On The Brink with Castle Island Stepan Simkin (Squads) on Stablecoin-Powered Financial Services (EP.688)
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Dec 1, 2025 Stepan Simkin, the founder of Squads and creator of Altitude, shares insights on stablecoin-powered financial services. He discusses the evolution of Squads to meet the asset treasury needs of businesses, particularly small to medium-sized ones. Stepan highlights the growing trend of businesses moving towards USD stablecoins for safe yield opportunities and streamlined payroll processes. He also explores how local banks might react to these changes, predicting a future dominated by fintech innovators while traditional banks struggle to adapt.
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Stablecoin-First Financial Infrastructure
- Squads positions itself as a stablecoin-powered financial services company building infrastructure for the stablecoin economy.
- Stepan frames value as being closer to the blockchain source to convert rails into secure business outcomes.
Value Lies Near The Chain
- Being closer to the blockchain source yields more long-term value than commoditized orchestration layers.
- End-to-end stablecoin settlement should replace multi-intermediary payment jujitsu for simple payments.
From Multisig Roots To Platform
- Squads began as a multisig product serving crypto-native protocols needing secure, shared accounts and workflows.
- That early demand built the capital-aggregation layer the company uses today.