Fintech at the Front, Onchain at the Back Ft. Eric Queathem & Marieke Flament

Stablecoins and tokenized real-world assets are fundamentally reshaping global treasury management and institutional finance. Financial institutions are increasingly adopting on-chain infrastructure to address inefficiencies in cross-border settlement, with major entities like BNY and various bank consortiums testing tokenized deposits to remain competitive. While regulators and traditional banks express concerns regarding yield-bearing products and deposit flight, these instruments serve as critical customer acquisition tools and liquidity solutions in a high-rate environment. The rise of programmable money, exemplified by Alipay’s cross-border flows and Tether’s strategic investments in gold and Bitcoin, signals a shift toward a multi-decade transition where traditional fiat systems integrate with decentralized rails. This evolution forces a reevaluation of how capital moves, settles, and earns returns, pushing banks to innovate or risk obsolescence in an increasingly digital, interoperable financial landscape.