Remy Blaire engages in a compelling discussion with Tianwei Liu, the Co-Founder and Deputy CEO of StraitsX, about the burgeoning stablecoin industry and its implications for the future of digital payments.
The segment opens with Remy highlighting the recent successes in the stablecoin sector, including the passage of the Genius Act and Circle’s notable IPO on the NYSE. She notes that stablecoins are driving investor optimism in cryptocurrencies like Ethereum (ETH) and Solana, particularly due to their potential as a foundation for digital payments. According to research from Circle, stablecoins have experienced a remarkable 69% year-over-year growth in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region between June 2024 and 2025, largely fueled by favorable regulatory conditions.
Tianwei emphasizes the importance of three critical factors for stablecoins to become everyday money: regulatory clarity, institutional adoption, and real-world use cases. He explains that Singapore has been a pioneer in stablecoin regulation, with the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) establishing a framework as early as 2020. StraitsX has been recognized for its early compliance with this framework, having issued two stablecoins: the SGD dollar-backed XSGD and the US dollar-backed XUSD.
The conversation shifts to institutional adoption, where Tianwei shares that XSGD recently launched on Coinbase, providing access to over 100 million Americans, while XUSD went live on Binance, reaching nearly 280 million users globally. These partnerships are seen as vital for building trust among everyday consumers and retailers.
Tianwei also discusses StraitsX’s innovative initiatives, such as their collaboration with Alipay Plus and Grab, which allows users to make seamless payments in Singapore using stablecoins. He describes how this integration enables users to pay at over 40,000 merchants without needing to understand the underlying technology, creating a user-friendly experience.
As the episode nears its conclusion, Remy and Tianwei explore the necessity of a seamless user experience for wider adoption of stablecoins. Tianwei humorously remarks that most people, including his mother, simply want to buy their coffee without worrying about how stablecoins work. He believes that as institutions like Coinbase and OKX continue to develop user-friendly solutions, trust and adoption of stablecoins will grow.