Bitcoin, Fiat & Rock'n'Roll How stablecoins can become the backbone of our financial system
In this episode of BFRR (Bitcoin, Fiat & Rock and Roll), co-host Jonas is joined by guest host Jonathan Knoll for a deep dive into one of the most important shifts in digital finance: stablecoins moving from a crypto-native product to real payment infrastructure.
Our guest is Geetha Panchapakesan, co-founder of Tesser—and one of the most experienced practitioners in global money movement. Geetha has spent decades building and scaling payment systems across the industry, with roles at Mastercard, MoneyGram, PayPal, Visa Direct, and most recently Circle, where she witnessed firsthand how stablecoins evolved through boom, bust, and renewed institutional focus.
Together, we explore why stablecoins are increasingly seen as a backend rail rather than a consumer-facing payment method—especially for cross-border payments, where legacy correspondent banking still creates friction, cost, and delays. Geetha explains what’s changed over the last few years: improving regulatory clarity across jurisdictions, growing competitive pressure, and major market signals (including high-profile moves by large payment companies) that have pushed banks and PSPs from “strategy” into execution.
But wanting a stablecoin strategy is very different from actually shipping one. This conversation gets practical: What happens after a bank says “yes”? Where do projects get stuck—custody, wallet security, compliance, gas management, treasury reconciliation, reporting, ERP integration? Geetha breaks down the real infrastructure gaps, the fear points, and why stablecoin adoption is ultimately an orchestration problem as much as a technology problem.
Finally, we discuss Tesser’s approach: a white-label, full-stack stablecoin payments platform built specifically for regulated financial institutions—abstracting complexity so banks can add stablecoins like they add any other payment method (ACH, SEPA, wire… and now stablecoins). We close with Geetha’s view on the next 12–24 months: emerging markets, off-ramp opportunities for local banks, and why on-chain identity and privacy may become critical to the next phase of adoption.
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