Bitcoin, Fiat & Rock'n'Roll

Crossing the Chasm: How Architecture Unlocks Stablecoin

IT architecture is where enterprise stablecoin adoption is won or lost. In this episode of BFRR – Bitcoin, Fiat and Rock and Roll, co-host Michael Blaschke speaks with Stefan Arnold, Lead Architect of the SAP Digital Currency Hub, about one of the most important but least discussed questions in institutional digital finance: what will actually enable stablecoins to move from experimentation into mainstream enterprise adoption? While much of the public conversation focuses on regulation, issuers, liquidity, and market structure, this discussion goes deeper into the operational reality inside companies. What happens when a corporate treasury team wants to use stablecoins in practice? Where does the process break down? And why is the real bottleneck often not demand, but architecture? Drawing on his work at SAP and conversations with enterprise customers, Stefan explains why CFOs and treasury teams are not looking for “crypto products” as such. They need complete, reliable, enterprise-grade payment solutions that are faster, cheaper, more transparent, and easier to reconcile than legacy rails. That means stablecoins only become relevant when they are embedded seamlessly into existing ERP and finance workflows. The conversation explores the gap between rapidly evolving Web3 innovation and the slower, highly controlled world of enterprise finance. Stefan outlines the practical blockers that still stand in the way of adoption: missing standards, fragmented custody models, manual reconciliation, wallet complexity, and the challenge of integrating blockchain-based payments into existing payment runs, account statements, and audit processes. Together, Michael and Stefan unpack why this “crossing the chasm” moment is now becoming real. Stablecoins are no longer viewed as a fringe experiment. The question has shifted from whether they matter to how companies can get started. From intra-company treasury flows to cross-border payments, the episode shows where early adoption is already happening and what needs to change for the broader market to follow. This is a conversation about the invisible infrastructure behind digital money — and why the winners in enterprise stablecoin adoption may not simply be those building the best token, but those building the best bridge between blockchain and core financial systems. If you want to understand where institutional stablecoin adoption is actually heading, this episode is for you. Stefan Arnold on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/0xst3fan/] Michael Blaschke on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-michael-r-blaschke] Bitcoin, Fiat & Rock’n’Roll Website [https://www.bfrr.de/] Bitcoin, Fiat & Rock’n’Roll Telegram Channel [https://t.me/+jA3nMkERPtc5YjQ0] Paypal and SAP on how to optimize digital payments for treasury operations [https://www.linkedin.com/posts/sharyn-tan-reveals-how-to-optimize-digital-ugcPost-7394404276938375169-XRw5/] ---------------------------------------- Relai*: Buy Bitcoin with Relai—you can do a one-time purchase or savings plan: Click here [https://relai.ch/rock/]. Use the referral code "ROCK" to reduce transaction fees by 0.1% while supporting Bitcoin, Fiat & Rock’n’Roll. Value4Value Podcast Streaming: Support our podcast by listening to our episodes on the Fountain Podcast App. This way, if you wish, you can support us "Value4Value" while listening to the podcast. You can find us on the Fountain Podcast App here: Click here [https://fountain.fm/show/wNv0vSPWzu8Gh7bZTorB] Disclaimer: The content of this podcast reflects the private opinions of the hosts, serves exclusively for general information purposes and does not constitute investment advice. Always remember: Do your own research—inform yourself before making any investment decisions, such as buying Bitcoin. First try to understand what Bitcoin is and how to store it. This podcast does not provide financial advice. Note that the co-hosts might be invested in crypto assets. Read more on our website: Click here [https://www.bfrr.de/disclaimer/] ---------------------------------------- All links marked with "*" are affiliate links. If you use these links for purchase, the podcast receives a small share of the revenue without any additional costs to you. On the contrary, affiliate links often include discount promotions, so you can even save money. We would appreciate it if you use these links to support us. Thank you very much!

Stablecoins, Tokenized Deposits, and the Race for Institutional Rails | Monthly Briefing

March 2026 shows the trend clearly: stablecoins are scaling, tokenized securities are moving forward, and institutional DLT adoption is no longer a future story. In this March 2026 news episode of BFRR – Bitcoin, Fiat & Rock’n’Roll, Michael Blaschke, Manuel and Simon Seiter, CFO of AllUnity, unpack one of the most important months yet for institutional blockchain, digital money and tokenized assets. While crypto prices remain under pressure and sentiment stays deep in fear territory, the infrastructure story is moving in the opposite direction: regulation is maturing, institutional adoption is accelerating and the rails for the next financial system are being laid. The episode begins with a market overview, from Bitcoin and Ether price action to ETF flows and a major milestone for crypto-native banking: Kraken Financial becoming the first digital asset bank in US history to receive a Federal Reserve master account. From there, the conversation shifts into the heart of the episode: the global race to define regulated digital money. A central focus is the rise of stablecoins and tokenized deposits. The hosts examine Europe’s rapidly evolving landscape, including AllUnity’s expansion from a euro to a Swiss franc stablecoin and the growing significance of projects such as Kivalis. Beyond Europe, they discuss parallel developments in the UAE and Hong Kong, arguing that a global consensus is emerging around fully reserved, regulated and institution-led stablecoins. At the same time, they explore how banks are defending the deposit franchise through tokenized deposit models, regulatory lobbying and new shared ledger initiatives. The episode also covers major moves from payment giants and fintech infrastructure players, including Mastercard, Visa, Stripe and BVNK, as well as the growing importance of agentic payments and machine-to-machine commerce. On the asset side, the hosts review groundbreaking US regulatory progress on tokenized securities, momentum in tokenized money market funds and important developments in Germany, from Börse Stuttgart Digital to Deutsche Börse’s expanding digital asset strategy. Overall, this episode captures a defining moment for institutional DLT: a market that may look weak on the surface, but underneath is becoming more regulated, more connected and far more consequential. Bitcoin, Fiat & Rock’n’Roll Website [https://www.bfrr.de/] Bitcoin, Fiat & Rock’n’Roll Telegram Channel [https://t.me/+jA3nMkERPtc5YjQ0] ---------------------------------------- Relai*: Buy Bitcoin with Relai—you can do a one-time purchase or savings plan: Click here [https://relai.ch/rock/]. Use the referral code "ROCK" to reduce transaction fees by 0.1% while supporting Bitcoin, Fiat & Rock’n’Roll. Value4Value Podcast Streaming: Support our podcast by listening to our episodes on the Fountain Podcast App. This way, if you wish, you can support us "Value4Value" while listening to the podcast. You can find us on the Fountain Podcast App here: Click here [https://fountain.fm/show/wNv0vSPWzu8Gh7bZTorB] Disclaimer: The content of this podcast reflects the private opinions of the hosts, serves exclusively for general information purposes and does not constitute investment advice. Always remember: Do your own research—inform yourself before making any investment decisions, such as buying Bitcoin. First try to understand what Bitcoin is and how to store it. This podcast does not provide financial advice. Note that the co-hosts might be invested in crypto assets. Read more on our website: Click here [https://www.bfrr.de/disclaimer/] ---------------------------------------- All links marked with "*" are affiliate links. If you use these links for purchase, the podcast receives a small share of the revenue without any additional costs to you. On the contrary, affiliate links often include discount promotions, so you can even save money. We would appreciate it if you use these links to support us. Thank you very much!

The Shopify Moment for Tokenisation?

How Tokenforge is turning tokenisation into a scalable, product-driven experience Tokenisation has long promised to transform capital markets, yet many projects remain slow, expensive, and highly bespoke. In this episode, Moritz Stumpf, founder of Tokenforge, shares a different perspective: what if tokenisation behaved less like a complex financial engineering exercise and more like a scalable digital product? By introducing an “e-commerce mindset,” Tokenforge aims to simplify issuance, automate workflows, and provide intuitive portals for both issuers and investors. We explore how this product-driven approach challenges the current state of the market. Instead of focusing purely on infrastructure, Tokenforge emphasises distribution, user experience, and cost efficiency — key ingredients that have driven scale in other industries. The conversation dives into where today’s tokenisation efforts fall short, how automation can coexist with regulatory requirements, and what it takes to move from isolated pilot projects to real adoption. Finally, we turn to Tokenforge’s recent launch of the TKFG token on Base and Aerodrome, unpacking the strategic thinking behind it. Is this about incentives, ecosystem building, or a broader shift toward crypto-native growth models? The discussion highlights the opportunities — and tensions — of combining institutional ambitions with token-based strategies, offering a forward-looking view on how tokenisation might truly scale. Bitcoin, Fiat & Rock’n’Roll Website [https://www.bfrr.de/] Bitcoin, Fiat & Rock’n’Roll Telegram Channel [https://t.me/+jA3nMkERPtc5YjQ0] ---------------------------------------- Relai*: Buy Bitcoin with Relai—you can do a one-time purchase or savings plan: Click here [https://relai.ch/rock/]. Use the referral code "ROCK" to reduce transaction fees by 0.1% while supporting Bitcoin, Fiat & Rock’n’Roll. Value4Value Podcast Streaming: Support our podcast by listening to our episodes on the Fountain Podcast App. This way, if you wish, you can support us "Value4Value" while listening to the podcast. You can find us on the Fountain Podcast App here: Click here [https://fountain.fm/show/wNv0vSPWzu8Gh7bZTorB] Digital Euro Conference: Bitcoin, Fiat & Rock’n’Roll ist again partnering with the Digital Euro Conference that takes place on March 26, 2026, in Frankfurt. The DEC is one of Europe’s leading conferences on the future of money, discussing the digital euro but also the role of stablecoins and tokenized deposits for the future of payments. More information about the DEC, can you found here* [https://www.eventbrite.de/e/digital-euro-conference-2026-dec26-tickets-1478227812179?dicsount=BFRR20]. Secure 20% off with the discount code “BFRR20”. Disclaimer: The content of this podcast reflects the private opinions of the hosts, serves exclusively for general information purposes and does not constitute investment advice. Always remember: Do your own research—inform yourself before making any investment decisions, such as buying Bitcoin. First try to understand what Bitcoin is and how to store it. This podcast does not provide financial advice. Note that the co-hosts might be invested in crypto assets. Read more on our website: Click here [https://www.bfrr.de/disclaimer/] ---------------------------------------- All links marked with "*" are affiliate links. If you use these links for purchase, the podcast receives a small share of the revenue without any additional costs to you. On the contrary, affiliate links often include discount promotions, so you can even save money. We would appreciate it if you use these links to support us. Thank you very much!

From TARGET to Tokenization: Jochen Metzger’s journey through European settlement systems

From central bank settlement infrastructure to a DLT TSS In this episode of BFRR – Bitcoin, Fiat & Rock’n’Roll, Manuel sits down with Jochen Metzger, one of the most experienced architects of Europe’s payment and settlement landscape. After more than three decades at the Bundesbank, including 15 years as Director General Payments and Settlement Systems, Jochen reflects on the systems, decisions and harmonization efforts that helped shape the euro area’s financial plumbing as we know it today. The conversation traces Jochen’s career from capital markets and international assignments in New York, Buenos Aires and Basel to his central role in some of the Euro system’s most important infrastructure projects. He explains how the fragmented “spaghetti model” of national RTGS systems evolved into TARGET2, why T2S became such a transformative – and difficult – project for European capital markets, and how harmonization across central banks, CSDs, CCPs and market participants required persistence, political will and technical compromise. The episode also explores the move to ISO 20022, central liquidity management, SEPA, instant payments and the broader modernization of Europe’s payment architecture. But this episode is not only about the legacy system. It is also about what comes next. Jochen shares how his work increasingly shifted toward blockchain, digital issuance and DLT-based capital market infrastructure. He speaks about his time at NowCM, the ambition to digitize debt capital markets from issuance to execution, and his current role with Axiology, a DLT-native market infrastructure provider operating under Europe’s new regulatory framework. What emerges is a rare perspective spanning both worlds: the legacy infrastructure that keeps Europe running today and the tokenized infrastructure that may define tomorrow. For anyone working in payments, post-trade, capital markets, digital assets or financial market infrastructure, this episode offers a masterclass in how European market structure was built – and where it may be heading next. Bitcoin, Fiat & Rock’n’Roll Website [https://www.bfrr.de/] Bitcoin, Fiat & Rock’n’Roll Telegram Channel [https://t.me/+jA3nMkERPtc5YjQ0] ---------------------------------------- Relai*: Buy Bitcoin with Relai—you can do a one-time purchase or savings plan: Click here [https://relai.ch/rock/]. Use the referral code "ROCK" to reduce transaction fees by 0.1% while supporting Bitcoin, Fiat & Rock’n’Roll. Value4Value Podcast Streaming: Support our podcast by listening to our episodes on the Fountain Podcast App. This way, if you wish, you can support us "Value4Value" while listening to the podcast. You can find us on the Fountain Podcast App here: Click here [https://fountain.fm/show/wNv0vSPWzu8Gh7bZTorB] Digital Euro Conference: Bitcoin, Fiat & Rock’n’Roll ist again partnering with the Digital Euro Conference that takes place on March 26, 2026, in Frankfurt. The DEC is one of Europe’s leading conferences on the future of money, discussing the digital euro but also the role of stablecoins and tokenized deposits for the future of payments. More information about the DEC, can you found here* [https://www.eventbrite.de/e/digital-euro-conference-2026-dec26-tickets-1478227812179?dicsount=BFRR20]. Secure 20% off with the discount code “BFRR20”. Disclaimer: The content of this podcast reflects the private opinions of the hosts, serves exclusively for general information purposes and does not constitute investment advice. Always remember: Do your own research—inform yourself before making any investment decisions, such as buying Bitcoin. First try to understand what Bitcoin is and how to store it. This podcast does not provide financial advice. Note that the co-hosts might be invested in crypto assets. Read more on our website: Click here [https://www.bfrr.de/disclaimer/] ---------------------------------------- All links marked with "*" are affiliate links. If you use these links for purchase, the podcast receives a small share of the revenue without any additional costs to you. On the contrary, affiliate links often include discount promotions, so you can even save money. We would appreciate it if you use these links to support us. Thank you very much!

Stablecoin Sandwich: Reinventing Cross-Border Money Movement

How stablecoins can solve real-world cross-border payment inefficiencies In this episode of BFRR, Jonas and guest host Jonathan Knoll sit down with Milind Sanghavi, co-founder and CEO of xWeave, to explore one of the most practical and fast-moving use cases for stablecoins: cross-border payments. Drawing on more than two decades of experience across PayPal, Visa, OCBC Bank and Meta, Milind explains why payments may look simple on the surface, yet rely on deeply complex infrastructure, regulation and coordination behind the scenes. The conversation cuts through the hype and focuses on the real frictions that still define international money movement today: opaque fees, manual processes, prefunding requirements, slow settlement times and weak transparency in many non-G7 currency corridors. Milind shares vivid examples from Asia, showing how treasury and remittance flows can still depend on phone messages, delayed FX quotes and uncertain arrival times—and how new infrastructure can reduce that process from days to minutes. At the center of the discussion is xWeave’s approach: combining licensed fiat rails with blockchain-based settlement and stablecoins, without relying on regulatory arbitrage. Rather than pitching a crypto-native revolution, Milind describes a “Web 2.5” model that brings together the compliance strengths of traditional finance and the speed and programmability of digital asset infrastructure. The result is a system designed to help licensed institutions move money faster, cheaper and with less trapped capital, especially across Asian and Middle Eastern corridors. The episode also dives into xWeave’s expansion strategy, its corridor-by-corridor model, the role of intelligent routing and why stablecoins only matter when they solve a real customer problem. This is a grounded, insider conversation about how cross-border payments are actually evolving—and why the next wave of innovation may come not from replacing finance, but from quietly rebuilding its plumbing. LinkedIn Jonas Gross [https://www.linkedin.com/in/grossjonas/] LinkedIn Jonathan Knoll [https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-knoll/] LinkedIn Milind Sanghavi [https://www.linkedin.com/in/milindsanghavi/] etonec Website [https://www.etonec.com/] XWeave Website [https://www.xweave.io/] Bitcoin, Fiat & Rock'n'Roll Website [https://www.bfrr.de/] Bitcoin, Fiat & Rock'n'Roll Telegram Channel [https://t.me/+jA3nMkERPtc5YjQ0] ---------------------------------------- Digital Euro Conference: Bitcoin, Fiat & Rock’n’Roll ist again partnering with the Digital Euro Conference that takes place on March 26, 2026, in Frankfurt. The DEC is one of Europe’s leading conferences on the future of money, discussing the digital euro as well as the role of stablecoins and tokenized deposits for the future of payments. More information about the DEC, can you found here*. Secure 20% off with the discount code “BFRR20”. Relai*: Buy Bitcoin with Relai – you can do a one-time purchase or savings plan: Click here [https://relai.ch/rock/]. Use the referral code "ROCK" to reduce transaction fees by 0.1% while supporting Bitcoin, Fiat & Rock'n'Roll. Value4Value Podcast Streaming: Support our podcast by listening to our episodes on the Fountain Podcast App. This way, if you wish, you can support us "Value4Value" while listening to the podcast. You can find us on the Fountain Podcast App here: Click here [https://fountain.fm/show/wNv0vSPWzu8Gh7bZTorB] Disclaimer: The content of this podcast reflects the private opinions of the hosts, serves exclusively for general information purposes and does not constitute investment advice. Always remember: Do your own research - inform yourself before making any investment decisions, such as buying Bitcoin. First try to understand what Bitcoin is and how to store it. This podcast does not provide financial advice. Note that the co-hosts might be invested in crypto assets. Read more on our website: Click here [https://www.bfrr.de/disclaimer/] ---------------------------------------- All links marked with "*" are affiliate links. If you use these links for purchase, the podcast receives a small share of the revenue without any additional costs to you. On the contrary, affiliate links often include discount promotions, so you can even save money. We would appreciate it if you use these links to support us. Thank you very much!