Stablecoin Shake-Up: Fragmentation, Risks and Retail Losses in Crypto's "Golden Age"
Fintech Fuels Financial Inclusion with Mobile Money Boom
Thanks for reading the “Cashless” newsletter, an insider’s view on Asia’s fintech, CBDC, and AI for anyone striving to understand “the Asia Century.” I’m Rich Turrin, and these are my hard-hitting insights designed to educate and inform. Subscribe to get these emerging trends directly in your inbox every Sunday. Every week, I scan thousands of articles to find only the best and most valuable for you. Subscribe to get my expertly curated news straight to your inbox each week. Free is good, but paid is better.
Topics:
Stablecoin Fungibility Threatens to Fragment Global Payments
Stablecoin Redemptions: When ‘Democratized Finance’ Means Retail Carries the Losses
Stablecoin Issuers and Enablers, Consider the Risks Before Taking the Plunge
Crypto's Golden Age Hinges on a Dysfunctional US Congress
Global Findex 2025: Mobile Money Drives 79% of Adults to Account Ownership
Your Survival Guide to the GENIUS Act Premium subscribers only. Understand and avoid the risks that no one is talking about!
Money Disrupted: The Definitive Collection of Stablecoin Resources Premium subscribers only. Everything you need to see through stablecoin hype and become an expert to stay ahead of the curve
Bonus Read: HBR: Driving Business Value with Agentic AI
Happy Sunday! (or Monday)
On the beach? Today's art is a peaceful scene representing an idyllic summer. I hope wherever you are, that August will be peaceful and slower-paced.
For the newsletter business, this summer has been anything but peaceful, with stablecoin mania hitting in full force.
Today’s I’m leading with three articles on stablecoins that show them in a rather negative light.
Once again, I’ll say that I like stablecoins but hate the hype.
What is becoming abundantly clear is that stablecoins are infinitely easier to set up than CBDCs, but have a host of problems that become thorny when trying to use them.
Today’s articles look at fragmentation, risks to participants, and a stunning story about how retail investors will be left holding the losses when a stablecoin depegs.
If you ever needed proof that whenever you read about “democratizing finance,” what it really means is that “the little guy” will take the losses, this is it! Take a look, it’s a stunning story.
We also take a look at the Trump administration’s new report on crypto. While the rhetoric about a “golden era” and turning the US into a “crypto superpower” is absurd, the report isn’t bad.
Crypto has been in regulatory limbo for far too long, and the recommendations do solve this and many other problems.
I do, of course, find two major red flags that we all should watch carefully.
My absolute favorite read of the week was the good news from the World Bank’s Global Findex Report, showing the tremendous gains in financial inclusion made by mobile money and fintech.
If you ever needed a “feel-good” story for fintech, this is it!
For today’s bonus read, I’ve got a “MUST READ” from the Harvard Business Review on Agentic AI that is blissfully hype-free!
You may notice that some of my past articles are getting paywalls and that I am producing new premium content. I’ll do my best to keep these weekly newsletter articles open to all for a few weeks, but some may eventually get paywalls.
If you’d like to support my work and explore these extras, consider joining as a premium subscriber.
To all subscribers, my heartfelt thanks for opening your inbox and being part of this journey!
Rich
PS
Thanks for sharing with your friends! It’s a great way to say thanks.
Stablecoin Fungibility Threatens to Fragment Global Payments
Problems with fungibility are why banks are still betting on tokenized deposits.
The stablecoin party is behind us, and all that remains is to work through the hangover to solve the problems with stablecoin fungibility.
With myriad issuers under different regulators and different blockchains, the question of whether my stablecoin dollar is fungible with yours is not academic and is a massive problem to solve.
See why fungibility is such a big problem…….and scroll to the bottom for a potential solution
Stablecoin Redemptions: When ‘Democratized Finance’ Means Retail Carries the Losses
And the GENIUS Act doesn't help!
With stablecoins, “the devil is in the details,” and if you think that everyone will be treated equally, when you try to get your money back, you’re in for a big surprise!
MIT’s Digital Currency Initiative published a blog about stablecoin redemptions that will likely turn your stomach and change your perspectives on fairness.
As usual, anytime things are “democratized,” that is code for the little guy taking the losses……
Stablecoin Issuers and Enablers, Consider the Risks Before Taking the Plunge
Early movers may be rewarded or penalized.
The stablecoin (SC) frenzy is on, and hopes are high that they can disrupt everything from remittances to the ongoing trend of de-dollarization.
The question facing financial institutions and companies is how they will participate in the SC marketplace, with the two main roles being issuer or enabler.
Crypto's Golden Age Hinges on a Dysfunctional US Congress
An objective look at a wishlist for making the US a "crypto superpower."
A cryptocurrency working group formed by President Trump released its report on crypto legislation that will make the USA the “crypto capital of the world,” and usher in the “new American Golden Age.”
This is a big document, and many in the crypto community will tout this as a big win, which it most definitely is on some level.
On another level, however, crypto is being brought into the regulatory spotlight and being taken over by the government, something purists detest.
See why crypto’s days of “regulatory arbitrage” are over…..
Global Findex 2025: Mobile Money Drives 79% of Adults to Account Ownership
The World Bank's global survey of financial inclusion reveals the power of fintech!
It’s time for some unabashedly good news, and the World Bank’s Global Findex report delivers by announcing that 79% of the world’s adults now have an account!
Read more about the incredible job mobile money is doing for financial inclusion…
Your Survival Guide to the GENIUS Act (Premium Subscribers Only)
Avoid the Risks that No One is Talking About!
Dear Premium subscriber, thanks for your support! I thought that that as the GENIUS Act is making stablecoins the de facto “digital dollar,” we needed a place to look at the Act in detail.
I support the “Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act of 2025” or GENIUS Act, but dislike the hype surrounding stablecoins.
Money Disrupted: The Definitive Collection of Stablecoin Resources (Premium Subscribers Only)
Everything you need to see through stablecoin hype and become an expert to stay ahead of the curve
Dear Premium subscriber, thanks for your support! This special article is a curated collection of my best articles that discuss stablecoins. I promised “the good, bad and ugly” and I guarantee that my articles will do just that.
“Crypto bros” would have us believe that stablecoins are a form of digital nirvana. While they are useful, many problems need to be solved before they are unleashed on the general public as a means of daily payment.
Bonus Read: HBR: Driving Business Value with Agentic AI
This report from Harvard Business Review (HBR) looks at how "forward-looking organizations are navigating their agentic AI journeys."
It is a perfect read for the beach in that it's not too long but will leave you thinking!
The real-world examples are solid, and many are in finance.
Most importantly, this report gets a 95% score for not containing AI-hype.
Realistic quotes like this are why it scored so well:
❝You can’t just drop agentic AI on top of a slow,
misaligned organization and expect miracles. You’ll just
do the wrong things faster.❞
Think about that quote carefully.
Hot Topics for Premium Subscribers only
Imagine having someone combing through thousands of articles, over 50 RSS feeds, and 25 meticulously crafted Google searches—all to handpick the absolute best reports, just for you.
Each week, I distill this ocean of information into five concise, high-value reports, sharing the most essential knowledge you need to stay ahead.
But that’s not all. I also collect additional exclusive, hard-to-find gems, which I put in the section below—all in PDF format with my brief expert commentary.
To download them, no corporate email is required, no searching, and no links to other places are required. With a paid subscription, these insights are just a click away.
Here’s what you’re missing out on this week in the Premium Subscriber-only section below:
Tokenisation A Buyside Practioners G’s Guide
This is a great guide that will help you understand what you need to know BEFORE you dive into tokenized assets. With stablecoins and a digital euro coming, you will be asked if you want to buy the tokenized version of a security within the next year or two!
The Top 100 Global Innovators
Go to page 9 for a shocking chart that shows China in the lead, ahead of the US and Japan. This is something that multiple administrations in Washington, DC, should have been concerned about, but are not.
The Mobile Economy APAC 2025
I often talk about the GDP gains made by fintech in developing nations. The GSMA concludes that overall, in APAC, mobile services currently contribute 5.6% of APAC’s GDP! Digital payments and fintech’s contribution is a significant fraction of this figure.
And that’s just three of SEVEN PDF reports. You’re also missing the infamous Chart of the Day, which today covers: The AI Safety Index scores for major LLMs. The results are stunning!
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