Austin Campbell: A Primer on Stablecoins - [Web3 Breakdowns, EP.61]

This is Eric Golden and my guest today is Austin Campbell. Between my time working at Fidelity on money market funds and my passion for blockchain technology, I became obsessed with the idea of Stablecoins. Stablecoins can serve as a means of payment and a store of value for transactions. They also act as the bridge between the traditional finance system and the digital world. After my interview with Mike Dudas, I asked, who is the smartest person I can talk to about Stablecoins? He instantly responded, you need to speak with Austin and as you'll hear, I think he's right. 

Austin spent 15 years in traditional finance before managing $22bn of Stablecoin reserves for Paxos. Today, he's an Adjunct Professor at Columbia Business School and the managing partner at Zero Knowledge Consulting. In this conversation, Austin helps me break down the nuts and bolts of how Stablecoins work. We also discuss the lessons crypto should learn from the traditional finance world and how the current US regulatory crackdown will shape the ecosystem going forward. Please enjoy this Stablecoin primer with Austin Campbell.

For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page here

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Show Notes

[00:03:21] - [First question] - What can be learned from TradFi and applied to crypto

[00:05:13] - The basics of Stablecoins and why they are important

[00:07:39] - The logistics and mechanics of Stablecoins from the ground up

[00:17:14] - Time-delay and infrastructure problems when trading with Stablecoins

[00:21:18] - Liquidity, time sensitivity, and credit risk for issuers and buyers of Stablecoins 

[00:24:59] - The roles, challenges, and faults of regulators in the space 

[00:33:04] - The extent to which he sees regulators favored versus fouled by crypto natives

[00:34:50] - The SEC’s imposition that qualified custodians are needed to exchange crypto assets

[00:37:53] - His takes on news regarding Paxos and the BUSD

[00:43:01] - Concerns regarding Binance and its Stablecoin consolidations

[00:46:30] - Aspects of global Stablecoin regulation he’s optimistic about

[00:49:01] - Why the US may not be a promised land for crypto

[00:50:21] - The positives and potential impact of Stablecoins broadly, despite the pushback

[00:54:03] - The possibility of traditional assets using crypto rails

[01:00:04] - What he’s most excited to see built over the next six months and six years

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