In this episode of Untangling Web3, blockchain researcher and educator Keir Finlow-Bates returns to unpack one of the most critical debates in modern finance—the rise of stablecoins and central bank digital currencies (CBDCs).

As digital assets evolve from niche tools for traders into core infrastructure for global payments, this conversation explores how blockchain-based money systems are reshaping the way value moves, who controls it, and what the next era of programmable finance might look like.

Key highlights:

Why Stablecoins Have Become the Bridge Between Finance and Blockchain: Stablecoins solve two critical problems—volatility and interoperability. They provide a stable medium of exchange that allows individuals and institutions to engage with blockchain networks without the price risk of native tokens like Bitcoin or Ether. At the same time, they act as a universal liquidity layer connecting decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols, exchanges, and traditional financial systems.
Comparing Stablecoins and CBDCs: Architecture and Control: While both stablecoins and CBDCs represent fiat on the blockchain, their architectures differ fundamentally. Stablecoins like USDC or USDT are issued by private entities that hold reserves—often in treasury bonds or cash equivalents—and provide blockchain tokens on a 1:1 basis. They rely on smart contracts with mint, burn, and freeze functions that grant issuers limited control. CBDCs, in contrast, would be issued directly by central banks.
Monetary Philosophy - What Money Really Represents: Fiat currencies are no longer backed by commodities or assets but by government decree and collective belief. Representing fiat digitally on blockchain networks forces society to confront this abstraction. Stablecoins expose the philosophical foundations of money—its value is not intrinsic but agreed upon. By contrast, Bitcoin introduces verifiable scarcity as a digital property, creating a new category of value rooted in cryptographic and computational certainty rather than institutional trust.

Stablecoins represent the convergence of traditional finance and blockchain technology, providing the infrastructure for global, programmable money. CBDCs, meanwhile, embody a competing vision—state-issued digital assets designed for control and policy enforcement rather than decentralization.

Between these two poles lies the defining question for the next decade of monetary innovation: will the future of money be open, programmable, and user-controlled—or centralized, monitored, and conditional?

This episode is sponsored by the VeChain foundation. Learn more about VeBetterDAO here:

https://vebetterdao.org/

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Untangling Web3 is brought to you by hosts Jack Davies and Alec Burns, with music by Daniel Paigge. Got a question or topic suggestion? Send us an email at theuntanglingweb3podcast@gmail.com.

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#121 Untangling: Stablecoins & CBDCs w/ Keir Finlow-Bates