Most people didn't choose their currency. They inherited it.
In this episode of Unblock'd, Dr. Jemma Green sits down with Ryne Saxe, Founder of Eco, to talk about what stablecoin infrastructure actually looks like at scale, why currency choice could be the most underpriced idea in crypto, and what it means to build toward optimism.
Eco started as the first full-featured stablecoin neobank, backed by a16z, Founders Fund and Pantera Capital. After getting choked out of the US banking system, Ryne rebuilt the company from the ground up as infrastructure for stablecoins. Today Eco runs on Solana, routing stablecoins across chains for fintechs, issuers and institutions.
In this episode, we discuss:
- How Eco built the first stablecoin neobank and why they shut it down
- The technology they built but never got to use
- Why stablecoin routing is the problem nobody talks about
- What $32 trillion in settled volume still gets wrong
- Why institutions are moving faster than anyone knows
- Currency choice as a risk mitigator for emerging economies
- What it means to build toward optimism when the system keeps saying no
Key Quotes from the episode:
"Money flows like fluid dynamics. If you give it the opportunity, it will choose the path of least resistance, lowest cost, fastest clearance." — Ryne Saxe
"Money is a collective choice and clearly a lot of us are forced into the currency we chose at a young age because we live in a particular place." — Ryne Saxe
"If you're an early crypto builder, you have an opportunity to build in a way that bends that outcome toward optimism." — Ryne Saxe
About Ryne Saxe
Ryne Saxe is the founder and CEO of Eco, a stablecoin infrastructure company routing digital dollars across chains and markets at scale. Eco is backed by a16z, Founders Fund and Pantera Capital and is integrated with Solana, among other major chains. Before Eco's infrastructure pivot, Ryne built and launched the first full-featured stablecoin neobank in the US. He studied physics and law before going all in on crypto in 2018.
Find Ryne: @rynesaxe on X | Learn more about Eco: eco.com
ABOUT Unblock'd:
Unblock'd is hosted by Dr. Jemma Green, co-founder of Powerledger and one of the leading voices at the intersection of energy, blockchain and Web3. Each episode goes deep with the builders, founders and thinkers shaping the decentralised future.
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For more information on Dr. Jemma Green
Visit: https://www.powerledger.io/
Or connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jemmagreen/