Evolving Money

Financial innovation often races ahead of regulations, a trend seen in both the 1700s with Jonathan Swift's peer-to-peer loans and today's crypto surge. The podcast dives into how Swift's interest-free lending transformed Irish communities and the similar challenges faced by the cryptocurrency market. With a pro-crypto political shift in the U.S., there’s newfound hope for regulatory clarity. The discussion highlights the booming crypto participation among Americans, the necessity of stablecoin regulations, and the opportunities clearer frameworks could unlock for investors and consumers.

Oftentimes, even a revolutionary technological advancement is only the beginning of something bigger. Such was the case in the early 2000s, when the Royal Bank of Scotland released a mobile-banking app that precipitated not only the age of mobile banking, but a proliferation of other apps designed to give people easier access to and control over their money. The same phenomenon has happened since the Bitcoin whitepaper appeared: Beginning with a single game-changer, Bitcoin, the crypto space has blossomed with all manner of innovations: Not just other currencies like Ether, but entirely new ways of building, managing, and investing wealth.We’ll learn about the creation of the very first mobile banking app. Then, along with BlackRock’s Samara Cohen, we’ll dive into the world of new opportunities that crypto has opened up, from ETH and the Ethereum network, to smart contracts, tokenization, and the recent wave of crypto ETPs that have brought even more investors into the crypto space.

Join Jose Fernandez-Duponte, Senior Vice President of Digital Currencies at PayPal, as he dives into the transformative world of stablecoins. Discover how these cryptocurrencies, pegged to fiat currencies, are revolutionizing digital payments with faster, cheaper transactions. Jose discusses their potential across various scales, from big corporations to local businesses and even personal remittances. He also highlights the challenges and opportunities stablecoins present in a cashless economy, showcasing their role in addressing the gaps of traditional banking.

Jesse Pollack, VP of engineering at Coinbase and creator of Base, discusses the transformative potential of blockchain in the creator economy. He highlights how this technology can empower creators to regain ownership of their content and set their own revenue models, challenging traditional publishers. Pollack explores the historical context of copyright and its monopolistic implications, while also examining innovative on-chain platforms that deepen creator-fan relationships and foster community-driven content. It's a deep dive into reshaping how creators interact with their audiences.

Throughout history, financial markets have struggled with the issue of borders. Borders create friction, add cost and cause headaches for anyone who wants to spend money across them. On top of that, various national currencies can be wildly unstable. Could a borderless, global currency ease friction and enhance financial inclusion and stability around the world? Cryptocurrencies offer an intriguing possible solution to money’s border problem. And a particular kind of cryptocurrency, called stablecoins, could become a powerful medium of exchange for international payments - and offer people around the world increased economic freedom.

The costs of the paper check system – both in time and money – have been with us for centuries. But there’s a new technology called blockchain that looks as though it could provide a solution, with an online ledger that’s universally accessible and completely transparent. Blockchain also can't be hacked or altered and costs next to nothing. That may sound too good to be true, but a look back at how the paper check system was improved by the rise of digital money demonstrates that what sounds like a revolution today is often commonplace tomorrow. And blockchain may be the key to unlocking the future of money.

Why did Bitcoin move from a currency to an investable asset in just 15 years of existence? It was because of mainstream adoption by retail investors who believed there was money to be made. But behind that mania for all things crypto was a much more serious undertaking – the birth of a new asset class. Investors came to understand that there was a market for crypto, and that it behaved differently from other assets in their portfolios. It’s not the first time the monetary system has absorbed a new asset class. In fact, the rise of crypto has striking parallels to the creation of stocks in the 1600s. 

David Marcus, the former president of PayPal and current CEO of LightSpark, dives into the inefficiencies plaguing our global payment systems. He highlights the historical crises that led to innovations like banking and draws parallels to today's challenges. Marcus passionately discusses Bitcoin's potential to eliminate friction and build trust in financial transactions. Additionally, he explores the transformative role of blockchain technology and the Lightning Network in reshaping our monetary future, advocating for a more streamlined, digital-native approach.

Is cryptocurrency the next logical evolution of the monetary system? In Evolving Money, to explore whether we’re at an inflection point, we’ll look back at moments in the history of money when how we paid for things and stored value long-term changed for the better.