Bitcoin, Fiat & Rock'n'Roll

Alexander Bechtel, Michael Blaschke, Jonas Gross, Manuel Klein
  • 5.0 (1)
  • Business
  • Updated Biweekly

Digital currencies are here to stay. In this podcast, we dive into the world of the new money. We explore Bitcoin, stablecoins, central bank digital currencies, and many other innovations in the realm of digital currencies. For more information, visit: [http://alexanderbechtel.com/podcast](http://alexanderbechtel.com/podcast)

  1. 1d ago

    Leverage Needs Trust: Chuck Mounts on What Changes When Finance Moves On-Chain

    What keeps a financial system standing, and what changes when it moves on-chain? Stefan sits down with Chuck Mounts, who has seen finance from more chairs than most. He started as an international bank examiner at the New York Fed, spent almost two decades as a top-ranked sell-side analyst covering global banks at Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs and UBS, where he was global co-head of FICC research, and most recently served as Chief DeFi Officer at S&P Global. The two met in early September at the RWA Summit in Brooklyn and quickly found that they read the market the same way. Chuck speaks for himself in this episode. Chuck tells how he went from complete skeptic to convert: ten minutes into the Bitcoin white paper, which he read for a project on debt capital market structure, he knew that this technology could transform how markets work. He learned by doing, with his own wallet and real swaps and trades on DeFi protocols, and by upskilling a whole organization, executives included. From there the conversation turns to trust. Financial systems rest on leverage and opacity, and that is why finance works so differently from manufacturing. Blockchain can reduce opacity and counterparty risk through atomic settlement, while the leverage stays in the system. Chuck explains why he favors principles-based policy, why big shifts in policy usually need an external catalyst, and why he expects public blockchains to be where the momentum lands. The second half looks ahead. Chuck sees the meeting of agentic AI and on-chain execution as the most exciting development in markets: bespoke portfolios for individuals and companies, built, risk-managed and executed by agents, with the question of fiduciary responsibility to be answered first. Stefan adds his view that programmable money has switched sides, from the issuer to the user. They discuss stablecoins as a systemic risk, from Treasury holdings and yield curves to ripple effects across on-chain credit markets, and how tokenized deposits and CBDCs fit in. Along the way Chuck develops a new thought live on air: could a world of agents drawing on a thousand data sources change the nature of financial panics? The episode closes with his message to European regulators: keep enough room for entrepreneurs so that financial innovation happens in Europe. Enjoy the episode.

    Leverage Needs Trust: Chuck Mounts on What Changes When Finance Moves On-Chain

  2. Oct 18

    Public Blockchains: The Roadblocks to Institutional Adoption

    Public permissionless blockchains offer open, interoperable infrastructure—but create compliance and operational challenges for regulated financial institutions. Wee Kee Toh of Kinexys at J.P. Morgan and Michael Maurer of the MIT Digital Currency Initiative explore four key roadblocks: front-running, transaction censorship, unsolicited tokens and gas fees reaching sanctioned entities. They discuss potential safeguards, their limitations and why broader adoption requires collaboration between banks, blockchain developers and regulators.

    Public Blockchains: The Roadblocks to Institutional Adoption

  3. Oct 11

    Central Bankers Who Whisper: Nick Philpott on the Future of Stablecoins

    Why do stablecoins matter most where traditional banking works least? Nick Philpott explains how stablecoins are reshaping cross-border payments, FX and access to global money.

    Central Bankers Who Whisper: Nick Philpott on the Future of Stablecoins

  4. Oct 4

    The Stablecoin Payments Renovation is Still Under Construction

    Why have stablecoins not transformed payments yet? Jai Massari explains what Libra got right, how stablecoins differ from tokenized deposits and what still needs to change for mainstream adoption.

    The Stablecoin Payments Renovation is Still Under Construction

  5. Sep 27

    Pontes, Tokenized Stocks, and the Race for Digital Money Rails | Monthly Briefing

    September’s digital money briefing: Pontes launches, banks build tokenized deposit networks, stablecoins expand into banking, and tokenized equities bring crypto, exchanges and Wall Street closer together.

    Pontes, Tokenized Stocks, and the Race for Digital Money Rails | Monthly Briefing

  6. Sep 20

    Money Is Power, and Power Is Shifting: Marieke Flament on the Great Monetary Reset

    Bitcoin, Fiat & Rock'n'Roll

    Money Is Power, and Power Is Shifting: Marieke Flament on the Great Monetary Reset

  7. Sep 13

    Agentic Payments: When Is a Payment (Un)Authorized?

    Co-host Michael Blaschke’s solo stocktake after Sonja Davidovic (IMF) and Peter Grosskopf (AllUnity). Where stablecoins win, where cards keep chargebacks, and why PSD2 can’t tell you if your agent’s payment was authorized.

    Agentic Payments: When Is a Payment (Un)Authorized?

  8. Sep 6

    Commercial Bank Money Tokens: The Missing Piece of the Tokenized Economy?

    What are commercial bank money tokens, and why do corporates need them? Manfred Richels and Tim Bailey explain how CBMTs work and where they fit alongside stablecoins and CBDCs.

    Commercial Bank Money Tokens: The Missing Piece of the Tokenized Economy?
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About

Digital currencies are here to stay. In this podcast, we dive into the world of the new money. We explore Bitcoin, stablecoins, central bank digital currencies, and many other innovations in the realm of digital currencies. For more information, visit: [http://alexanderbechtel.com/podcast](http://alexanderbechtel.com/podcast)

Information

  • Creator
    Alexander Bechtel, Michael Blaschke, Jonas Gross, Manuel Klein
  • Years Active
    2019 - 2026
  • Episodes
    416
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Alexander Bechtel, Michael Blaschke, Jonas Gross, Manuel Klein
  • Show Website
    Bitcoin, Fiat & Rock'n'Roll

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