Thank you everyone for joining us, and thank you Bo and Brian for being here today. Bo, you've been active in shaping conversations around digital assets and regulation as the CEO of USAT. How do you see the stablecoin landscape evolving in the US and globally?
Well, I'll start with my time in the White House as the executive director of the Crypto Council. David and I synced up on the transition team in November after President Trump had been reelected, and we mapped out a plan to deliver on the president's promises. He openly stated he wanted our country to be the crypto capital of the world, and we had a lot of work to do. The ways in which we move money in the US and globally have been archaic for quite some time. I liken it to how technologies evolved in communication – it changed rapidly over the last two decades, but the ways we move money really haven't. That's why what we're doing at Tether is so exciting: digital dollars with open corridors, expeditious transaction settlements, more cost-effective transactions. We wanted to see this injected into the US financial system, and that's why we spearheaded the GENIUS Act, which truly revolutionizes our system in the US in numerous ways. That was a massive accomplishment for the administration. I think it sets the standard globally for what we should be doing to address stablecoins. We'll continue to push forward. My former colleague Patrick Wit is now spearheading the Crypto Council in the US, and they're working on market structure legislation as well. All of these things will help shape the next generation of finance, and I believe Tether will be at the forefront. With USAT, this will be the first licensed stable product offered in the United States. We hope this becomes the institutional product, but also the product for the underserved and underbanked in our country and globally. We hope to create seamless interoperability between USAT and USDT. I think we'll do that rather quickly, and it will change the financial landscape for decades to come.
And Brian, you've recently joined Stable as co-CEO from the venture arm at Block One. What drew you to this role, and how do you see Stable's role in the stablecoin and payments landscape?
Joining Stable was a pretty big no-brainer for me. It was the right time. There was a lot of disruption that could be made, and I think Stable's technology stack is what's making it a leader in the payments rails. Stable has really focused on how to make payments using USDT as a currency that can be used globally. Without having a proper layer one dedicated to payments, we couldn't really get that scale. Talking with Paolo and everyone, the next milestone in digital currencies and stablecoins is to reach the $1 trillion mark. To do that, we need to have a system that's dedicated to build the infrastructure needed. So joining Stable was a very easy decision because we had a great team and great connections, and we're able to put forth that mission and deliver on it in a timely way.
Bo, from your perspective, what is the most important factor in building regulatory clarity for stablecoins, and what international impacts do you think the GENIUS Act has brought to the market?
The rules of the road have to be clear. For decades, founders in the digital asset space have been victims of policy through prosecution and persecution, at least in the US and globally in many jurisdictions. We wanted to create a clear regulatory framework that showed founders what they need to do to build and innovate. That same standard should be applied to other jurisdictions. With GENIUS, we have a clear reciprocity standard for the US. The Treasury sits over the top and defines what it means to be a dollar-backed stablecoin, meaning you have to be one-to-one backed, audited by a Big Five, show proof of reserves – all things that protect consumers, which we care deeply about at Tether. We'll be the first GENIUS-compliant stablecoin product offered in the United States, with Anchorage as our issuer. With this, you'll see widespread institutional adoption quickly. Banks will start offering these products and the custodian services that come with them. When David and I first set out in the White House, we envisioned tokenized public securities and 24/7 markets. Creating seamless on- and off-ramps between asset classes with dollar-backed stablecoins is immensely important for money flow globally. I think we're on the precipice of accomplishing that. They're working on legislation here and elsewhere. You'll see Europe mimic what we did in the US quickly. There's almost a firewall to the US capital markets – if you want to engage as we move toward tokenization, you'll have to use a dollar-backed stablecoin, which positions Tether with a unique advantage. USAT will be a tremendous complement to that with the corridors we have, almost 500 million users. We're hoping USAT becomes the institutional product offered in the US, and that will happen in short order.
Brian, how do you believe the GENIUS Act and emerging stablecoin regulations will influence Stable's role in shaping the future of the global payment system within the financial landscape?
I think the GENIUS Act was that watershed moment that blockchain has been looking for the past decade. To get institutions to use blockchain, crypto, and stablecoins, we needed regulatory compliance that could be followed. As Bo mentioned, globally the GENIUS Act is setting the standard that other countries and jurisdictions will follow to allow cryptocurrencies across borders, instant finality, and reinventing the financial system. We've all had issues transferring money across borders, and we haven't had an advancement in technology in so long. With the GENIUS Act, the government's passing it is a way to start that change. Institutions want coverage, so on the compliance side, to get banks on board, you need the certain layouts of how they can use the currency and what they'll be reporting.
Brian, one more question for you. Many chains aim to be general purpose, but Stable is laser focused on payments. How do you see Stable contributing to the future of global digital payments, and what advantages does it bring specifically?
At Stable, we focus on that payment level of layer one. With previous changes, there's a lot of congestion and fees, and you have to pay fees in a different token. That dual-token system with the volatility of the gas token makes it hard for financial institutions to adopt crypto. They don't want to take that risk. At Stable, we've put forth a payment system that allows institutions to use it with paying fees in USDT and trading USDT, so we have a faster system without the congestion, low fees, and peer-to-peer transfers are gas-free. Users can send money to each other without the congestion fees seen in current layer one protocols. The move to $1 trillion or having that killer app using crypto has been missing a dedicated system for payments, and I think it's Stable. The whole team is excited to develop this because we've all tried using crypto – user adoption has been great getting to the 260 billion mark, but we've been missing how to get people who aren't currently using crypto or stablecoins. Having a system like ours, whether it's the protocol or the apps built on it, enables those users who were wary or didn't know how to use private keys. We've abstracted that away and built a system that lets every user use crypto in a traditional sense.
Bo, from a policy lens, how important is it that stablecoin projects are working directly on the last mile of adoption, which is getting stablecoins into everyday payments?
The technology emerging from this space is starting to be injected into traditional financial institutions quickly. Folks are realizing this is the next generation of finance and how we move money. There's no longer scorn towards blockchain technology and public ledgers. Banks are getting more comfortable with understanding compliance in this new age. As we set out to create a regulatory standard in the US, we were super conscious that it needed to be clear and concise, which founders had echoed for some time. Our goal was to bring as many folks back onshore to the US, where we have the deepest capital markets, so they could build and innovate there. That's what we've done with GENIUS. The reciprocity standards being adopted globally will happen quickly, and you'll see these products offered by financial institutions moving large amounts globally in commodities trade, tokenized public securities, getting rid of intermediaries that cost businesses and consumers so much money. That changes the way we move money for years. Tether, as the Goliath in the space, is really excited about what Stable is building. We think they're a fantastic product and we're extremely excited to support their launch. Tether has been agnostic with layer ones, but a new and unique product like this is immensely exciting. We're looking forward to supporting them, and as we roll out USAT, there will be big announcements in the next couple of quarters, and Stable will play an integral role in how we move our product.
We're excited about it. With USAT and the rollout, you picked top partners. We're excited to provide a product to the globe using things like Anchorage in the background. USAT is really going to set itself apart because with institutions, having a platform that has a deep stack of not just technology but also institutional players is key to get banks and the safety and security of moving money. We're really excited to work with you and Paolo and everyone at Tether and USA. We're excited to see what happens.
