June 23, 2025

Read_887 - A Half Baked Thesis on Stablecoins

2 hours 2 minutes

"As will become clear as the argument progresses, I actually think the outcome to which I am building up is where things have to go. I think the technical and economic incentives at play make this an inevitability rather than a “choice”"

~ Allen Farrington

What if the stablecoin boom isn't a threat to Bitcoin, but a stepping stone? In this episode, I dive into Allen Farrington’s "A Half Baked Thesis on Stablecoins" and follow it with a massive guy's take unpacking the implications. Are stablecoins a betrayal of Bitcoin principles, or are they the Trojan horse for Bitcoin-native infrastructure? What happens when fiat settles over Lightning? And how could ecash and Taproot Assets reshape everything we thought we knew about digital money? There's a quiet revolution happening at the payments layer—and the stablecoin debate might just be the signal buried in the noise.

Check out the original article: A Half-Baked Thesis on Stablecoins (Link: https://tinyurl.com/y442kkkc)

References from the episode:

Layered Money by Nik Bhatia (Link: https://tinyurl.com/yndssenp)

Check Your Financial Privilege by Alex Gladstein (Link: https://tinyurl.com/4s3n595a)

Only the Strong Survive by Allen Farrington (Link: https://tinyurl.com/3au8zmtr)

One from Many: VISA and the Rise of Chaordic Organization by Dee Hock (Link: https://tinyurl.com/348ykwh9)

Electronic Value Exchange: Origins of the VISA Electronic Payment System (History of Computing) by David Stearns (Link: https://tinyurl.com/2e69874x)

Bitcoin Audible & Guy Swann Links

⁠Guy on Nostr ⁠(Link: http://tinyurl.com/2xc96ney)

⁠Guy on X ⁠(Link: https://twitter.com/theguyswann)

Guy on Instagram (Link: https://www.instagram.com/theguyswann)

Guy on TikTok (Link: https://www.tiktok.com/@theguyswann)

Guy on YouTube (Link: https://www.youtube.com/@theguyswann)

⁠Bitcoin Audible on X⁠ (Link: https://twitter.com/BitcoinAudible)

The Guy Swann Network Broadcast Room on Keet (Link: https://tinyurl.com/3na6v839)

Check out our awesome sponsors!

HRF: Subscribe for free to HRF's Financial Freedom Report to stay updated on our latest work advancing freedom tech and defending human rights around the world. (Link: https://hrf.org/financial-freedom-reports/)

OFF: The Oslo Freedom Forum (OFF) is an international human rights conference series hosted and produced by the Human Rights Foundation (HRF). Bringing together the world’s most engaging human rights advocates, journalists, artists, tech entrepreneurs, and world leaders, we aim to share their stories and brainstorm ways to expand freedom and unleash human potential across the globe. Don't miss next year’s Oslo Freedom Forum in June. (Link: https://oslofreedomforum.com/)

Pubky: Pubky is building the next web, a decentralized system designed to put control back in your hands. Escape censorship, algorithmic manipulation, and walled gardens by owning your identity and data. Explore the Pubky web and become the algorithm today. (Link: https://pubky.org/)

Trying to BUY BITCOIN?

River: Secure, trusted, bitcoin only, lightning enabled, simple. (Link: https://bitcoinaudible.com/river)

Bitcoin Games!

Get 10% off the best Bitcoin board game in the world, HODLUP! Or any of the other great games from the Free Market Kids! Use code GUY10 at checkout for 10% off your cart! (Link: https://www.freemarketkids.com/collections/games-1)

Bitcoin Custodial Multisig

Want to get into Bitcoin but not ready for self custody? Use custodial multisig for the best way to distribute trust across multiple institutions and even jurisdictions! Check out OnRamp. (Link: BitcoinAudible.com/onramp)

Education & HomeSchooling

Get the lesson in real economics that you never got in school, and teach your kids the truth, not the statist insanity that is Keynesianism. Liberty Classroom is the invaluable resource you are looking for! (Link: BitcoinAudible.com/Liberty)

...more