Bitcoin, Fiat & Rock'n'Roll

Industry leaders reveal how traditional banks are integrating DLT, why stablecoins are disrupting trillion-dollar markets, and which regions are winning the digital asset race.

John Kiff, former IMF expert and global CBDC thought leader, discusses wholesale and retail CBDCs, implementation challenges, and why some projects fail. He envisions a future where well-regulated stablecoins backed by central bank money drive innovation.

Ulrich Bindseil, Former Director General for Market Infrastructures and Payments of the European Central Bank (ECB), discusses the Digital Euro project and his perspective on euro stablecoins

The US Senate passes landmark GENIUS Act for stablecoins while Circle’s IPO surges 400% and JP Morgan launches JPMD tokens. We debate stablecoin policy divides between US expansion and EU containment.

Explore how stablecoins enable 24/7 settlement, digital fiat on public blockchains, and new payment rails. Manuel breaks down what they are, regulation, use cases, and hurdles for adoption

Joachim Schwerin, principal economist at the European Commission, discusses the Digital Freedom Declaration and the need to protect developer rights in blockchain innovation. He shares insights on privacy, regulation, and digital freedom.

We explore AI-enabled DeFi with Obligate CEO Matthias Wyss, covering why sophisticated yields are now accessible to smaller investors and how AI bridges TradFi gaps.

Visa, Mastercard, and Stripe go all in on stablecoins – what does this mean for the market and global stablecoin adoption? And: novel tokenization marketplace launched.

In this episode, Manuel and Stefan talk to Tony McLaughlin who spent his career in Payments at Citi Bank, developed the concept of the regulated liability Network and who shifted his focus to Stablecoins in 2025

In this episode, Jonas and Alex discuss with Co-Pierre Georg, Director of the Frankfurt School Blockchain Center, the role that academia should play in crypto – and how theory and practice can be aligned

Jón Egilsson explains how Trump's embrace of stablecoins as tools for dollar dominance contrasts with Europe's defensive MiCA framework, creating a regulatory divergence with global implications for financial sovereignty.

Circle’s IPO reveals stablecoin economics while PayPal offers 3.7% on PYUSD and European authorities clash over dollar stablecoin dominance. The digital currency race accelerates globally.

In this episode, Jonas and Alex thoroughly assess the advantages and disadvantages of a national Bitcoin reserve and share our recommendation.

Brief description of episode (2-3 sentences, max 205 characters inkl. Space!) In this episode, we speak with Prof. Fabian Schär, a leading expert in blockchain technology and decentralized finance. We explore the usability of permissionless blockchains for financial services.

In this episode, Stefan and Manuel talk to Daniel Liebau who combines a practitioners view with academic research in DeFi applications and about Decentralized Autonomous Organisations (DAOs).

Join Michael Blaschke in conversation with Lidia Kurt, CEO of newly FINMA-approved BX Digital. Discover how this groundbreaking DLT trading facility aims to innovate Europe’s digital asset landscape, and explore the future of blockchain-based financial infrastructure in Europe.

This episode dives deep into the race between institutional DeFi building on public permissionless blockchains and TradFi developing permissioned ecosystems.

Legal expert Hagen Weiß (Dentons) analyzes how recent US regulatory shifts on stablecoins and digital assets are reshaping the global crypto landscape. We explore the geopolitical implications, compare with Europe’s MiCA framework, and examine what these changes mean for financial institutions and DeFi projects across both continents.

SAP’s Digital Currency Hub represents a breakthrough in enterprise payment technology, enabling companies to process stablecoin transactions directly through their ERP systems. This episode features SAP’s Bernhard Schweizer and EY’s Rebecca Carvatt discussing the successful implementation of stablecoin payments between PayPal and EY, demonstrating how stablecoins are becoming part of standard busi...

Following a previous episode that examined the pro-perspective, in this episode, we discuss counterarguments against a Bitcoin Reserve with Dr. Jürgen Schaaf from the European Central Bank (ECB)

This episode dives into the biggest crypto hack in history, the LIBRA token and its ties to the Argentinian President Milei, positive crypto company earnings, and the response of Europe to USD stablecoins.

Co-host Stefan Grasmann moderated a panel on crypto and digital asset at the Frankfurt Digital Finance Conference 2025. Together with experts from the crypto and traditional financial ecosystem, such as Bitpanda and Union Investment, Stefan discussed business opportunities for 2025.

In this episode, co-host Michael Blaschke discusses his latest quantum study, focusing on the most significant security threat to crypto. He analyzes the implications of quantum computing for the future of digital assets and currencies based on his recent findings.

The idea of a "strategic Bitcoin reserve" is currently stirring up the crypto world like few other topics. In the podcast, FDP member of the German Parliament Frank Schäffler explains the perspectives and opportunities that Bitcoin investments could offer for nations and central banks.

Julian Liniger's vision is to make Bitcoin accessible to everyone. To achieve this, the young Swiss entrepreneur founded Relai, an app designed to simplify buying Bitcoin. Julian shares insights into his journey, the rapid growth of Relai, and their recent $12 million funding round.