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Episode Brief: Stablecoins Are Becoming Everyday Money w/ Chris Harmse and Anthony Yim

Stablecoins are usually analyzed through on-chain flows and macro dashboards. This conversation argues that lens is incomplete for predicting adoption because it misses the “user story”: what stablecoin holders actually try to do with them, and what blocks them.

The throughline is that stablecoins start to look like everyday money for early adopters, but usage is still constrained by where stablecoin rails show up in real products. The next adoption step is less about convincing users stablecoins matter, and more about embedding stablecoin capabilities into familiar apps and payment flows where people already have trust and distribution.

Core ideas

• Stablecoins behave like “everyday money” for a meaningful slice of early holders. Chris points to survey results including 39% saying they get paid in stablecoins (including P2P and professional income) and 27% saying they use stablecoins for payments, with digital goods/subscriptions showing up as a notable spend category.
• Stablecoin growth shows an “integration gap”: willingness outpaces spendability. More respondents want to use stablecoins for certain purchases than currently can, implying acceptance and embedded flows are the bottleneck.
• Distribution looks like the near-term lever. The “77% would open a stablecoin wallet with their primary fintech provider” stat is interpreted as: don’t force a net-new app, add a new rail to an existing trusted surface.
• Developed and emerging markets converge on the same driver: utility, with different shapes. Emerging markets skew toward inflation escape and weaker banking access; developed markets skew toward speed, fees, and convenience. Anthony’s takeaway is that developed-market demand is more real than many assume.
• Most users care about outcomes, not the rail, but some will demand clarity. Anthony presses the question of whether users even need to know it’s stablecoins. Raj argues most won’t, but a smaller, vocal segment will scrutinize terms/FAQs and expect transparency and controls.

What this changes

• For fintechs, banks, and PSPs: the battleground is product embedding. Stablecoins win by showing up inside existing user journeys rather than requiring separate “stablecoin apps.”
• For builders: sub-1% penetration is both proof the payments use case is real and evidence the surface area is still wide open, assuming integration barriers can be reduced.
• For anyone monetizing settlement latency: instant cash-out is the concrete example of how slow settlement creates fee pools, and why always-on settlement pressures those economics.

If you listen, listen for this

The underyling thesis is that stablecoins don’t need to feel like “crypto” to grow. The survey shows that early holders already want normal financial tasks (get paid, pay, move money) to work better, and the real limiter is whether stablecoin rails are integrated into the trusted apps and flows people already use. Incumbents have an advantage here.