Episode summary
Episode 347: Corey Then of Circle: StableCoins and how the Velocity of Money can Unlock Prosperity
The Fiftyfaces Podcast
· · Hosts: Aoifinn Devitt · Guests: Corey Then
Summary
Corey Then argues that Circle’s stablecoins are not mainly about crypto speculation but about moving the dollar faster, cheaper, and with programmable settlement. He describes USDC as backed by cash, reverse repos, and 3-month T-bills, and says that on-chain settlement can remove frictions from payments, cross-border transfers, escrow, and other middlemen-heavy workflows. He said Circle now has about 78 billion in USDC circulation and that more than $50 trillion of transactions have settled over the life of the product.
He expects stablecoins to become less visible over time as they get embedded into payments, tokenized securities, and derivatives collateral. Corey Then said Circle is building beyond net interest income through ARC, its own blockchain, and the Circle Payments Network, which is designed for vetted participants and instant transfers with compliance features. He also pointed to growing use cases in 185 countries, especially in places with high inflation or in humanitarian aid, as evidence of network effects.
Regulation is the main risk in his view. Corey Then said the 2025 Genius Act improved consumer protection in the U.S., but he is now pushing for comparable global rules so stablecoins do not stop at borders under fragmented regimes. He argued that broad adoption of dollar-denominated stablecoins could reinforce dollar strength and even lower borrowing costs by dispersing demand for Treasuries.
Key takeaways
- Corey Then says Circle’s USDC is backed by cash, reverse repurchase agreements, and 3-month T-bills, and is designed for fast, programmable settlement.
- He said USDC has about 78 billion in circulation and that more than $50 trillion of transactions have settled through the product.
- Corey Then expects stablecoins to grow into tokenized securities and derivatives collateral, where instant settlement could matter most.
- He said the biggest risk is regulatory fragmentation abroad, because balkanized rules could make stablecoins stop at borders.
- Corey Then argues that dollar-denominated stablecoins could support dollar dominance and potentially lower U.S. borrowing costs by broadening Treasury demand.
Notable quotes
“What I saw was using the technology of cryptography and blockchains to move money around the world much faster and cheaper and in a programmable way”
“So this is like real scale. When I started 3 and 12 years ago at Circle 4.5 trillion in transactions had settled”
“If you end up with bulcanized regulatory structures around the world, you could end up with stable coins stopping at borders”
How the episode opens
This podcast series is kindly sponsored by Evston Capital. For over 20 years, Evston Capital has had a key focus in identifying early stage investment managers it believes are capable of generating long-term value added returns in complex innovative strategy areas. This series is also sponsored by Alvine Capital.
Alvine Capital is a specialist investment manager and placement boutique with a particular focus on alternative assets, a significant presence in London and Stockholm. So, I just think that you're going to see stable coins enable commerce to speed up and as you increase money velocity, you can actually bring more prosperity to more people around the world, which is what our mission actually is. I'm Ethan Devit and welcome to the 50 Faces podcast.
A podcast committed to revealing the richness and diversity of the world of investment by focusing on its people and their stories. I'm joined today by Corey Pen who is vice president and deputy general counsel global policy at Circle, a global financial technology company. He previously held a series of inass legal roles and spent a period in the White House as an economics and department of justice lead.
He's also an adjunct professor at the Washington University School of Law. Welcome, Corey. Thanks for joining me today.
Thanks for having me, Ethan. I'm glad to be here. — Well, we of course work together at Vanetta briefly. We had some overlap there a few years ago and I always was fascinated by your background, particularly the fact that you'd spent a period in the White House. So, before we launch into your current very exciting role in digital finance, can you talk us through your background and entry into finance here?
Yeah, sure. Appreciate the question. So, I got to finance in a little bit of a winding way, I guess.
From the episode’s captions: roughly the first two minutes, lightly cleaned. Keep watching on YouTube →
Topics
- stablecoins
- money velocity
- regulation
- cross-border commerce
- crypto adoption
Companies and tickers mentioned
- Circle
- Moneta
Watch the episode
Summary, takeaways and quote selection by Octagon. Quotes are short excerpts; the full conversation is in the episode.
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The Fiftyfaces Podcast, this episode and its artwork belong to Aoifinn Devitt. Octagon is not affiliated with the show; this page is an independent summary.
