Are Stablecoins the Future of Payments? | WSJ’s Take On the Week

In this week's episode of WSJ’s Take On the Week, co-host Telis Demos and guest co-host Miriam Gottfried analyze the implications of a weak jobs report and the removal of Erika McEntarfer, the top official from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, examining how investors are grappling with the prospect of less-reliable economic data in the future. The discussion also covers this week's key CPI, PPI and business inventory reports. Plus, Telis offers a stablecoin primer before crypto firm Circle Internet’s upcoming earnings announcement.

The episode continues with Telis and Dan Dolev, a senior financial-technology analyst at investment firm Mizuho Americas, exploring the burgeoning world of stablecoins. Dolev offers insights into Circle's revenue streams, whether stablecoins can disrupt Visa and Mastercard’s payment network, and their broader implications for international money transfers.

Chapters:
00:21 A weak US jobs report
02:26 Wall Street's fear of unreliable government data
04:22 Preview of upcoming inflation data (CPI & PPI)
05:26 The hot IPO market and Circle's public debut
06:43 What is a stablecoin
08:12 How Circle's stablecoin business actually makes money
10:37 How regulation impacts Circle's partnerships
12:23 The analyst's bearish case for Circle's stock
13:39 Why Circle could be considered a meme stock
14:50 Can stablecoins disrupt Visa and Mastercard
18:10 The real opportunity is in global cross border payments
20:04 What to look for in Circle's upcoming earnings report
22:28 Could stablecoins truly disrupt the banking industry

This is WSJ’s Take On the Week where co-hosts Gunjan Banerji, lead writer for Live Markets, and Telis Demos, Heard on the Street’s banking and money columnist, cut through the noise and dive into markets, the economy and finance—the big trades, key players and business news ahead.

Have an idea for a future guest or episode? How can we better help you take on the week? We’d love to hear from you. Email the show at [email protected].

#stablecoin #crypto #wsj