Shah Ramezani, CEO of Noah, says stablecoins can move money across borders in seconds, versus three to five days and 5 to 8 percent costs through correspondent banking.
Noah's infrastructure bundles local-currency liquidity, routing, KYC handled once for partners, and settlement, so partners can plug in without building each piece.
Ramezani argues stablecoin risk concerns are outdated, pointing to US and European regulation, audited reserves, and Treasury-backed issuers, and expects banks to handle fewer transactions over time.
Stablecoins Are Quietly Becoming the Plumbing of Global Payments
Stablecoins are becoming the settlement layer for cross-border money. They replace days of correspondent banking with real-time movement, and Noah sells the hidden plumbing of liquidity, routing, compliance and reconciliation that makes this usable. Ramezani argues that regulation has removed much of the early risk, so most users will adopt stablecoins without noticing, while banks do less of the work.
Takeaways
Stablecoins fix slow, costly cross-border payments. Correspondent banking and legacy bank software can delay a payment three to five days. Sending money from the US to Argentina costs five to 8 percent including FX. Stablecoins settle in seconds and let recipients hold dollars against more inflationary local currencies.
Noah packages four infrastructure components for partners. Noah supplies liquidity to convert any local currency into any stablecoin, built over five years. It adds routing that weighs cost and partner choice, compliance, and settlement with reconciliation, so partners plug in without handling each piece.
Regulation has largely derisked stablecoins. Ramezani says risk worries date from crypto's wild-west days. He cites rules in the US and Europe, including the Genius Act, audited reserves, and issuers holding short-term Treasury bonds that can be sold quickly to meet redemptions.
Most users will touch stablecoins without noticing. Some users are stablecoin native and choose the rail directly. Many others will use payment systems that quietly settle through stablecoins because it is more efficient. Ramezani expects this behind-the-scenes use to grow.
Compliance across 140 countries is the hard part. Each market has different reporting obligations, user document capabilities and fraud patterns. Noah handles KYC for partners so users do not repeat checks, aims to stay rigorous yet instant, and works with regulators whose concerns he calls valid.
Banks stay, but handle fewer transactions. Banks will never cease to exist, and the top five US banks still sit at the centre of many dollar payments. New charters go to institutions built on new foundations, some using blockchain ledgers, so banks will be involved in fewer transactions.
Noah is growing fast on market tailwinds. Noah raised a 38m dollar seed round and grew revenue 538 percent this year. Stablecoin market cap is about 330bn dollars, up tenfold in four years, with a goal of 4tn dollars by 2030.
Advice for protecting users
Work with regulated companies that have strong licenses and a real presence, and avoid grey-area firms.
Tap a name to go there · tap a line to see why they are linked
On this episode 2
Show 1
Research a company's board and its independence.
Accept that some trust is still needed, because users cannot check every smart contract.
Large stablecoin brands should carry less risk, much as people trust brands such as JPMorgan.