Benoit Boudier

In case you missed it, this goes far beyond stablecoins. We are witnessing the rise of new financial infrastructure aiming to upend traditional finance. Stripe’s announcement about Tempo, just a few days ago, isn’t a story about blockchain or stablecoin nerds. It cuts to the heart of what’s at stake: who will own the next generation of payment rails - and how much traditional players will stay relevant. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺 — Current blockchains aren’t payment-ready: Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana were built for trading, speculation, or decentralized apps, not high-volume, fiat-denominated payments. — Paying gas - transaction fees on blockchain - in crypto adds friction for businesses that primarily operate in USD or EUR. — Today’s blockchains can only handle a limited number of transactions per second: Bitcoin ~ 5, Ethereum ~ 20, and Solana ~1,000. Global payment networks, however, require 10,000+ to operate at scale. — Blockchains lack core payment features businesses depend on - batch pay-outs, metadata for reconciliation, or merchant privacy - making them difficult to use in real-world payment scenarios. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 With the right infrastructure purpose-built for payments, stablecoins have the potential to evolve into the next global payment rails 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗽𝗲’𝘀 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘆 — Tempo (announced Sep 2025): a new Layer-1 blockchain, incubated with crypto VC Paradigm, purpose-built for stablecoin payments. Independent governance, validator network, and partnerships. Vision: a decentralized SWIFT at internet scale. It delivers payment-network scale (100,000+ transactions per second), confirms transactions almost instantly, and allows fees to be paid directly in stablecoins. — Bridge (acquired Mar 2024): Infrastructure for stablecoin treasury, issuance, liquidity, and compliance. — Privy (acquired May 2023): Wallet and key management layer that abstracts blockchain complexity for end users. Together, Tempo, Bridge, and Privy form a vertically integrated stack - Stripe’s bid to deliver end-to-end infrastructure for stablecoin payments at internet scale. 𝗨𝘀𝗲 𝗖𝗮𝘀𝗲𝘀 — Business payments: Instant, low-cost cross-border payments, payroll, vendor settlements, remittances. — Programmable money: digital forms of currency that can be coded to move automatically - settling payments 24/7, enabling tiny transactions, or triggering transfers based on pre-set rules. — Embedded stablecoin wallets and payment cards with simple, consumer-friendly UX. — Plug-and-play APIs for fintechs and banks to build on stablecoin infrastructure. It will not happen in a day, but a lot is at stake: stablecoins challenge Visa and Mastercard on xborder flows, threaten SWIFT and correspondent banks in global transfers, and reduce the reliance on global treasury platforms (e.g. Kyriba, FIS, SAP). Opinions: my own Subscribe to my newsletter: https://lnkd.in/dkqhnxdg Register for my upcoming webinar: https://hubs.ly/Q03GpVF50

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Want to lead in tokenization? Map your strategy to Blockchain Law IV, MiFID II, and MiCAR now. Luxembourg is a central hub for tokenization in Europe, with a legal framework that aligns with EU regulations. It has built a reputation for innovation, especially in funds and real assets. Three key regulations are shaping this space: → Blockchain Law IV: Legal certainty for tokenized securities. → MiFID II: Protecting investors and ensuring market integrity. → MiCAR: Defining rules for crypto-assets and stablecoins. These frameworks unlock opportunities in securities, funds, and real estate. Success stories, like Franklin Templeton’s tokenized UCITS, highlight the potential. However, challenges remain: tax clarity, secondary market liquidity, and interoperability need solutions. How can you navigate this ecosystem? ✔️ Align your strategy with Blockchain Law IV, MiFID II, and MiCAR. ✔️ Collaborate early with the CSSF to ensure compliance. ✔️ Explore use cases like fractional ownership. ✔️ Participate in working groups tackling interoperability. Tokenization in Luxembourg isn’t just a trend-it’s an opportunity to lead the next wave of innovation. Which asset class excites you most for tokenization? Your downloadable report to be explored below. Joshua Nkansah, CFE, CertIA, CAFCA Geethika Loku Kodikara Arachchige Timothy Sherry CAMS Walmir Celestino Erik Lam Cedric Legendre Steve Muscat Azzopardi TEP Amna Alvi Mathieu D. Jinyoung Kim Andrey Kononov Xiao BRANDA Sara Berujon George Kortesis

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Stablecoins have rapidly moved from the sidelines into the centre of discussion for public cross-border payments companies. In Q2 2025, 72% of the 25 major players we analysed mentioned stablecoins in their earnings calls – a dramatic rise from just 16% the quarter before with virtually no talk of them before 2025. This represents one of the fastest upticks in attention we’ve seen, even compared with previous hype cycles such as AI. Notably, discussion is not just speculative. Many companies are linking stablecoins to real products and near-term launches, including Remitly, Visa, Payoneer, Western Union, dLocal, Citi, Corpay and Standard Chartered. PayPal and Visa also stand out for consistent mentions over the past two and a half years. The breadth and maturity of the discussion show that stablecoin adoption is advancing at pace in cross-border payments, with clear signs of practical integration already underway. Read our full report here to understand how each company is approaching stablecoins: https://lnkd.in/esaKsCz5 #Payments #Stablecoins #CrossBorder #Fintech #DigitalAssets

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Please read my new working paper on "Stablecoins – How will they impact financial centers?" In English: https://lnkd.in/e--6mKqZ In Chinese: https://lnkd.in/epiVxprK It contains data from a survey among the members of the World Alliance of International Financial Centers (WAIFC) on their expectations on the digital money landscape in 5-10 years: 1. We foresee a multipolar future in which there will be no clear winner among the three competitors: #CBDCs, #TokenizedDeposits, and regulated #Stablecoins. 2. CBDCs will become widespread, particularly in advanced and emerging economies. Wholesale CBDCs will likely see near-universal adoption among major central banks due to significant efficiency gains. Retail CBDCs will experience varied adoption, heavily dependent on design choices and public trust. 3. Regulated stablecoins are poised for massive growth if robust regulatory frameworks are implemented and enforced globally. 4. Tokenized deposits could become a significant force. They combine the trust of established banks with the efficiency of blockchain rails for settlements. 5. The future belongs not to a single form of digital money but to an integrated ecosystem where CBDCs, regulated stablecoins, tokenized deposits, and enhanced traditional systems interoperate seamlessly, driving efficiency, inclusion, and new economic opportunities on a global scale. Many thanks to the Asian Financial Corporation Association for publishing this article.

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Stablecoins are the new gold. Adoption is booming in Africa and globally. Had a productive conversation with Klaus Okunowski, Managing Director at C. Woermann Nigeria, about how stablecoins are solving big problems in the global market. Yellow Card - is not only tackling cross-border payment hurdles with their payment infrastructure but leading the charge in this space. #Stablecoins #Fintech #CrossBorderPayments #YellowCard

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🔐 Hacken, Blockchain Security Auditor 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝗦𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝗔𝘂𝗱𝗶𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 AllUnity’𝘀 𝗘𝗨𝗥𝗔𝗨 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗶𝗻 We again proof our institutional approach. As a regulated European fintech advancing the launch of #EURAU, a fully compliant euro-denominated stablecoin, we recognize that robust infrastructure and rigorous audit standards are essential to building trust in the evolving digital finance landscape. 🧾 𝗔𝘂𝗱𝗶𝘁 𝗛𝗶𝗴𝗵𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀: ✔️ 0 critical findings ✔️ 0 high-severity issues ✔️ 0 medium-severity issues ✔️ All low/informational items acknowledged, with remediation underway 💬 Peter Grosskopf, CTO / COO, AllUnity “Partnering with Hacken for our smart contract audit reflects our commitment to the highest standards of on-chain security. Their independent review reinforces confidence in the integrity of our infrastructure.” 💬 Turgay Arda Usman , Smart Contract Auditor, Hacken "The audited AllUnity token leverages proxy patterns for upgradability and incorporates robust administrative controls, including a comprehensive transfer blacklisting mechanism. These features together significantly enhance both operational flexibility and compliance management." This milestone underscores AllUnity’s dedication to secure, transparent, and MiCAR-aligned infrastructure, paving the way for a scalable and trusted digital euro ecosystem. 📄 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝘂𝗹𝗹 𝗮𝘂𝗱𝗶𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁: https://lnkd.in/eA3j6p7a 🔗 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝘂𝗹𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁: https://lnkd.in/eRd3NNFM For marketing purposes only. No regulatory review or approval. EMTs redeemable at par anytime. Full White Paper: https://lnkd.in/ewZPvcA4

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