point, I was looking at a developer report,
00:20:53
global crypto developers, and North America and Europe were
00:20:56
obviously leading for all of the history of crypto. But Asia has
00:21:01
overtaken. Asia is now the highest— now has the highest
00:21:05
number of crypto doves, according to <i>Electric Capital</i>
00:21:08
<i>Report</i>, which is really shocking. It's— I don't think
00:21:11
it's that we suddenly birthed a bunch of crypto developers. It's
00:21:14
the outward migration that I think happened.
00:21:17
Right. But— but I think one thing, Michelle, that you
00:21:20
mentioned before is the coordination in regulation
00:21:23
across different countries. Do you think that continues to be a
00:21:27
concern?
00:21:29
I think right now, a lot of countries are actually
00:21:32
converging. They're converging on their attitude towards
00:21:36
compliance. It might take more time to shake out, but I think a
00:21:40
couple years ago, it was really unclear who would go which way.
00:21:44
Where— where things are a little bit clearer is where most
00:21:47
governments agree on the underlying technology. So for
00:21:52
example, CBDCs as a technology, or the rails by which
00:21:57
transactions can be settled. But in terms of tokens, stablecoins,
00:22:03
that I think still has some gray area.
00:22:07
Yeah. Alesia, how do you see that, the international arena? Do
00:22:11
you think it's getting better in terms of just communication and
00:22:15
collaboration and coordination across different regions?
00:22:20
I think that many people have agreed on standards around
00:22:23
know your customer, money laundering expectations,
00:22:27
sanctions. And that is very consistent on a global basis, at
00:22:32
least in countries where there's strong financial services and
00:22:35
heavy investment levels. So that feels very consistent. What
00:22:39
feels inconsistent right now is whether countries are adopting
00:22:42
what I would refer to as open loop or closed loop systems. And
00:22:46
how they want to control data and leave it very siloed within
00:22:51
their country, or whether they're willing to let
00:22:53
boundaries be more fluid and create global centers of
00:22:56
technology excellence and allow their customers or their
00:22:59
citizens, rather, to transact with those global companies that
00:23:02
are offering services in their countries. And so for crypto,
00:23:04
this looks like, how do we self— do we allow self custody? Can
00:23:08
people take their wallets anywhere, or do they have to be
00:23:10
custodied in the country? And we have to know those assets are
00:23:12
sitting within geographic boundaries. And that is
00:23:15
something from a policy effort that we are working very
00:23:19
carefully on, because we really believe in the people's ability
00:23:22
to self custody and take their assets with them
00:23:24
wherever they may be.
00:23:27
That's such a difficult problem. Like, how do you control where
00:23:30
bits go?
00:23:33
Yes. Yeah, I think this is definitely one of the challenges
00:23:36
with fintech. So taking a step back and thinking about what
00:23:40
this fintech revolution is all about, I think the role of
00:23:43
culture has been very important. So is the role of trust. In some
00:23:48
sense, what ignited this fintech wave was the search for better
00:23:56
ways to achieve trust, and culture has been an important
00:23:59
part of it. Where are we on this? Is that continuing to be
00:24:04
an important aspect, and where are we going from here?
00:24:08
I think the culture— culture has been maturing. I am
00:24:13
significantly older than most people at crypto conferences, so
00:24:16
I kind of feel— earlier, kind of felt that gap. But I think now
00:24:23
we've gone past the— largely gone past the kind of memeing and
00:24:28
kind of the memecoin-only kind of culture. There— there have
00:24:34
been several cycles in the last year or so where you go to a
00:24:39
conference and people talk about, we have too much infrastructure
00:24:43
now. We need applications. We need rail users. We don't just
00:24:47
need Twitter followers and Discord users. We need rail
00:24:51
transaction volume. So I really like the way culture is moving,
00:24:55
and I really have to credit Vitalik for pushing a
00:25:01
culture of being really useful to a lot of people, and
00:25:05
especially to people who may be in environments where they
00:25:09
really, really need stablecoins, for example, versus just
00:25:14
using it because it's slightly easier or fun. I'm very hopeful
00:25:20
that this culture will help us move towards more productive use
00:25:25
cases. And a very interesting recent development is, in the
00:25:29
last 72 hours, there are two— two of the most famous
00:25:34
Ethereum foundation researchers, they— they gave up some very
00:25:39
lucrative advisory positions for a— kind of a crypto project,
00:25:44
because they decided that, hey, we really want to dedicate our
00:25:48
lives and our research to building open, fair,
00:25:51
decentralized protocols. We want no conflicts of interest. So I
00:25:55
think culture, at least in the space I'm active in, which tends
00:25:59
to be more eth-focused, is quite positive at this moment. I'm
00:26:03
happy with it.
00:26:04
And Alesia, you, of course, you come from a bigger firm, one of
00:26:09
the biggest in the industry. So you probably see it a little
00:26:13
differently than that.
00:26:16
I think of feedback loops in culture. So I think that culture
00:26:20
shapes how we develop technology. And then I think new
00:26:22
technologies also shape culture. And I think you can look to the
00:26:25
internet. And I think as you saw people move online, you saw a
00:26:28
massive uptick in blending cultures across the globe. The
00:26:31
world got smaller. The internet has its own unique culture. You've
00:26:35
seen memes as a great example of this. And as people become
00:26:39
accustomed to easily sharing information, sharing ideas,
00:26:42
quickly accessing information, people get more accustomed to
00:26:46
expecting that in all parts of their lives. What they've also
00:26:50
seen, though, as we've gone more online, is that more and more of
00:26:54
their information is controlled in centralized systems. And so
00:26:57
this is part of the feedback loop. So now we see they want
00:27:01
money to move at the speed of the Internet, because that's how
00:27:03
they're used to sharing data. They don't understand why money
00:27:06
cannot move at the same rate as information. But they've also
00:27:10
seen like, ooh, I don't love that centralized system, that
00:27:13
centralized power. And so that is the feedback loop that I
00:27:16
think has then brought forth crypto. And you can see this
00:27:19
with younger generations who are more comfortable digitally
00:27:21
native. They drive demand for innovative financial products,
00:27:25
and it reflects their values, like self custody, like
00:27:28
decentralization, like independence. And I think you
00:27:31
can see that that is giving rise to the adoption of crypto. And
00:27:35
many people who then are sitting in companies are now watching
00:27:39
this cultural shift, and they're using that cultural shift to
00:27:42
drive their next roadmap. And that is what I think, leading
00:27:45
also to this wave of adoption of crypto within fintechs.
00:27:50
Great. So we're coming close to the end of our time here. So let
00:27:55
me just ask each one of you kind of a concluding question, maybe
00:28:01
reflection on what has happened and what we should expect going
00:28:06
forward. So if you were to predict whether we are going to
00:28:11
live in a very different financial system a few years
00:28:14
from now, what would you say? Is it going to look very different
00:28:17
from what it is today? And if so, what is the timeline that
00:28:20
you think we should keep in mind for that? Alesia.
00:28:25
I think we're on the precipice of moving transactions on chain.
00:28:28
I think that we are moving towards a world where many
00:28:31
people won't see it, because it will be hidden behind the
00:28:34
technology stacks of companies in which you already transact.
00:28:37
But we're going to move to a world where we've adopted crypto
00:28:40
technology, where we are moving towards Bitcoin being an
00:28:43
important investment asset in people's portfolio, where we're
00:28:46
going to see the rise of stable coins used in cross-border
00:28:49
payments. And I do think that we're also going to see the rise
00:28:53
of the new social media apps on crypto rails that will enable
00:28:57
creator communities to to get compensated from their
00:29:01
creativity and move away from these decentral— decentralized
00:29:04
intermediaries. So yes, I'm very optimistic, and I think that we
00:29:07
are just getting there. Because we now have faster, cheaper
00:29:10
technology. We are making it easier to use, and all of those
00:29:13
key building blocks are getting to be in place.
00:29:15
And what is the timeline?
00:29:18
Oh, my goodness, Itay, I'm not a crystal ball.
00:29:20
But I definitely see over the next
00:29:22
five to ten years that this is going to be a transformation in
00:29:25
how we transact on on chain.
00:29:27
- Okay. Michelle.
00:29:30
Yeah. So I think the— one of the gifts of crypto that— is that it's
00:29:34
shaking up the incumbents. It's forcing them to change, to
00:29:37
update, to get with consumer preferences. But one quote I
00:29:44
always refer to from Jeff Bezos is focus not on what changes,
00:29:49
but what doesn't change. And I think what will never change, is
00:29:53
people want as much freedom as they can have. Financial
00:29:57
freedom. They want flexibility in their lives. They want to
00:30:00
express themselves. So to the extent crypto allows them to do
00:30:04
that, I think in all the good ways, things will change.
00:30:09
- And you also don't want to pick the timeline. - Timeline.
00:30:13
I think we are in the time of change. I think there's no
00:30:16
turning back. It's— crypto is a religion, and there is a lot of
00:30:20
and there is a lot of people praying.
00:30:25
I see. That's a very good note to end on. Okay, thank you very
00:30:30
much, Alesia, Michelle, for a great conversation on the future
00:30:34
of fintech. Certainly a lot to watch for and wait to see what
00:30:39
happens. Thank you very much.
00:30:42
- Thank you. - Thank you, Itay.

Episode Highlights

  • The Rise of Fintech
    Fintech is transforming finance with rapid technological advancements and new players.
    “The pace of technological advancements has been much faster than before.”
    @ 00m 59s
    December 02, 2024
  • Crypto's Mainstream Acceptance
    Cryptocurrency has solidified its place as a mainstream asset class, with significant regulatory support.
    “It is no longer debated whether crypto is here to stay.”
    @ 03m 02s
    December 02, 2024
  • Stablecoins and Their Impact
    Stablecoins are gaining traction, with transaction volumes expected to double in 2024.
    “In 2023, stablecoin transaction volume was about $10 trillion.”
    @ 13m 04s
    December 02, 2024
  • The Future of Transactions
    Alesia predicts a shift towards on-chain transactions and the rise of crypto technology.
    “We're moving towards a world where we've adopted crypto technology.”
    @ 28m 31s
    December 02, 2024
  • Crypto's Impact on Incumbents
    Michelle discusses how crypto is forcing traditional financial institutions to adapt.
    “One of the gifts of crypto is that it’s shaking up the incumbents.”
    @ 29m 34s
    December 02, 2024

Episode Quotes

  • Crypto is here to stay. It's a mainstream asset class.
    The FinTech Revolution: How Crypto is Reshaping Finance
  • We're innovating from the rails up, transforming the next generation.
    The FinTech Revolution: How Crypto is Reshaping Finance
  • Stablecoins provide a reliable store of value, faster and cheaper.
    The FinTech Revolution: How Crypto is Reshaping Finance
  • We are moving towards a world where many people won't see it.
    The FinTech Revolution: How Crypto is Reshaping Finance
  • People want as much freedom as they can have. Financial freedom.
    The FinTech Revolution: How Crypto is Reshaping Finance
  • Crypto is a religion, and there is a lot of people praying.
    The FinTech Revolution: How Crypto is Reshaping Finance

Key Moments

  • Welcome to Fintech00:06
  • Mainstream Crypto03:02
  • Innovating Payment Rails07:12
  • Stablecoin Growth13:04
  • Regulatory Challenges19:41
  • Cultural Shift27:25
  • On-Chain Transactions28:31
  • Financial Freedom29:57

Words per Minute Over Time

Vibes Breakdown

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