On The Brink with Castle Island Raj Parekh (Monad Foundation) on Stablecoins and The Next Era of Fintech (EP.702)
Feb 18, 2026
Raj Parekh, Head of Stablecoins and Payments at Monad and founder of Portal, brings Visa payments experience to stablecoin infrastructure. He discusses who will build stablecoins, corporate chains and settlement choices. He explores policy, CBDC trade-offs, card rails versus local schemes, and practical integration steps for enterprises.
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From Visa To Building Portal
- Raj describes founding Portal to fill missing stablecoin infrastructure for fintechs and FIs.
- He recounts Portal's acquisition by the Monad Foundation and his dual role now.
Blockchains Mirror Traditional Consortia
- Payment systems historically began as credibly neutral consortia like Visa and SWIFT.
- Raj argues blockchains will mirror that model with validators acting like consortium members.
Expect A Multi-Rail Blockchain Future
- The future will be multi-rail with different blockchains serving distinct use cases.
- Large financial players will often participate as validators to provide governance and controls.