How Stablecoins Could Double Margins for Businesses
In today's episode of Talking Tokens, Jacquelyn sits down with Sam Broner, CEO of The Better Money Company, to unpack what stablecoins need to become everyday payment infrastructure and why interoperability could matter more than which stablecoin ultimately wins. Drawing on his experience across Microsoft, the Federal Reserve, a16z and now building stablecoin infrastructure, Sam explains why today's payment system still has significant room for improvement.
They discuss why companies are launching their own stablecoins, how a stablecoin clearinghouse could connect an increasingly fragmented market, and why consumers may eventually use stablecoins without even realizing it. Sam also breaks down the economics of card fees for merchants, whether stablecoins threaten Visa and Mastercard, and why AI agents could increasingly use stablecoins as a default way to transact online.
Timestamps 00:00 — Meet Sam Broner 00:44 — From Microsoft and the Fed to stablecoins 02:21 — Why Sam saw the stablecoin opportunity early 04:54 — Is today's money system actually working? 05:23 — What is a stablecoin clearinghouse? 07:17 — Why stablecoin issuers need interoperability 10:10 — Why companies want their own stablecoins 12:25 — Why Better Money doesn't issue a stablecoin 13:40 — What happens if there are thousands of stablecoins? 17:13 — When stablecoins become everyday money 18:56 — What needs to happen for mainstream payments? 21:05 — How quickly could stablecoin payments become normal? 22:53 — The economics of credit card fees 24:41 — Do stablecoins threaten Visa and Mastercard? 26:42 — Stablecoins vs. banks and existing payment rails 28:05 — Why AI agents could pay with stablecoins 30:23 — Your AI agent may use stablecoins without you knowing 31:41 — How much money should you trust an AI agent with? 33:54 — When consumers stop thinking about stablecoins 36:43 — Sam's vision for the future of money 37:10 — Sam's career advice
This episode is sponsored by Forgd, visit its Market Maker Leaderboard on Token Relations here: www.stratamedia.co/token-relations/leaderboard
Today’s episode is sponsored by Anchorage Digital, America's first federally chartered digital asset bank and provider of regulated stablecoin issuance. To find out more, visit anchorage.com
New episodes every week https://open.spotify.com/show/0LOgWxIQ0NnNUD5eXsSuoZ https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/talking-tokens/id1743669141
Follow us Jacquelyn on X: /jacqmelinek Talking Tokens on X: /_talkingtokens Talking Tokens on Instagram: /_talkingtokens
Follow Sam Broner https://x.com/SamBroner?lang=en https://www.linkedin.com/in/sambroner
How Stablecoins Could Double Margins for Businesses
Subscribe & Listen
Crypto Grew Despite Bad UX | What Happens When We Fix It?
Why Robinhood Is Betting on Tokenized Assets | Nicola White
More from Talking Tokens
How Chainlink Is Preparing for Trillions in Onchain Finance
In today's episode of Talking Tokens, Jacquelyn sits down with Liam Karwan, Head of RWAs at Chainlink Labs, to discuss how tokenization is changing global capital markets, what financial institutions need to move assets onchain, and why the next phase of adoption will require more than just blockchain technology. Liam explains how Chainlink connects banks, asset managers, blockchains and DeFi protocols through data infrastructure, cross-chain interoperability and transaction orchestration. They explore why institutions are shifting from blockchain experimentation toward measurable business outcomes, what's holding back institutional-scale liquidity, and how tokenized equities, stablecoins and fintech platforms could accelerate adoption. They also discuss the role of Robinhood, Coinbase and other financial platforms in bringing mainstream users onchain, the difference between wrapped and natively issued tokenized equities, and what it would take for blockchain to support financial markets at a much larger scale. TIMESTAMPS 00:00 Introduction 01:16 What Is Tokenization? 01:59 How Tokenization Has Changed in 12 Months 02:24 Chainlink's Role in Onchain Finance 03:13 What Financial Institutions Want From Chainlink 03:33 Why Institutional Conversations Have Changed 04:29 Are Tokenization Projects Succeeding? 04:54 Simple vs. Complex Institutional Use Cases 05:47 The Next Phase of Institutional Adoption 06:08 Private Blockchains, Compliance and Interoperability 07:25 Why Technology Isn't the Biggest Bottleneck 07:47 Making the Business Case for Blockchain 08:20 How Quickly Will Tokenization Scale? 08:37 The $100 Trillion Capital Markets Opportunity 09:05 Why Chainlink Wants to Connect Financial Networks 09:48 Which Institutions Are Adopting RWAs? 10:40 Why Hedge Funds Are Moving More Slowly 11:25 Is Onchain Finance Ready for Wall Street? 12:22 Stablecoins, Liquidity and Yield Opportunities 12:44 Why Fintechs Could Drive Mainstream Adoption 13:26 Will Consumers Know They're Using Blockchain? 14:46 Why Crypto Focused on Infrastructure First 15:45 How Onchain Finance Improves Financial Products 16:31 Institutional Adoption in South Korea 17:26 Why Tokenized Equities Matter 18:14 Are Tokenized Stocks Overhyped? 18:52 Wrapped vs. Native Tokenized Equities 19:37 How the Tokenization Industry Has Evolved 20:44 Why Asset Managers Are Focusing on Distribution 21:10 Chainlink's Long-Term Vision 21:35 What Will Drive the Next Wave of RWA Adoption? 21:54 Fintechs, Stablecoins and New Onchain Demand 🔔 New episodes every week https://open.spotify.com/show/0LOgWxIQ0NnNUD5eXsSuoZ https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/talking-tokens/id1743669141 🌐 Follow Jacquelyn Melinek https://x.com/jacqmelinek?lang=en https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacquelynmelinek ➡️ Follow Liam Karwan https://x.com/KarwanLiam05 #Chainlink #Tokenization #RWA #OnchainFinance #TokenizedStocks
Why R3 Chose Solana for the Next Chapter of Corda
In today's Solana Sessions episode of Talking Tokens, Jacquelyn sits down with Todd McDonald, co-founder of R3, to discuss how institutional blockchain has evolved over the past decade and why R3 is moving from private blockchain networks toward open markets, including building the next version of Corda as a protocol on Solana. Todd explains why he believes all markets will eventually move onchain, what banks actually want from blockchain today, why R3 concluded that open networks win, and how tokenization can connect traditional assets with capital already living onchain. They also discuss why R3 chose Solana, what institutions care about when selecting blockchain infrastructure, and why fixed income and alternative assets could be among the next major markets for tokenization. Timestamps 00:00 Intro 00:32 How Institutional Blockchain Has Changed 02:55 Why All Markets Will Move Onchain 04:08 Why Todd McDonald Started R3 06:25 Buying Bitcoin in the Early Days 07:37 How R3 Got Major Banks Onboard 09:56 What Crypto Gets Wrong About Banks 12:10 How Banks Are Using Blockchain Today 13:38 Why R3 Changed Its Strategy 14:00 Moving From Private to Open Networks 14:24 Why R3 Chose Solana 16:29 Bringing Corda to Solana 16:52 What Banks Care About in a Blockchain 18:18 What R3 Got Wrong 19:00 Lessons From R3's Early Network Strategy 20:05 Why Open Networks Win 22:05 What's Next for Banks Onchain 23:07 The Opportunity Beyond Tokenized Dollars 24:05 The Trillions in Tokenization 26:17 What Tokenization Actually Means 27:26 Bring the Assets to the Money 27:57 The State of Tokenization 28:57 What Has Changed in Five Years 30:12 What Banks Want From Tokenization 31:04 What's Next for Tokenization 31:59 Todd's Advice for Builders Today’s episode is sponsored by Anchorage Digital, America's first federally chartered digital asset bank and provider of regulated stablecoin issuance. To find out more, visit anchorage.com This episode is a part of the Solana Sessions campaign between Token Relations and the Talking Tokens podcast, diving into founders' journeys and startups building on Solana. Check out the accompanying newsletter on www.stratamedia.co/token-relations/solana This episode is sponsored by Binance, the world’s number-one crypto exchange, trusted by over 300 million people. Discover more at: https://binance.onelink.me/y874/talkingtokens . NOTE: Binance is not available in certain countries, including the U.S.; check its Terms for more information: https://www.binance.com/en/terms 🔔 New episodes every week https://open.spotify.com/show/0LOgWxIQ0NnNUD5eXsSuoZ https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/talking-tokens/id1743669141 🌐 Follow Jacquelyn Melinek https://x.com/jacqmelinek?lang=en https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacquelynmelinek ➡️ Follow Todd McDonald https://www.linkedin.com/in/toddvmcdonald/?isSelfProfile=false #R3 #Solana #Tokenization #Corda #OnchainFinance
How Mantle Plans to Compete in the Tokenized Asset Market
In today's episode of Talking Tokens, Jacquelyn sits down with Josh Cheong, Head of Product and Growth at Mantle, to discuss the next phase of real-world asset (RWA) tokenization and why distribution is becoming as important as the technology behind it. Drawing on his experience at Citi and Parity Technologies, Joshua explains why tokenized equities are attracting attention, what banks and asset managers want from onchain finance, and how Mantle is approaching institutional adoption through partnerships and distribution. They also discuss the role of stablecoins in banking, how tokenization can expand access to financial markets, why tokenized real estate has struggled to gain comparable traction, and what it would take for RWAs to achieve mainstream institutional adoption. Timestamps 00:00 Introduction Joshua Cheong 00:36 The Current State of RWA Tokenization 01:28 Is the Infrastructure Phase Almost Over? 02:24 Why Distribution Is the Next Challenge 03:08 Bringing Institutional Assets Onchain 04:49 What Asset Managers Actually Need 05:08 Two Ways Tokenization Creates Value 06:05 Faster Settlement and Capital Efficiency 07:03 Lessons From Citi and Traditional Banking 08:51 Are Banks Finally Adopting Blockchain? 09:15 Why Stablecoins Matter to Banks 09:52 What's Slowing Institutional Adoption? 11:21 What Assets Are Worth Tokenizing? 11:50 Why Tokenized Equities Are Gaining Momentum 13:14 Who Will Win the Tokenization Market? 13:38 Why Distribution Matters More Than Ever 14:34 Mantle, Bybit and the Distribution Advantage 15:30 What Institutions Actually Want 16:32 Why Tokenized Real Estate Is Lagging 17:22 The Next Major Milestone for RWAs 🔔 New episodes every week https://open.spotify.com/show/0LOgWxIQ0NnNUD5eXsSuoZ https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/talking-tokens/id1743669141 🌐 Follow Jacquelyn Melinek https://x.com/jacqmelinek?lang=en https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacquelynmelinek ➡️ Follow Joshua Cheong https://sg.linkedin.com/in/joshuacheong https://x.com/joshuacheong #Mantle #RWA #Tokenization #TokenizedStocks #OnchainFinance