Stablecoins Change the Math on Building Neobanks w/ Ryan Bozarth (Dakota)

In this episode of Money Code, hosts Chuk Okpalugo and Raj Parekh sit down with Ryan Bozarth, co-founder and CEO of Dakota, to unpack how Dakota went from building its own neobank to selling the regulated infrastructure layer behind the next generation of stablecoin-native fintechs.They dig into why building a neobank has shifted from a 12-18 month, multimillion-dollar project to something teams can test in weeks, and why the next bottleneck is domain expertise, distribution, and knowing which underserved market is worth building for.Subscribe and listen to the Money Code podcast here:https://lnk.to/MoneyCodeSNChapters00:00 Dakota's path from neobank to infrastructure01:18 What "neobank" means on stablecoin rails03:39 The new build math: weeks, not years05:48 Community banking comes back through niches08:28 Global rails, niche markets, and real experiments10:47 Dakota's earned pain: onboarding and compliance as code13:45 AI-native builders and marketplace distribution17:48 When the neobank becomes a feature21:57 Distribution is still the hard part27:42 GENIUS, PACE, and the payment-institution lane31:29 Why non-bank payments companies could win34:49 Banks have to choose their game37:15 Who benefits from the regulatory shift41:33 Money becomes code44:45 The offline niches nobody on crypto Twitter sees46:00 Where to find Ryan and DakotaConnect with the Hosts & GuestChuk Okpalugo: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chuk-okpalugo/ | https://x.com/chukxyz/ | https://stablecoinblueprint.comRaj Parekh: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rajparekh7/ | https://x.com/rajparekh | http://monad.xyzRyan Bozarth: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanbozarth | https://x.com/ryanbozarthDakota: https://dakota.xyz | https://x.com/dakotaxyzAbout StableconStablecon (https://stablecon.com/) is the premier gathering for those at the intersection of DeFi, economic policy, financial infrastructure, and institutional integration, and those reinventing global commerce. By convening the brightest minds in fintech and crypto, Stablecon provides attendees with world class thought leadership and fosters unparalleled networking and strategic collaboration across the digital payments industry. Whether you're building, advising, or navigating this new frontier, this is the room where it happens.About BVNKBVNK is the leading provider of stablecoin payments infrastructure, helping businesses move money faster, settle globally, and even launch their own stablecoin products. Head to https://bvnk.com/ to learn more.