Stablecoins Won't Build Themselves w/ Zach Abrams (Bridge)

Presented by Stablecon; Powered by BVNK.In this episode of Money Code, hosts Chuk Okpalugo and Raj Parekh sit down with Zach Abrams, co-founder and CEO of Bridge, the stablecoin infrastructure company acquired by Stripe that grew several multiples in 2025.They unpack why Zach calls himself "the founder equivalent of a child of the Great Depression," how following developers into the "fog of war" built five businesses in two years, and why stablecoins won't realize their potential unless someone forces the economics away from existing issuers and back to consumers.Subscribe and listen to the Money Code podcast here:https://lnk.to/MoneyCodeSNChapters00:00 How Bridge went from early adopters to mainstream in three months02:54 "The founder equivalent of a Great Depression child"06:09 Why stablecoins are the first global financial building block07:30 Agentic payments: planting seeds for the next cycle14:30 How one use case kept pulling Bridge into the next18:45 The $10B ceiling that forced a bank charter22:50 "Everyone is competing on maximal regulation"31:42 Why "focus" is wrong advice for this market36:17 The Stripe acquisition made things harder, not easier43:42 How one customer becomes five products49:30 Why tokenized stocks beat real ones at half the borrowing cost52:55 "If we don't build it, no one else will"58:47 Where to find Zach and BridgeConnect with the Hosts & GuestChuk Okpalugo: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chuk-okpalugo/ | https://x.com/chuk_xyz/ | http://stablecoinblueprint.comRaj Parekh: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rajparekh7/ | https://x.com/rajparekh | http://monad.xyzZach Abrams: https://x.com/zcabrams | https://bridge.xyzAbout 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.