It's Not Stablecoins vs. Banks. It's Stablecoins With Banks. w/ Kirill Gertman (Conduit)

It's Not Stablecoins vs. Banks. It's Stablecoins With Banks. w/ Kirill Gertman (Conduit)

May 7, 2026 · 54 min

About this episode

In this episode, Chuk Okpalugo interviews Kirill Gertman about the complexities of stablecoins and their role in cross-border payments.

Presented by Stablecon; Powered by BVNK. In this episode of Money Code, host Chuk Okpalugo sits down with Kirill Gertman, co-founder and CEO of Conduit, the cross-border payments orchestrator building stablecoin infrastructure across Latin America, Africa, and Southeast Asia. They unpack why the stablecoin sandwich is actually a "spaghetti-filled taco" — where chain selection, local rail access, and geography-specific liquidity make cross-border payments far messier than the narrative suggests — how non-USD stablecoins only work when "designed to move, not to hold," and why the winners won't be banks or crypto companies alone, but the T-shaped players who specialize deeply and stay open to everyone else. Subscribe and listen to the Money Code podcast here: https://lnk.to/MoneyCodeSN Chapters 00:00 The stablecoin sandwich is actually a spaghetti-filled taco 03:21 "Within 10 years, vast majority of cross-border will be blockchain-based" 08:58 What Conduit actually does: orchestration across LatAm, Africa, and SE Asia 12:05 Bottom-up adoption: individuals hedging, then SMEs, then enterprise 18:52 The K-shaped market: enterprise buyers on one end, vibe…

People in this episode

Host: Chuk Okpalugo

Guest: Kirill Gertman

Topics covered

Sponsors

Stablecon, BVNK

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Conduit

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