It is the final day of consensus and plenty of announcements at this year's gathering here in South Beach, Miami back is making a major play in the stablecoin space.
The firm just completed its acquisition of distributed technologies research and an equity deal and the deal is combined back institutional backing with new AI and stablecoin tech to create a 24/7 digital settlement layer. is also predicting that the industry will hit 3 trillion by 2031.
Well, joining me live on the ground here in Miami at consensus is Sam Auch, VP, Head of Client Success and Partnerships at Bakkt.
So Sam, great to have you here.
Thank you so much for joining me.
Yeah, happy to be here.
Thank you for having me.
Well, it's been a busy three days on the ground here in Miami.
There is a lot of background noise right now, but I do want to step through all of this noise. and hear about what Backed is actually doing to help companies out there.
Yes, absolutely.
So Backed itself is a regulated business that provides a suite of APIs that gives our clients the ability to access our licenses and products that are built on top of that.
So rather than going out and having to go state by state to get your own MTLs and other licenses that are required in the Various jurisdictions in the US, we provide a technology platform that gives our clients the ability to build on top of the work that we've already done.
So really it is about us managing all of the regulatory compliance and operations aspect of the business so that our clients can do what they do best, which is interact with the end user and build really incredible products for them to use.
And when we think about this year's conference, there are a lot of Tratfi as well as DeFi companies, innovators, builders, as well as policymakers.
So I do want to get your take on what you're seeing from your perspective at your role in fact right now.
What are the conversations?
Yeah, I think the digital asset space is becoming really intriguing for a variety of companies like you mentioned, both crypto natives and in the traditional finance space.
The regulatory clarity that's coming.
Down with the Genius Act and soon to be Clarity Act has really gotten the traditional finance ecosystem interested in the technology.
Now that you know the rules of the game, you can actually play it.
So what Fact has been able to do is really give those companies an avenue to quickly enter the space.
Our pitch is typically to try it out, see if it is something that could be useful to you, whether that's in the traditional markets ecosystem or in the payments and.
Stablecoin ecosystem and determine what the value prop is for them in a cheap and reliable way so that if they do decide that they want to really double down and invest, then they can knowing with confidence that the ecosystem is ready for them and that they have a place there.
And I'm sure that in your role you have a lot of conversations with stakeholders.
So when it comes to what you're hearing from enterprises, what are they actually telling you right now?
Everyone's excited, I think.
That it depends on who you talk to.
The clients that have been in the digital asset ecosystem for a while, have a very specific need that they're looking to fill.
Most of the time that's stablecoin remittance, so access to licenses that they have maybe not gotten and played in other corners of the space that don't necessarily require them, but want to expand outside of that.
A great example of this are the lenders.
So there are a lot of digital asset lenders that are now looking.
For regulated rails to figure out whether or not they want to expand into digital asset trading, provide a way for their customers in their products to buy, sell the digital assets that they're currently lending against.
In the traditional finance space, stablecoins are really the topic of conversation.
A lot of our clients are looking to understand how they can cut costs by leveraging stablecoins as a payment rail.
So those are really the two types of conversations that we're having right now.
Yeah, and of course there are also policymakers here on the ground, and we have to keep in mind it is a midterm election year, so there are a lot of expectations, a lot of anticipation when it comes to the regulatory side and timeline for legislation in 2026.
So what do you expect to see and what do you think needs to happen?
Yeah, I think that obviously what's going on with the Clarity Act is really important.
It's everyone's wondering when is it going to actually land.
What will it finally look like?
I think that the compromise that you see going on around stablecoin yield is a mixed bag, obviously.
I think that the crypto natives would love to see interest on stablecoins be allowed.
I think that the traditional financial system obviously wouldn't.
The middle ground, I think, will help to spur innovation because at the end of the day, stablecoins are a great.
Rail.
Maybe people aren't holding those assets in stablecoin longer term.
Maybe they're moving in and out, but that will still reduce the cost of cross-border remittance and payments overall.
So I think what everyone's hoping for is just rules, because once you know the rules again, you have confidence that you're able to actually play the game.
Well, Sam, we will have to leave it there for today, but thank you so much for taking time out of your busy schedule to join us today.
Absolutely, thank you for having me, Ron.
Thank you.
