Ex-Fed Researcher: Why Stablecoins Will Replace Banks by 2030
Ex-Fed Researcher: Why Stablecoins Will Replace Banks by 2030
Podcast28 min 18 sec
Listen to Episode
Note: AI-generated summary based on third-party content. Not financial advice. Read more.
Quick Insights

The stablecoin market is projected to grow tenfold to $3 trillion by 2028, presenting a major long-term investment theme. For direct exposure, investors should watch for the upcoming IPO of Circle, the issuer of the USDC stablecoin, which is expected to be one of the largest this year. Alternatively, consider an investment in Galaxy Digital (GLXY.TO) for diversified exposure to the broader tokenization trend. Galaxy is a key partner in the new Euro-denominated stablecoin, AllUnity, highlighting its leadership in building next-generation financial infrastructure. This rapid growth in on-chain currency is a significant tailwind for core digital assets like Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH).

Detailed Analysis

Stablecoins (Investment Theme)

  • The discussion presents an extremely bullish case for stablecoins, framing them as a technology that has found clear product-market fit and is still in its very early stages of adoption.
  • Current Market Size: The current stablecoin market is around $280-$290 billion. This is considered "tiny" compared to the trillions of dollars in the traditional currency markets.
  • Growth Projection: A key takeaway is the potential for massive growth.
    • The speaker agrees with the premise that the stablecoin market could scale to $3 trillion by 2028.
    • The long-term vision is for the amount of on-chain currency (like stablecoins) to eventually match the amount of off-chain currency, representing exponential growth from today's "fractions of a percent."
  • Primary Use Cases:
    • More efficient cross-border payments, acting as a "faster, better, cheaper" alternative to the correspondent banking system.
    • Providing access to US dollars in emerging economies with weaker local currencies.
    • Serving as the primary trading pair for digital assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum.
  • Key Players Mentioned: Circle (USDC), Tether, and Paxos are noted as significant private issuers.
  • Euro-Denominated Stablecoin: A new joint venture between Galaxy, DWS (Deutsche Bank's asset management arm), and Flow Traders has launched a Euro-denominated stablecoin called AllUnity, indicating expansion beyond the US dollar.

Takeaways

  • The stablecoin sector is presented as a major long-term growth opportunity, analogous to the early days of the internet.
  • Investors should look for opportunities in companies that are building the core infrastructure for stablecoins, such as the issuers themselves.
  • The projected growth to $3 trillion provides a tangible target that suggests significant upside for the entire ecosystem built around stablecoins.
  • The emergence of non-USD stablecoins like the Euro-based AllUnity points to a global and expanding market.

Circle (USDC)

  • Circle is identified as one of the largest private issuers of stablecoins with its USDC stablecoin.
  • The podcast mentions that Circle is planning "one of the largest IPOs this year." This highlights a major upcoming event for public market investors to gain direct exposure to a leading stablecoin issuer.

Takeaways

  • Investors interested in the stablecoin theme should closely monitor news around Circle's upcoming IPO.
  • A successful public listing for Circle could serve as a major validation for the stablecoin industry and attract more traditional investment capital into the space.

Galaxy Digital (GLXY.TO)

  • The speaker, Thomas Cowan, is the Head of Tokenization at Galaxy, positioning the company as a leader at the forefront of financial innovation.
  • Galaxy's strategy extends beyond just stablecoins into the broader theme of tokenization, including:
    • Money market funds
    • On-chain debt
    • Tokenizing their own stock
  • Galaxy is a key partner in the AllUnity joint venture to launch a Euro-denominated stablecoin, demonstrating strategic international expansion and a partnership with a major traditional finance player (Deutsche Bank's asset management arm).

Takeaways

  • Investing in Galaxy Digital (GLXY.TO) could be seen as a way to gain diversified exposure to the entire tokenization trend, not just stablecoins.
  • The company is actively building the "next chapter" of on-chain finance, which includes tokenizing a wide range of real-world financial assets. Their leadership and strategic partnerships suggest they are well-positioned to capitalize on this trend.

Tokenization (Investment Theme)

  • Tokenization is presented as the next major wave of innovation after stablecoins, with the goal of bringing all types of financial assets onto the blockchain.
  • The discussion highlights that the SEC is considering allowing stocks to trade on-chain, which would be a monumental shift for capital markets.
  • The core benefit is creating greater capital efficiency. Just as the internet made information transfer cheaper and faster, blockchain and tokenization are expected to do the same for value transfer.
  • This efficiency could unlock new economic models, such as micropayments where AI agents or users pay fractions of a cent for content or data access.

Takeaways

  • Tokenization is a long-term, transformative theme that could fundamentally change how financial assets are traded and managed.
  • The "on-chain liquidity begets more on-chain liquidity" concept suggests a flywheel effect: as more value (like stablecoins) moves on-chain, it creates demand for more on-chain assets (like tokenized stocks and bonds) for that capital to flow into.
  • Investors should look for companies and platforms that are building the infrastructure to facilitate the tokenization of real-world assets. This trend could negatively impact traditional financial intermediaries that fail to adapt.

Bitcoin (BTC) & Ethereum (ETH)

  • Bitcoin (BTC) is mentioned at the start of the podcast as "breaking new all-time highs," setting a positive, bullish tone for the overall market.
  • Both Bitcoin and Ethereum (ETH) are cited as key digital assets for which stablecoins serve as an efficient on-ramp and trading pair.
  • The growth of the stablecoin ecosystem is inherently linked to the health and activity of major blockchain ecosystems like Ethereum, where much of this on-chain activity occurs.

Takeaways

  • The strong performance of Bitcoin is a positive tailwind for the entire digital asset industry.
  • Stablecoins are a critical piece of infrastructure that facilitates liquidity and trading for BTC and ETH. The massive projected growth in stablecoins is likely to increase liquidity and accessibility for these core crypto assets.
Ask about this postAnswers are grounded in this post's content.
Episode Description
Stablecoins are quietly becoming the backbone of a new financial system: faster, cheaper, and more efficient than banks. For the 4th episode of Stabled Up, we sit down with former Fed researcher Thomas Cowan (Head of Tokenization @ Galaxy Digital) to unpack how stablecoins could outcompete banks, close the onchain/offchain gap, and redefine global capital efficiency. We discuss: - Fed Researcher → Stablecoin Builder: Thomas's Journey - Stablecoins vs CBDCs: What's the Real Difference? - Why Regulatory Clarity Is Finally Here - Europe's Stablecoin Play: AllUnity Launch - Capital Efficiency Rivaling AI's Productivity Promise - The Road to On-Chain Parity with Off-Chain Currency This is one of the clearest breakdowns yet of how stablecoins go mainstream, from Fed research to trillion-dollar adoption. Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 01:13 From Fed Researcher to Stablecoin Builder 03:30 Bull Market Vibes Meet Regulatory Reality 04:21 Project Hamilton: What the Fed Actually Built 09:26 Hibachi Ad, Talus Ad, Recall Ad 10:19 CBDC Findings Nobody Talks About 13:25 Why Regulatory Clarity Is Finally Here 15:54 Stablecoins vs CBDCs: The Real Differences 19:43 The Global Stablecoin Landscape Is Shifting Fast 21:44 Enso Ad, Relay Ad 22:17 On-Chain vs Off-Chain: Closing the Currency Gap 25:17 Network States & Stablecoin Economies 27:56 Capital Efficiency Could Rival AI’s GDP Impact 29:50 Closing Thoughts Website: https://therollup.co/ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1P6ZeYd... Podcast: https://therollup.co/category/podcast Follow us on X: https://www.x.com/therollupco Follow Rob on X: https://www.x.com/robbie_rollup Follow Andy on X: https://www.x.com/ayyyeandy Join our TG group: https://t.me/+TsM1CRpWFgk1NGZh The Rollup Disclosures: https://therollup.co/the-rollup-discl 𝗗𝗜𝗦𝗖𝗟𝗔𝗜𝗠𝗘𝗥: 𝘐𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘤𝘳𝘺𝘱𝘵𝘰𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘋𝘦𝘍𝘪 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘪𝘯𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘬𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘩𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘬, 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘳, 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦. 𝘈𝘵 𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘭, 𝘸𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘳 𝘧𝘦𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱, 𝘪𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳. 𝘞𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮, 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘦 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘦. 𝘞𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘧𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘴 𝘰𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘴.
About The Rollup
The Rollup

The Rollup

By Face-to-face with the most important people in digital assets.

Face-to-face with the most important people in digital assets. Explore: https://therollup.co/