The Stablecoin Competition Is On. Who Will Be the Winners and Losers? - Ep. 920

In this episode of Unchained, Laura Shin hosts Rob Hadick and Mert Mumtaz to discuss the evolving landscape of stablecoins and stablechains. The conversation explores the incentives driving the proliferation of ecosystem-specific stablecoins, the potential for a future "rebundling" of tokens, and the competitive strategies of major players like Tether and Circle. The guests also delve into the impact of regulation, the role of distribution and brand recognition, and the challenges of building purpose-built blockchains for payments, as well as the potential for banks to enter the stablecoin market. The discussion concludes with a warning about the privacy implications of stablecoins. The episode also includes a news segment covering topics such as ICE's investment in PolyMarket, S&P's new crypto index, BNY Mellon's exploration of tokenized deposits, Grayscale's staking in Ether ETFs, and other developments in the crypto space.