How AI Agents Use Stablecoins - Xen Baynham-Herd | ATC #617

How AI Agents Use Stablecoins - Xen Baynham-Herd | ATC #617

Join our host Stephen Sargeant [https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephen-brent-sargeant-cams/] with Xen Baynham-Herd [https://www.linkedin.com/in/xen-baynham-herd-01685775/], Head of Growth and Marketing at Base [https://www.base.org/], on the Around The Coin podcast to discuss Base’s newest launches. Base Ledgers for enterprise-grade private transactions (shielded from the public but visible to regulators/auditors) and Base MCP, which connects chat interfaces like ChatGPT/Claude to a wallet and Base apps so agents can execute DeFi actions with user approval. Xen shares his path from TradFi and five years at Blockchain.com to working with Balaji Srinivasan on The Network State, and explains how Base is growing across trading, lending, payments (including major USDC transfer volume and local-currency stablecoins), and agents. They cover institutional adoption, X402 as an internet payments protocol enabling agentic commerce, Agentic market, and Xen’s approach to global expansion and building founder-driven communities. We are also available via: * Around The Coin — Official Website [https://www.aroundthecoin.com/] * Buzzsprout [https://aroundthecoin.buzzsprout.com/] * Apple Podcast [https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/around-the-coin/id805021615] * Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/45k32XWYX3sR4zBVXxvDhf] * Player FM [https://player.fm/series/around-the-coin] * Quora [https://aroundthecoin.quora.com/] * Medium [https://medium.com/around-the-coin] * X [https://twitter.com/aroundthecoin]  * Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/aroundthecoin/] * LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/around-the-coin/] * Tiktok [https://www.tiktok.com/@aroundthecoinpodcast] * Soundcloud [https://soundcloud.com/aroundthecoin]

ATC - Itai Turbahn, Co-Founder & CEO of Dynamic and Tal Zackon, Co-Founder & CEO of TRES Finance

Join our host Stephen Sargeant [https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephen-brent-sargeant-cams/] with Itai Turbahn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/turbahn/https:/www.linkedin.com/in/turbahn/] from Dynamic [https://www.dynamic.xyz/] and Tal Zackon [https://www.linkedin.com/in/talzackon/https:/www.linkedin.com/in/talzackon/] from TRES Finance [https://tres.finance/], both now under Fireblocks [https://www.fireblocks.com/], for a deep dive into agentic AI and what it means for payments, compliance, cybersecurity, and stablecoins. They explain why today’s human-in-the-loop rails like cards and ACH don’t scale for agent-to-agent microtransactions, and why crypto rails and stablecoins can enable instant, low-cost, high-volume programmable payments that should remain invisible to end users. Tal shares how TRES is using AI tools like Vara and MCP to automate repetitive back-office reconciliation and help compliance teams operate with an “army of agents” while maintaining audit trails. They also discuss agent identity, emerging standards like x402 and MPP, fraud and chargebacks, enterprise treasury efficiencies with stablecoins, and how to stay relevant by learning and building hands-on.    We are also available via: * Around The Coin — Official Website [https://www.aroundthecoin.com/] * Buzzsprout [https://aroundthecoin.buzzsprout.com/] * Apple Podcast [https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/around-the-coin/id805021615] * Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/45k32XWYX3sR4zBVXxvDhf] * Player FM [https://player.fm/series/around-the-coin] * Quora [https://aroundthecoin.quora.com/] * Medium [https://medium.com/around-the-coin] * X [https://twitter.com/aroundthecoin]  * Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/aroundthecoin/] * LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/around-the-coin/] * Tiktok [https://www.tiktok.com/@aroundthecoinpodcast] * Soundcloud [https://soundcloud.com/aroundthecoin]

How Stablecoins Fix Cross-Border Payments - Chris Mason | ATC #615

Host Stephen Sargeant [https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephen-brent-sargeant-cams/] interviews Chris Mason [https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-mason-24957614/], founder and CEO of Orbital [https://www.getorbital.com/], about building stablecoin infrastructure and how it can improve cross-border payments compared with traditional correspondent banking and SWIFT. Mason explains Orbital’s background processing stablecoins for seven years, its focus on corporate clients, and why transaction controls, authorizations, segregation of client funds, and compliance (including travel rule and blockchain analytics tools) matter as much as speed. They discuss common use cases like pay-ins, payouts, auto-conversions for firms that want stablecoin speed without holding stablecoins on balance sheet, and growing demand for emerging-market on/off-ramps. The conversation covers licensing burdens, regulatory arbitrage, crypto’s potential for better financial crime detection due to on-chain visibility, stablecoins in crisis or sanctioned-region trade for non-sanctioned goods, and how industry M&A and AI may shape Orbital’s next phase. We are also available via: * Around The Coin — Official Website [https://www.aroundthecoin.com/] * Buzzsprout [https://aroundthecoin.buzzsprout.com/] * Apple Podcast [https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/around-the-coin/id805021615] * Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/45k32XWYX3sR4zBVXxvDhf] * Player FM [https://player.fm/series/around-the-coin] * Quora [https://aroundthecoin.quora.com/] * Medium [https://medium.com/around-the-coin] * X [https://twitter.com/aroundthecoin]  * Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/aroundthecoin/] * LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/around-the-coin/] * Tiktok [https://www.tiktok.com/@aroundthecoinpodcast] * Soundcloud [https://soundcloud.com/aroundthecoin]

Why Enterprises Need Their Own Blockchain - Kyle Jenke | ATC #614

Recorded live at EthCC in Cannes, Around The Coin with host Stephen Sargeant [https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephen-brent-sargeant-cams/] sits down with Kyle Jenke [https://www.linkedin.com/in/kylejenke/], Chief Business Officer at Optimism [https://www.optimism.io/], about how Optimism’s OP Stack and OP Enterprise help large enterprises build and own their own blockchains for customization, revenue economics, and stronger compliance, privacy, and security. Jenke cites over 50 OP Stack chains and major brands building on Optimism, and highlights Bitpanda’s MiCA-compliant Vision Chain as a European example of regulated adoption. He discusses key customer verticals (fintechs, exchanges, payments, and large financial institutions), rising gas-fee costs and urgency to launch owned infrastructure, and how enterprises use blockchains for product differentiation amid converging financial services. The conversation also covers Security Overwatch SLAs, a menu of compliance/security vendors, AI use across Optimism, and compliance needs like OFAC screening amid geopolitics.   We are also available via: * Around The Coin — Official Website [https://www.aroundthecoin.com/] * Buzzsprout [https://aroundthecoin.buzzsprout.com/] * Apple Podcast [https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/around-the-coin/id805021615] * Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/45k32XWYX3sR4zBVXxvDhf] * Player FM [https://player.fm/series/around-the-coin] * Quora [https://aroundthecoin.quora.com/] * Medium [https://medium.com/around-the-coin] * X [https://twitter.com/aroundthecoin]  * Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/aroundthecoin/] * LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/around-the-coin/] * Tiktok [https://www.tiktok.com/@aroundthecoinpodcast] * Soundcloud [https://soundcloud.com/aroundthecoin]

Why Institutions Need Confidential Blockchain Transactions - Jeremy Jeremy | ATC #613

Live at EthCC [https://ethcc.io/] on the Around The Coin podcast, Stephen Sargeant [https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephen-brent-sargeant-cams/] heads to the Zama Villa to speak with Zama [https://www.zama.org/] COO Jeremy Bradley [https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremycbradley/] about fully homomorphic encryption (FHE) and why financial institutions need a confidentiality layer to balance blockchain transparency with selective access for regulators and compliance. Jeremy explains “programmable confidentiality,” Europe’s GDPR-driven focus on data sovereignty, and how Zama enables end-to-end encrypted on-chain transactions while allowing authorized decryption when needed. He cites a partnership with T. Rowe Price/Apex Group, use cases like payroll, supplier payments, and influencer payments, and notes other projects (e.g., Inco, Phoenix) use Zama’s technology. They discuss lessons from Zama’s token launch, KYC/KYB support at scale, hiring in a niche FHE talent pool, internal AI for operations efficiency, and quantum computing risks, noting FHE’s quantum-resistant properties.   We are also available via: * Around The Coin — Official Website [https://www.aroundthecoin.com/] * Buzzsprout [https://aroundthecoin.buzzsprout.com/] * Apple Podcast [https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/around-the-coin/id805021615] * Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/45k32XWYX3sR4zBVXxvDhf] * Player FM [https://player.fm/series/around-the-coin] * Quora [https://aroundthecoin.quora.com/] * Medium [https://medium.com/around-the-coin] * X [https://twitter.com/aroundthecoin]  * Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/aroundthecoin/] * LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/around-the-coin/] * Tiktok [https://www.tiktok.com/@aroundthecoinpodcast] * Soundcloud [https://soundcloud.com/aroundthecoin]