Money Code

Stablecon

The future of finance is digital. Welcome to Money Code, the show that decodes stablecoins and the evolution of programmable money for builders, investors, and decision-makers. Each week, join hosts Chuk Okpalugo, Author of Stablecoin Blueprint and Raj Parekh, Head of Payments/Stablecoins at Monad Foundation as they break down the systems and strategies of seasoned operators in the space, revealing the insights you need for better build and buy decisions.

  1. 2 DAYS AGO

    Crypto Payments Won't Scale Without Convenience w/ Davi Strazza (Lightspark)

    Presented by Stablecon; Powered by BVNK. In this episode of Money Code, hosts Chuk Okpalugo and Raj Parekh sit down with Davi Strazza, Chief Business Officer at Lightspark, an 11-year Adyen veteran who helped grow the company from $30B to over $1.3T in payments volume before joining a 50-person startup building on Bitcoin rails. They unpack why Davi believes the moment to rebuild payments infrastructure from first principles is now, how Lightspark uses Bitcoin as an invisible transport layer to move money across 65 countries, and why crypto will never reach the scale it deserves unless it becomes as easy as tapping a card. Subscribe and listen to the Money Code podcast here: https://lnk.to/MoneyCodeSN Chapters 00:00 Why leave $1.3T in payments for a 50-person startup? 02:44 Three problem spaces, one infrastructure play 05:55 The Bitcoin sandwich: fiat in, crypto transport, fiat out 09:41 "Bitcoin is volatile" — why sub-second settlement changes the math 12:39 The import-exporter who flies cash on planes 17:02 B2B is the bigger prize: treasury, payroll, creator payouts 21:39 "The plumbing is necessary — it's just not sufficient" 26:47 Are we innovating in the right place? 30:38 Adyen lessons: education is the go-to-market bottleneck 34:35 The Frankenstein problem: why global expansion is cultural 38:37 Agentic payments: infrastructure is ahead of product 44:40 Fintech is 1% built — where does all the money go? Connect with the Hosts & Guest Chuk Okpalugo: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chuk-okpalugo/ | https://x.com/chuk_xyz/ | http://stablecoinblueprint.com Raj Parekh: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rajparekh7/ | https://x.com/rajparekh | http://monad.xyz Davi Strazza: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davistrazza/ | https://x.com/davistrazza About Stablecon Stablecon (https://stablecon.com/) is the premier gathering for those at the intersection of DeFi, economic policy, financial infrastructure, and institutional integration, and those reinventing global commerce. By convening the brightest minds in fintech and crypto, Stablecon provides attendees with world class thought leadership and fosters unparalleled networking and strategic collaboration across the digital payments industry. Whether you're building, advising, or navigating this new frontier, this is the room where it happens. About BVNK BVNK is the leading provider of stablecoin payments infrastructure, helping businesses move money faster, settle globally, and even launch their own stablecoin products. Head to https://bvnk.com/ to learn more.

    1 hr

  2. 23 APR

    Why x402 Captures Zero Value w/ Erik Reppel (Coinbase)

    Presented by Stablecon; Powered by BVNK. In this episode of Money Code, hosts Chuk Okpalugo and Raj Parekh sit down with Erik Reppel, Head of Engineering for Coinbase's Developer Platform and the creator of x402 — the open payment protocol that just joined the Linux Foundation with Google, Stripe, Visa, Mastercard, AWS, and Cloudflare as founding members. They unpack why Erik designed x402 to capture zero value, how "the wallet is a universal API key" that eliminates sign-up friction for a new class of non-technical builders, and what the "agentic premium" means for companies leaving money on the table with free tiers. Subscribe and listen to the Money Code podcast here: https://lnk.to/MoneyCodeSN Chapters 00:00 The Foundation: "phase two of three of our secret master plan" 02:03 What x402 actually does: "a standard way of telling a computer how to pay you" 03:36 The mechanism: how declaration is decoupled from the rail 06:03 Inside the stack: facilitators, SDKs, and 13 live implementations 09:09 Why agents can't be on both sides of every payment integration 16:50 The ad model is breaking — how publishers monetize agent traffic 20:38 The Claude cowork class: "the people who find x402 most valuable are not developers" 24:51 "The wallet is a universal API key" 30:44 The agentic premium: charging more per request than subscriptions 32:54 Where to build: Solana at 65% of volume and why it's hard to measure 39:59 Value creation, not value capture: why one open standard is the goal 44:41 VHS vs Betamax: simplicity as the path to critical mass 48:17 Where to find Erik and x402 Connect with the Hosts & Guest Chuk Okpalugo: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chuk-okpalugo/ | https://x.com/chuk_xyz/ | http://stablecoinblueprint.com Raj Parekh: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rajparekh7/ | https://x.com/rajparekh | http://monad.xyz Erik Reppel: https://x.com/programmer | https://x402.org | https://cdp.coinbase.com About Stablecon Stablecon (https://stablecon.com/) is the premier gathering for those at the intersection of DeFi, economic policy, financial infrastructure, and institutional integration, and those reinventing global commerce. By convening the brightest minds in fintech and crypto, Stablecon provides attendees with world class thought leadership and fosters unparalleled networking and strategic collaboration across the digital payments industry. Whether you're building, advising, or navigating this new frontier, this is the room where it happens. About BVNK BVNK is the leading provider of stablecoin payments infrastructure, helping businesses move money faster, settle globally, and even launch their own stablecoin products. Head to https://bvnk.com/ to learn more.

    50 min

  3. 16 APR

    Stablecoins Need a Clearing Layer w/ Sam Broner (Better Money Company)

    Presented by Stablecon; Powered by BVNK. In this episode of Money Code, hosts Chuk Okpalugo and Raj Parekh sit down with Sam Broner, co-founder and CEO of the Better Money Company and former investment partner at a16z crypto. They unpack why swapping one stablecoin for another today is like "selling Wells Fargo dollars to buy Bank of America dollars," why fungibility is the missing layer that turns stablecoins into real money, and what changes when AI agents show up needing to pay without a credit history. Subscribe and listen to the Money Code podcast here: https://lnk.to/MoneyCodeSN Chapters 00:00 The stablecoin clearinghouse: BMC's 30-second pitch 01:24 "Selling Wells Fargo dollars to buy Bank of America dollars" 04:41 M&A merry-go-round: who builds vs. who buys 07:24 "We sell trust" — what payments companies actually need 10:05 Tourists in the Bazaar: why agents can't use credit rails 14:07 From ChatGPT to Cisco: how agent payment terms evolve 16:03 Protocol wars and intelligence at the edge 18:30 The incentive puzzle: why interchange fees exist 22:10 Emerging vs. developed markets: two different products 24:32 The innovator's dilemma: incumbents won't cannibalize 26:53 Five Bells Tavern: 200 years of clearing history in 5 minutes 29:15 Custom stablecoins, treasury management, and the partner list 35:49 No slippage vs. no fee: how BMC makes money 40:59 The endgame: "just see your dollar balance" Connect with the Hosts & Guest Chuk Okpalugo: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chuk-okpalugo/ | https://x.com/chuk_xyz/ | http://stablecoinblueprint.com Raj Parekh: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rajparekh7/ | https://x.com/rajparekh | http://monad.xyz Sam Broner: https://x.com/SamBroner | https://www.linkedin.com/in/sambroner/ | https://bettermoney.com About Stablecon Stablecon (https://stablecon.com/) is the premier gathering for those at the intersection of DeFi, economic policy, financial infrastructure, and institutional integration, and those reinventing global commerce. By convening the brightest minds in fintech and crypto, Stablecon provides attendees with world class thought leadership and fosters unparalleled networking and strategic collaboration across the digital payments industry. Whether you're building, advising, or navigating this new frontier, this is the room where it happens. About BVNK BVNK is the leading provider of stablecoin payments infrastructure, helping businesses move money faster, settle globally, and even launch their own stablecoin products. Head to https://bvnk.com/ to learn more.

    47 min

  4. 9 APR

    What Stablecoins Actually Fix in Cross-Border Payments w/ Rowland Berry (Payoneer)

    Presented by Stablecon; Powered by BVNK. In episode 27 of Money Code, hosts Chuk Okpalugo and Raj Parekh sit down with Rowland Berry, VP of Strategic Partnerships at Payoneer, a cross-border payments platform that moves $90B annually for nearly 2 million small businesses across 190+ countries. They unpack what 18 months of evaluating the stablecoin space revealed: where stablecoins genuinely upgrade cross-border infrastructure, why off-ramps remain the hardest unsolved problem, and how Payoneer's closed-loop token PAYO-USD will work inside the wallet flows their customers already use. Subscribe and listen to the Money Code podcast here: https://lnk.to/MoneyCodeSN Chapters 00:00 Two big moves: Bridge partnership and an OCC trust charter 02:05 How Payoneer actually works: $90B, 2M SMBs, 20 years of rails 06:13 Separating signal from noise: where stablecoins deliver real value 08:49 "Will it get cheaper?" — what the waitlist customers actually asked 10:16 Off-ramps aren't solved: last-mile delivery as the real unlock 14:28 Not a new business model — an infrastructure evolution 16:34 Why Bridge was a speed-to-market play 19:25 "They want trust, not keys" — what SMBs actually need 24:34 The OCC trust charter and what PAYO-USD unlocks 30:44 "Yield is not the north star" — reserve management philosophy 36:10 Stripe, PayPal, SoFi: how the market is evolving 43:26 Builder advice: unhappy flows and building with ambiguity Connect with the Hosts & Guest Chuk Okpalugo: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chuk-okpalugo/ | https://x.com/chuk_xyz/ | http://stablecoinblueprint.com Raj Parekh: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rajparekh7/ | https://x.com/rajparekh | http://monad.xyz Rowland Berry: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rowlandberry/ About Stablecon Stablecon (https://stablecon.com/) is the premier gathering for those at the intersection of DeFi, economic policy, financial infrastructure, and institutional integration, and those reinventing global commerce. By convening the brightest minds in fintech and crypto, Stablecon provides attendees with world class thought leadership and fosters unparalleled networking and strategic collaboration across the digital payments industry. Whether you're building, advising, or navigating this new frontier, this is the room where it happens. About BVNK BVNK is the leading provider of stablecoin payments infrastructure, helping businesses move money faster, settle globally, and even launch their own stablecoin products. Head to https://bvnk.com/ to learn more.

    48 min

  5. 2 APR

    Stablecoin M&A: There's no Winner-Take-All w/ Itai Turbahn (Dynamic / Fireblocks)

    Presented by Stablecon; Powered by BVNK. In this episode of Money Code, hosts Chuk Okpalugo and Raj Parekh sit down with Itai Turbahn, founder and CEO of Dynamic (now part of Fireblocks), where his team builds the embedded wallet infrastructure that lets developers spin up global money movement in hours instead of years. They unpack why the world's largest companies are building their own payment networks (YouTube alone has paid out billions to creators), what happens when the tech cost approaches zero but cryptography, security, and compliance stay hard, and why the M&A frenzy from Mastercard-BVNK to Fireblocks-Dynamic has every player attacking global finance from a different angle. Subscribe and listen to the Money Code podcast here: https://lnk.to/MoneyCodeSN Chapters 00:00 What is Dynamic? Embedded wallets as the Twilio of money movement 02:15 From crypto-native UX fix to global financial primitive 07:37 The full stack: wallets, on/off ramps, liquidity, licensing - and why enterprises don't want Lego blocks 10:52 "Build a global Venmo in an hour": remittance, payroll, B2B, and the CeFi-DeFi bridge 14:23 Earn yield, issue a card, off-ramp to local currency - the embedded wallet bundle 17:55 "Don't roll your own cryptography": what AI and cloud code can't solve 22:36 "Our industry should be boring" - trust at scale and the fintech reframe 25:35 YouTube's $100B payout problem: payments as innovation, not risk management 29:42 No winner-take-all: why M&A is chaotic and that's the point 36:22 "More opportunities to build now, not less" Connect with the Hosts & Guest Chuk Okpalugo: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chuk-okpalugo/ | https://x.com/chuk_xyz/ | http://stablecoinblueprint.com Raj Parekh: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rajparekh7/ | https://x.com/rajparekh | http://monad.xyz Itai Turbahn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/turbahn/ | https://x.com/turbahn | https://dynamic.xyz | https://fireblocks.com About Stablecon Stablecon (https://stablecon.com/) is the premier gathering for those at the intersection of DeFi, economic policy, financial infrastructure, and institutional integration, and those reinventing global commerce. By convening the brightest minds in fintech and crypto, Stablecon provides attendees with world class thought leadership and fosters unparalleled networking and strategic collaboration across the digital payments industry. Whether you're building, advising, or navigating this new frontier, this is the room where it happens. About BVNK BVNK is the leading provider of stablecoin payments infrastructure, helping businesses move money faster, settle globally, and even launch their own stablecoin products. Head to https://bvnk.com/ to learn more.

    38 min

  6. 26 MAR

    How Should Banks Respond to Stablecoins w/ Chris Dean (Treasury Prime)

    Presented by Stablecon; Powered by BVNK.  In episode 25 of Money Code, hosts Chuk Okpalugo and Raj Parekh are joined by Chris Dean, CEO and co-founder at Treasury Prime. They unpack why bank “slowness” is mostly a risk and proof problem, how fintechs actually use banks for deposits/credit/payments, and how stablecoins and newer, tech-first banks will reshape the US banking landscape. Subscribe and listen to the Money Code podcast here: https://lnk.to/MoneyCodeSN Chapters 00:00 Banks are slow because change equals risk 02:26 Which banks move fast and why leadership matters 05:33 Treasury Prime’s role between banks and fintechs 09:16 The 3 fintech JTBD buckets: deposits, credit, payments 12:09 How fintech partnerships defend community banks from big-bank pressure 15:01 Stablecoins as deposit threat vs “just another rail” 17:43 The banker pitch: stablecoins are already in your flows 24:22 Where US banking goes next: de novos, charters, consolidation 27:21 Why running a bank stays expensive even with AI 32:25 What a “core” actually is and why regulators resist replacement 35:23 Are blockchains the answer, or do they create new reconciliation failure modes? 44:17 The practical playbook: start with stablecoin pay-in/pay-out Connect with the Hosts & Guest Chuk Okpalugo: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chuk-okpalugo/ | https://x.com/chuk_xyz/ | http://stablecoinblueprint.com  Raj Parekh: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rajparekh7/ | https://x.com/rajparekh | http://monad.xyz  Chris Dean: https://www.treasuryprime.com/  About Stablecon Stablecon (https://stablecon.com/) is the premier gathering for those at the intersection of DeFi, economic policy, financial infrastructure, and institutional integration, and those reinventing global commerce. By convening the brightest minds in fintech and crypto, Stablecon provides attendees with world class thought leadership and fosters unparalleled networking and strategic collaboration across the digital payments industry.   Whether you’re building, advising, or navigating this new frontier, this is the room where it happens. About BVNK BVNK is the leading provider of stablecoin payments infrastructure, helping businesses move money faster, settle globally, and even launch their own stablecoin products. Head to https://bvnk.com/ to learn more.

    48 min

  7. 20 MAR

    Breaking Down Mastercard’s BVNK Acquisition

    Presented by Stablecon; Powered by BVNK. In this Special Edition episode of Money Code we break down MasterCard’s planned acquisition of BVNK and what it signals about stablecoins shifting from a niche rail to mainstream payments infrastructure. We hear why bridging fiat and stablecoins, plus interoperability and compliance, is the real work behind faster global money movement. Subscribe and listen to the Money Code podcast here: https://lnk.to/MoneyCodeSN 0:00 Opening 0:13 Breaking News On The Acquisition 0:41 MasterCard’s Digital Currency Strategy 2:31 Why Stablecoin Payments Are Growing 5:35 Crypto Cards And Stablecoin Settlement 9:39 What BVNK Gains From MasterCard 12:27 Interoperability And Tokenized Deposits 15:30 Closing Timeline And Final Takeaways Connect with the Hosts & Guest Chuk Okpalugo: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chuk-okpalugo/ | https://x.com/chuk_xyz/ | http://stablecoinblueprint.com  Raj Parekh: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rajparekh7/ | https://x.com/rajparekh | http://monad.xyz  About Stablecon Stablecon (https://stablecon.com/) is the premier gathering for those at the intersection of DeFi, economic policy, financial infrastructure, and institutional integration, and those reinventing global commerce. By convening the brightest minds in fintech and crypto, Stablecon provides attendees with world class thought leadership and fosters unparalleled networking and strategic collaboration across the digital payments industry.  Whether you’re building, advising, or navigating this new frontier, this is the room where it happens. About BVNKBVNK is the leading provider of stablecoin payments infrastructure, helping businesses move money faster, settle globally, and even launch their own stablecoin products. Head to https://bvnk.com/ to learn more.

    16 min

  8. 19 MAR

    70 Countries Without a Single Download w/ May Zabeneh (PayPal)

    Presented by Stablecon; Powered by BVNK. In this episode of Money Code, hosts Chuk Okpalugo and Raj Parekh sit down with May Zabeneh, SVP and GM of Crypto at PayPal, where she's building the playbook for how a major fintech embeds stablecoins into existing payment infrastructure. They unpack how PayPal enabled stablecoins in millions of wallets and the bets they hope to pay off, how "disrupting yourself is painful but important for long-term success," and why the best stablecoin strategy might be one where nobody needs to say the word "crypto." Subscribe and listen to the Money Code podcast here: https://lnk.to/MoneyCodeSN Chapters 00:00 PYUSD goes live in 70 countries - and users don't need to do anything 01:48 Why custodial stablecoins are harder than open wallets 04:25 "They can't even hold balance today": the utility unlock 07:52 Should crypto and stablecoins even share a name? 11:23 Foundations before flywheel: hold, earn, send, spend - in that order 14:56 Payouts as the Trojan horse: gig workers and Google creators 17:36 "There were times we were trying to do too much" 20:15 No playbook existed - PayPal had to write it 23:50 Disrupting yourself inside a public company 28:12 "You don't need to touch crypto": abstracting it away for merchants 32:37 The Skype analogy: interoperability as the real growth driver 35:42 AI agents will need programmable money - but not yet 41:50 Success means stablecoins become invisible infrastructure Connect with the Hosts & Guest Chuk Okpalugo: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chuk-okpalugo/ | https://x.com/chuk_xyz/ | http://stablecoinblueprint.com Raj Parekh: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rajparekh7/ | https://x.com/rajparekh | http://monad.xyz May Zabeneh: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mayzabaneh/ | http://paypal.com/ About Stablecon Stablecon (https://stablecon.com/) is the premier gathering for those at the intersection of DeFi, economic policy, financial infrastructure, and institutional integration, and those reinventing global commerce. By convening the brightest minds in fintech and crypto, Stablecon provides attendees with world class thought leadership and fosters unparalleled networking and strategic collaboration across the digital payments industry. Whether you're building, advising, or navigating this new frontier, this is the room where it happens. About BVNK BVNK is the leading provider of stablecoin payments infrastructure, helping businesses move money faster, settle globally, and even launch their own stablecoin products. Head to https://bvnk.com/ to learn more.

    46 min
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About

The future of finance is digital. Welcome to Money Code, the show that decodes stablecoins and the evolution of programmable money for builders, investors, and decision-makers. Each week, join hosts Chuk Okpalugo, Author of Stablecoin Blueprint and Raj Parekh, Head of Payments/Stablecoins at Monad Foundation as they break down the systems and strategies of seasoned operators in the space, revealing the insights you need for better build and buy decisions.

Information

  • Creator
    Stablecon
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    32
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Stablecon
  • Show Website
    Money Code

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