The future of money is being rewritten — and stablecoins are at the center of it. At the 2025 Payments Innovation Conference hosted by The Federal Reserve in Washington DC, Paxos CEO and Co-Founder Charles Cascarilla joined industry leaders to discuss how digital assets are reshaping global payments. His remarks underscored one clear theme: the financial system is on the verge of a major replatforming — one that’s faster, more open, and more resilient.

Here are five key insights from his conversation:

1. User experience remains the barrier to mass adoption

Despite the progress in blockchain and DeFi, Cascarilla noted that today’s user experience still feels like the early internet era. The technology is powerful but not yet invisible. The technological complexity must be abstracted away and simplifying the experience is critical. When blockchain technology becomes seamless and intuitive - and largely not visible - it can unlock mainstream adoption across payments, banking and beyond.

2. Stablecoins must be part of mainstream money movement

Cascarilla emphasized that stablecoins shouldn’t exist in isolation from traditional finance. Instead, they should power the same kinds of transactions people and businesses already make every day — only faster and more efficiently. By integrating stablecoins directly into existing payment flows, money can move globally, 24/7, with the same trust and compliance standards expected of the traditional system.

3. Banks and stablecoins are partners in modernization

Rather than displacing banks, stablecoins represent an opportunity for collaboration. Cascarilla underscored that banks and regulated stablecoin issuers can work together to upgrade the financial system while maintaining stability and public trust. Modernizing how dollars move strengthens U.S. competitiveness and reinforces the dollar’s global role — not weakens it.

4. Regulation and infrastructure must evolve together

Regulatory clarity and modern infrastructure are key to unlocking the potential of digital dollars. Cascarilla urged policymakers to build frameworks that foster innovation and preserve financial integrity. With clearer standards for interoperability, reserve management, and liquidity, stablecoins can integrate seamlessly with the broader financial ecosystem — ensuring that innovation happens safely and at scale.

5. The next frontier: programmable money and embedded payments

Looking ahead, Cascarilla pointed to a future where payments are increasingly automated — between devices, algorithms, and AI agents. Stablecoins are uniquely positioned for this world: they are programmable, interoperable, and always on. This programmability will enable entirely new categories of financial interaction — from micro-transactions to machine-to-machine payments — making value transfer as seamless as data transfer is today.

Building the foundation for the next generation of payments

As the financial system evolves, Paxos remains focused on building the regulated infrastructure to support it. By combining blockchain innovation with trust, transparency and compliance, Paxos is helping leading enterprises and institutions reimagine how money moves — safely, globally, and instantly.