Episode Details

In this solo episode of Bitcoin, Fiat & Rock’n’Roll, co-host Michael Blaschke steps away from the usual interview format to unpack a topic that is rapidly moving from crypto niche to systemic relevance: stablecoins. The episode is built around his newly published study with the FERI Cognitive Finance Institute, “Stablecoins: How Tokenized Money is Changing the Global Financial Architecture,” co-authored with Dr. Heinz-Werner Rapp.

This is not a hype-driven discussion about token prices. It is a deep dive into the monetary layer of the token economy: why tokenized assets need tokenized money, why stablecoins are emerging as the dominant settlement instrument, and why this shift matters for banks, regulators, corporates and policymakers.

Michael introduces the study’s two-pillar model: tokenized assets on one side, tokenized money on the other. He explains why a digital bond or tokenized fund remains incomplete if settlement still depends on slow legacy payment rails, limited business hours and correspondent banking chains. Stablecoins, in this view, are not just another crypto asset. They are the missing monetary infrastructure.

The episode also explores the scale of the market, the role of stablecoins in US Treasury demand, the geopolitical implications of dollar dominance, and the widening gap between Europe’s regulatory leadership and America’s strategic push. Michael examines the core risks institutions need to understand: depegs, reserve quality, intermediary fragility, regulatory shocks and run dynamics in 24/7 markets.

A major focus is Europe’s response under MiCA, including euro-denominated initiatives such as AllUnity and the Kivalis consortium. Looking ahead, the episode also connects stablecoins with the rise of agentic AI, asking what happens when autonomous systems begin to rely on programmable, always-on digital money.

This is a dense but practical episode for anyone working in institutional DLT, treasury, payments, compliance, digital assets or financial infrastructure. If you want to understand how tokenized money could reshape global finance, this is the episode to start with.

Blaschke & Rapp (2026) — "Stablecoins: How Tokenized Money Is Changing the Global Financial Architecture," published by the FERI Cognitive Finance Institute (the study that the episode is built around).

FERI Cognitive Finance Institute press release

Michael Blaschke on LinkedIn

Bitcoin, Fiat & Rock’n’Roll Website

Bitcoin, Fiat & Rock’n’Roll Telegram Channel Brunnermeier & Niepelt (2019) — Referenced for the argument that private and public money can be economically equivalent, but only under specific conditions (equivalence breaks down when trust in the private issuer erodes).

Lyons & Viswanath-Natraj (2020) — Analyzed the stablecoin peg mechanism and compared arbitrageurs to authorized participants in the ETF market.

Gorton & Zhang (Yale) — Compared bond-based stablecoins (Tether, Circle) to the Wildcat Banks of 19th-century America, i.e., private money issuers backed by reserves with historically mixed results.

Ahmed & Aldasoro (BIS working paper, 2026) — "Stablecoins and Safe Asset Prices" — Empirical