Stablecoins without the volatility, with Kebbie Sebastian

Stablecoins reframed cross-border payments: The conversation shows how stablecoins emerged not as a crypto experiment, but as a response to decades of friction in correspondent banking. As domestic payments became instant through real-time payment networks, cross-border transfers remained slow, opaque, and intermediary-heavy. Stablecoins entered precisely at this gap, offering faster settlement and end-to-end transparency for B2B payments.

• Experience from inside the system shaped the solution: Drawing on Kebbie Sebastian’s background across PayPal, Bank of America, and Barclays, the discussion reflects a deep understanding of both legacy banking constraints and fintech execution. This perspective frames stablecoins not as a disruption narrative, but as an infrastructure upgrade designed to meet modern expectations around speed, reliability, and trust.
• Merge as the bridge between fiat and stablecoins: The episode explores how Merge is building regulated, production-grade infrastructure that allows businesses to collect, hold, and move money globally across fiat and stablecoins. By combining electronic money institution licensing with crypto and stablecoin regulation, Merge operates the “stablecoin sandwich”, fiat in, stablecoins in the middle, fiat out, enabling instant settlement while remaining aligned with banking-grade compliance standards.
• The real challenges are off-chain: While blockchain settlement is fast, the hardest problems sit at the edges, including liquidity management, compliance, and access to local payment rails in multiple jurisdictions. Merge’s approach focuses on solving these bottlenecks at scale, operating under tier-one regulation to build trust with banks, regulators, and enterprise customers.

Why listen: #

This episode offers a practical view of how stablecoins are moving from experimentation to real-world deployment. It provides insight into how experienced fintech operators are building compliant infrastructure, where stablecoins deliver clear advantages today, and how platforms like Merge are shaping the future of B2B cross-border payments.