Couchonomics with Arjun

What Happens When Stablecoins Start Competing With Banks?

• Arjun Singh • Season 4 • Episode 38

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0:00 | 47:17

Money is no longer just held. It is moving, earning, and quietly reshaping the system around it.

In this episode of Couchonomics with Arjun, Arjun is joined by Anton Golub, Founding Member of RWA Labs, for a sharp, grounded conversation on what is actually happening beneath the surface of crypto, stablecoins, and tokenization.

It is a clear breakdown of how liquidity, leverage, and market structure are shaping Bitcoin cycles, why stablecoins are becoming impossible to ignore, and what happens when financial systems built for control collide with technologies built for movement.

From retail dominance in crypto markets to the real risks behind products like Strategy, and from yield-bearing stablecoins to the tension they create with traditional banks, this conversation stays rooted in what actually matters.

They also explore tokenization beyond the buzz, why most real-world asset experiments are still early, and how infrastructure gaps like liquidity, regulation, and market access continue to limit adoption.

🎙️ In this episode:

• What really caused recent Bitcoin volatility and liquidity drops
• Why retail still dominates crypto ownership more than we think
• Strategy, leverage, and the idea of “too big to fail” in crypto
• The reality behind stablecoin yield and why regulators are cautious
• How stablecoins could pressure smaller economies and currencies
• Tokenized deposits vs stablecoins and where each fits
• Why most tokenization use cases are still early or incomplete
• Real estate tokenization, liquidity gaps, and market readiness
• The future of Layer 1 blockchains and why many won’t survive
• Where crypto infrastructure still falls short today

If you are trying to understand where crypto meets real financial systems, and what actually drives adoption beyond narratives, this episode gives you a practical lens to think through it.

⏱️ CHAPTERS

00:00 Bitcoin, yield, and why stablecoins are everywhere
03:00 What broke the crypto market and liquidity after October
07:00 Who really owns Bitcoin today
11:00 Strategy, leverage, and systemic risk
14:00 Stablecoin yield and regulatory pressure
20:00 Stablecoins vs monetary policy in emerging markets
23:00 Tokenized deposits vs stablecoins explained
29:00 Cross-border payments and real-world use cases
33:00 Tokenization of real-world assets, reality vs hype
40:00 Layer 1 blockchains and future consolidation

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