THE QUANTAM LAYER OF MONEY MOVEMENT

RETHINKING STABLECOINS

The dominant narrative around stablecoins today revolves around the "sandwich model": convert local currency to stablecoins, send them across borders, and convert back to local currency. But what if this simplified view misses the deeper revolution happening beneath the surface?

In Season 3, Episode 4 of Stableminded, Berhan Kongel, Co-founder and CEO fo Keyrails drops hot takles that will change how you think about the entire stablecoin ecosystem. With 15 years of entrepreneurial experience and 7 years working with stablecoins since "ERC20 was barely six months old," he brings a perspective you won't find in typical crypto discussions.

Watch the full episode below to discover why most of what we think we know about stablecoins is incomplete—and what the future truly holds for financial infrastructure.

Also available on the Stableminded Spotify

THANK YOU TO Dfns

Season 3 of Stableminded is powered by Dfns—the wallet infrastructure platform securing over $1 billion monthly, with zero hacks, and trusted by 130+ global fintechs, banks, and enterprises. From Fidelity to Coinbase, top players rely on Dfns to manage digital assets with unmatched security and seamless API integrations.

STABLECOINS AS A QUANTUM LAYER

One standout insight from the conversation redefines how we conceptualize stablecoin functionality:

This quantum-like property is more than a clever metaphor—it represents a fundamental rethinking of how money exists in a global system. Traditional dollars are trapped in jurisdictional silos, forcing businesses to maintain multiple accounts across time zones and banking systems. When a payment request comes in, these businesses face an impossible choice: maintain excess liquidity everywhere (tying up capital) or risk rejecting valid payment instructions because funds are in the wrong location.

The episode explains how stablecoins solve this dilemma by existing in a superposition state—ready to "collapse" into any necessary jurisdiction on demand. This creates an entirely new paradigm for treasury management, eliminating the estimated $4 trillion currently locked in nostro accounts globally.

For businesses operating across multiple countries, this represents not just an incremental improvement but a complete revolution in how they manage global liquidity.

SWIFT ISN'T ACTUALLY SLOW

One of the most surprising revelations from the episode directly challenges the conventional stablecoin narrative about SWIFT inefficiency.

Between major financial centers and established banks, SWIFT actually works remarkably well. Payments between institutions like Barclays and DBS Bank can settle in under 30 minutes for around $10. For these corridors, stablecoins offer marginal benefit at best.

The real challenges emerge when dealing with emerging markets, where the financial infrastructure differs fundamentally. Dollar scarcity, limited banking relationships, and restrictive central bank policies create enormous friction for businesses operating in these regions.

The situation becomes so dire that in some cases—like moving money from Nigeria to Ghana—physically withdrawing cash and driving it across the border is literally faster than using the banking system. This isn't hyperbole but a genuine business practice in parts of the world.

This insight reframes the entire stablecoin value proposition. The opportunity isn't making efficient corridors marginally better—it's making the impossible possible for billions of people in emerging economies.

BRIDGE'S $1.1B ACQUISITION
WAS UNDERVALUED

The episode provides fascinating insights into Bridge's business model and why Stripe's acquisition might ultimately prove to be a bargain.

Bridge's approach was deceptively simple yet revolutionary: providing named USD accounts, automatically converting incoming funds to stablecoins, moving them to self-custody, and enabling authenticated third-party payments from there.

This structure brilliantly shifted banking risk by removing dollar custody from the equation.

For banks, this eliminated concerns about FDIC insurance requirements, chargebacks, and ACH fraud.

For customers, especially in emerging markets, it solved the critical challenge of maintaining US banking relationships without running afoul of money transmission laws.

The model proved particularly valuable for global online sellers. Marketplaces like Amazon require vendors to have named USD accounts matching their business names—a requirement that previously locked out millions of entrepreneurs worldwide. By solving this seemingly simple but previously intractable problem, Bridge unlocked enormous economic value.

Berhan suggests this is analogous to Instagram's acquisition—initially questioned but ultimately recognized as one of tech's great bargains.

The key takeaway is that Bridge didn't just build payment tech; they unlocked a new paradigm for global commerce that traditional payment systems couldn't address.

DOMESTIC PAYMENTS
ARE THE NEXT FRONTIER

Perhaps the most forward-looking insight from the episode concerns stablecoins' application beyond cross-border payments.

While most stablecoin discussions focus exclusively on international transfers, Berhan reveals ongoing work with Anchorage to transform domestic US payment infrastructure.

Even in the world's most advanced economy, systems like ACH still take up to two days to settle, with persistent reliability issues.

Despite the introduction of FedNow, adoption remains limited. Critical financial activities like payroll still run predominantly on legacy systems. Stablecoin infrastructure could help leapfrog these limitations, fundamentally reimagining domestic payment flows.

The episode also touches on the largely untapped potential of programmability. Current stablecoin applications barely scratch the surface of what's possible. The discussion hints at a future where conditional payments, autonomous finance, and entirely new business models become possible—moving well beyond the simple "digital dollars" framing that dominates today's conversation.

To learn more about Keyrails, visit keyrails.com or watch the full episode with Berhan on Youtube or Spotify.

STABLEMINDED

Stable Spotlight Interviews

We are continuing to drop new episodes of our Stable Spotlight Interviews from ETH Denver. Catch up on these quick 8-12 minute conversations below:

• Maximizing Stablecoin Yields on Solana with Lulo

• Building Zero Gas Fee Blockchain Infrastructure with Skale

• Bitcoin + Stablecoins: The Return to the Mother Chain with Joltz

Co-Author Opportunity

A few weeks ago, we published “Top 8 Stablecoin Cards of 2025” with Austin Heaton from Rise. The feedback we received from the article was phenomenal, and we would like to bring on more guest authors to share their thoughts.

Stableguide

In case you missed it, a few weeks ago we launched Stableguide and have been adding more companies to the guide weekly.

Whether you're looking for infrastructure providers, payment platforms, or yield products, the Stableguide has you covered.

Until next time, stay stable,

Drew and Zach