Andrew O

North West based Business Angel and Investor. Lover of fresh eggs. Firm believer in family

[Chris Dixon @cdixon]

Stablecoins: Payments Without Intermediaries

The internet made information free and global. So why is it still so hard — and expensive — to move money?

The early internet promised a future where anyone could publish, build, or transact without permission. Protocols like email and the web were open and neutral — and they sparked an explosion of creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship. But somewhere along the way, we veered off course.

Today, the global financial system resembles a patchwork of corporate networks: centralized, closed, and extractive. Behind every transaction is a Rube Goldberg-machine of intermediaries — points of sale, payment processors, acquiring banks, issuing banks, local banks, correspondent banks, foreign exchanges, card networks, and others — each taking a cut, adding latency, and imposing rules. These networks levy unnecessary taxes on commerce and curb innovation. They turn what should be neutral plumbing into high-friction bottlenecks.

Stablecoins, or cryptocurrencies pegged to stable assets like the U.S. dollar, are a way out, a reset — a way to bring the internet’s original vision to money.

The Disruptive Opportunity of Stablecoins

The current payments stack wasn’t built for the internet — it was built for a world rife with fee-taking middlemen (who had been necessary to manage local partnerships, fraud, and operations). Even today, international remittances can cost up to 10% in fees. (A $200 remittance cost 6.62% on average in September 2024.) These aren’t just friction points — they’re effectively regressive taxes on some of the world’s poorest workers. The system we’ve inherited is slow, opaque, and exclusionary, and it leaves billions of people underserved or entirely cut off from the global financial system.

For many businesses, the inefficiencies of traditional payments are also massive. Stablecoins could dramatically improve the situation. B2B payments from Mexico to Vietnam take 3-to-7 days to clear and can cost anywhere from $14-to-$150 per $1000 transacted, passing through as many as five intermediaries along the way, each of whom takes a cut. Stablecoins could bypass legacy systems, like the international SWIFT network and associated clearing and settlement processes, and make such transactions nearly free and instant.

This isn’t theoretical — it’s already happening. Right now, companies like SpaceX are using stablecoins to manage their corporate treasuries (including by repatriating funds from countries with volatile local currencies, like Argentina and Nigeria). Other companies, like ScaleAI, are using stablecoins to make faster, cheaper payouts to global workforces. Meanwhile, on the B2C side, Stripe is the first widely used service to offer crypto payments and it is already offering 1.5% on checkout — half what incumbents charge. This could drastically improve certain businesses’ profit margins: As a16z crypto’s @SamBroner has shown, for a very low margin business like a grocery store, a 1.5% improvement could potentially double net income. (And in a competitive, blockchain-based market, I would expect transaction fees to go much lower.)

Unlike the old financial stack, which evolved in silos, stablecoins are global by default. They live on blockchains: open, programmable networks that anyone can build on. There’s no need to negotiate with dozens of banks across borders. You just plug into the network. People are already recognizing the advantages. In 2024, stablecoins moved $15.6 trillion in value, effectively matching Visa’s volume. While that figure mostly represents financial flows (versus retail payments), its magnitude still suggests we’re on the verge of a financial infrastructure shift, one that doesn’t rely on duct-taping 20th-century systems together.

Instead, we can build something new, something truly internet-native — or what Stripe calls “room-temperature superconductors for financial services,” where rather than lossless energy transmission, you get lossless value transmission.

The WhatsApp Moment for Money

Stablecoins are our first real shot at doing for money what email did for communication: make it open, instant, and borderless.

Consider the evolution of text messaging. Before apps like WhatsApp, sending a text across borders meant paying 30 cents per message. Even then, you were lucky if it actually got delivered. Then came internet-native messaging: instant, global, free. Payments are now where messaging was in 2008: Fragmented by borders. Burdened by middlemen. Gatekept by design.

Stablecoins offer a clean-slate alternative. Instead of stitching together clunky, costly, and outdated systems, stablecoins flow seamlessly on top of global blockchains. These systems are programmable, composable, and designed to scale across borders. Already, stablecoins are slashing the cost of remittances: Sending $200 from the U.S. to Columbia using traditional methods will cost you $12.13; with stablecoins, it costs $0.01. (Fees to convert from stablecoins to local currencies can range from as high as 5% to as low as 0%, and prices continue to fall due to competition.)

Just as WhatsApp disrupted costly international phone calls, blockchain payments and stablecoins are transforming global money transfers.

Regulation: From Bottleneck to Breakthrough

It’s tempting to frame regulation as an obstacle — but smart legislation is actually the unlock.

Clear rules of the road for stablecoins and crypto market structure could finally allow these technologies to move out of the sandbox and toward widespread adoption. For years, decentralized finance (DeFi) was trapped in a kind of self-contained, circular, “crypto-for-crypto” economy. Not because the tools weren’t useful, but because regulators made it incredibly difficult to bridge into traditional financial systems.

That’s changing. Policymakers are now actively shaping rules to recognize and regulate stablecoins in ways that maintain U.S. competitiveness, protect consumers, and allow innovation to flourish. Thoughtful regulation — like frameworks that differentiate network tokens from security tokens — can protect against bad actors while giving good actors the clarity they need to build. In fact, a forthcoming bill clarifying this regulation could pave the way for even broader adoption and integration into the global financial system. (Congress is hashing out the details as I write.)

Building Public Goods for Everyone’s Benefit

Traditional finance is built on private, closed networks. But the internet showed us the power of open protocols — like TCP/IP and email — to drive global coordination and innovation.

Blockchains are the internet’s native financial layer. They combine the composability of public protocols with the economic strength of private enterprise. They are credibly neutral, auditable, and programmable. Add stablecoins on top and you get something we’ve never really had before: open money infrastructure.

Think of it like a public highway system. Private companies can still build the vehicles, the businesses, the roadside attractions. But the roads themselves are neutral and open for everyone.

Blockchain networks and stablecoins are doing more than just cutting fees. They’re enabling new categories of software:

- Programmatic payments between machines: Imagine AI agent-powered marketplaces automatically brokering deals for computer resources and other services.

- Micropayments for media, music, and AI contributions: Imagine setting a budget with some simple rules and leaving it to “smart” wallets to disburse the payments.

- Transparent payouts with full audit trails: Imagine using these systems to track spending in government.

- Global commerce without a mess of intermediaries: Imagine settling international transactions instantly at negligible cost — in fact, you don’t have to imagine it as it’s already happening.

The moment for blockchain networks and stablecoins is now: Technology, market demand, and political will are lining up and making these applications a reality. A stablecoin bill could be on the floor this year, and regulatory agencies are weighing frameworks that finally align risk with the right oversight. In the same way that early internet startups were able to thrive once it was clear they wouldn’t be shut down by telcos or copyright lawyers, crypto is ready to cross the chasm from financial experiment to infrastructure backbone, with stablecoins leading the way.

We don’t have to patch the old system.

We can make a better one.

[Andrew O @3fourAO]

@Thomasslabbers @34AO

[Satya Nadella @satyanadella]

A couple reflections on the quantum computing breakthrough we just announced...

Most of us grew up learning there are three main types of matter that matter: solid, liquid, and gas. Today, that changed.

After a nearly 20 year pursuit, we’ve created an entirely new state of matter, unlocked by a new class of materials, topoconductors, that enable a fundamental leap in computing.

It powers Majorana 1, the first quantum processing unit built on a topological core.

We believe this breakthrough will allow us to create a truly meaningful quantum computer not in decades, as some have predicted, but in years.

The qubits created with topoconductors are faster, more reliable, and smaller.

They are 1/100th of a millimeter, meaning we now have a clear path to a million-qubit processor.

Imagine a chip that can fit in the palm of your hand yet is capable of solving problems that even all the computers on Earth today combined could not!

Sometimes researchers have to work on things for decades to make progress possible.

It takes patience and persistence to have big impact in the world.

And I am glad we get the opportunity to do just that at Microsoft.

This is our focus: When productivity rises, economies grow faster, benefiting every sector and every corner of the globe.

It’s not about hyping tech; it’s about building technology that truly serves the world.

[Rob Moore @robprogressive]

The two WORST kinds of people to tax are the young and the old

Yet Labour have just added 3 taxes to education & pensions are taxed

When did the U.K. stop caring about its own people?

[Andrew O @3fourAO]

If approved, this change could pave the way for other Bitcoin ETFs to follow suit, helping bring crypto closer to traditional finance and attracting more investors to the market.

[CoinDesk @CoinDesk]

JUST IN: Nasdaq has filed to allow "in-kind" creation and redemption for the @BlackRock iShares Bitcoin Trust $IBIT, which would let authorized participants buy and redeem shares of the fund directly in BTC. @sndr_krisztian and @HeleneBraunn report
https://t.co/sRLdJIx9BN

[Andrew O @3fourAO]

Incredible. Wonder if it can be adapted for footie 🤔

[Todd Jacob @thetoddjacob]

Shout out to the guys over at Sideline Talks for video and inspiration for this thread!

Check them out and subscribe to their youtube!

https://t.co/8sDVE6SbHi

[Michael Saylor @saylor]

What's The Problem?

[Balaji @balajis]

The Internet is a globally integrated market, and everyone really is in competition (and collaboration!) with everyone else.

After all: your followers are global, your customers are global, your supply chain is global, and your contractors are global.

Billions of people do remote work, video chat, social networking, and online payments every day.

They log into their apps much more frequently than they salute their flag. They know fellow social network users, but not their next door neighbors.

No borders of legacy states were set up with the Internet in mind. They all assume people who live near each other share the same values, but they don’t anymore. Only social network neighbors do.

So: neither socialists nor nationalists have the conceptual framework to deal with the Internet, because all their ideas were developed when there was a land but no cloud.

There are, however, two factions who take the Internet seriously: China and Crypto.

Because they have the Great Firewall and the Blockchain respectively. These are very different types of fortifications that both treat the digital realm as something to be defended, walled off, and protected.

The Chinese strategy is to vertically integrate their nation, state, and network. 99% of the Han Chinese nation are governed by the Communist Party-State and use only the apps allowed on the Chinese network.

The crypto strategy, by contrast, is to make software so secure that it can run in the open, on every computer in the world, and be simultaneously available to every individual and secure against any state attack.

China represents nationalist socialism.
Crypto represents international capitalism.

[Nassim Nicholas Taleb @nntaleb]

Never threaten when angry
Never promise when joyful
Never plan when gloomy
Never reply when tired
Never buy when euphoric

[?]

[David Sacks @DavidSacks]

Details:
— In the earliest days of a startup, it’s possible for a small team to remain continuously connected electronically. This create false confidence in remote. It doesn’t scale. By the time the startup has hundreds of employees, full remote completely breaks down.
— There are a few counter-examples that are always cited; the fact that it’s always the same one (eg GitLab) should tell you something. This is not a mass-market solution for effective company-building.
— Maybe 10% of the roles in a company can naturally be remote. These are (1) 10x engineers whose code check-ins are obvious and (2) field sales reps who live in their territories and close large enterprise deals (the $ value of which are also obvious). In these cases, the onus is still on the employee to spend enough time at HQ (at least once/quarter) to stay acculturated.
— What makes these remote cases justified is that achievement is largely individual and fairly obvious. By contrast, the contribution of most employees is often subtle to measure and depends on a team dynamic. Hence the importance of being together in an actively managed environment.
— Full remote companies are dominated by a feeling of atomization. Their founders will often complain that it’s hard to get the company culture to gell, or to get all the employees aligned around the new strategy, or to adequately share information even though it’s already been shared many times before. These problems largely go away when you’re collocated — or at least require much less energy to solve.
— The value of “managing by walking around” cannot be underestimated for a founder. Founders solve problems, make course corrections, and save the team a lot of work going down a wrong path. Founders also have a different level of energy, enthusiasm and work ethic. As the company scales, the number of employees who can be touched by founder enthusiasm has a direct impact on performance.
— Most startups seeking to correct from a Remote strategy will want to move to Hubs. Hubs concede that it’s not possible for everyone to be in one location but try to limit the number of locations. An effective Hub will at least collocate everyone on the same team or function. Eg, a call center in Salt Lake. An engineering team in Eastern Europe. A sales office in London. These are all viable strategies.
— A Hub is only as good as its leadership. A headless Hub will not work. Moreover, mid-level managers need to sit with their teams. A manager who is remote while their team is at a Hub is worthless. Ambitious executives will prioritize moving over WFH.
— Headcount reductions provide an opportunity for startups to reorganize around Hubs. Take this opportunity to create a strong HQ with a very limited number of Hubs. Ideally all of the most strategic functions in the company are still at a central HQ, with Hubs used for supporting functions.
— Now that you know the truth, act on it. Founders have far more agency to change any aspect of their company than they often believe. Current macroeconomic conditions mean that there will never be a better time to make these changes for the future of your company. If you act, the benefits will compound over time.

[Fabrizio Romano @FabrizioRomano]

Leo Messi scores and becomes the all-time top scorer in the 5 major European leagues history. 496 goals. ✨🇦🇷 #Messi

[David Sacks @DavidSacks]

From @bennyjohnson: “Donald Trump is going to do a Twitter Space. Donald Trump is coming back to Twitter… The Ron DeSantis announcement inside of Spaces has really been an accelerant to that decision… There’s absolutely no way he’s going to be one-upped on this… I have that effectively confirmed from the highest levels of his campaign.”

[Andrew O @3fourAO]

@JuliaHB1 Do as I say …..🤷🏿‍♂️😂

[Anthony Pompliano 🌪 @APompliano]

Learn to say "no" and not feel guilty

[Andrew O @3fourAO]

@zerohedge That’s my next day delivery screwed 😏

[Peter H. Diamandis, MD @PeterDiamandis]

If you want a positive mindset, hang out with positive-minded individuals. When you surround yourself with highly driven people, you’ll tend to push harder to achieve your goals.

[Bankless @Bankless]

🚨🚨🚨
The Bankless @YouTube account 'has been terminated'
🪓
No warning.
No notification.
No justification

150,000 subs
10,000+ hours of content

Hey @YouTube, our community would like a word!

RETWEET to let YouTube hear you: It’s not okay to ban crypto content

[Tessa Davis @TessaRDavis]

The most powerful feature that Twitter has:

Advanced search

Until recently I hadn't even heard of it, but now I use it all the time.

Here are 6 twitter advanced search features that will revolutionise the way you search for what to read: 🧵👇

[Imran Lakha | Options Insight @options_insight]

0/ Last week was a great example of how positioning can over-ride fundamentals when it comes to short term market direction.

Make sure you stay up-to-date with this week’s Macro Roundup 🧵⤵️

[Imran Lakha | Options Insight @options_insight]

10/ If you like this thread pls RT and be sure to try out our community by joining our FREE Discord group chat (https://t.co/L7zwd9BPAs) to join the conversation and get info like this & more in real-time.