Why Every Company Will Have a Stablecoin — and Why One L2 Isn’t Enough - Ep. 912

Unchained

Laura Shin

Tech News, Business News, News

4.6 • 1.3K Ratings

🗓️ 1 October 2025

⏱️ 92 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

This week on Unchained, we’ve got a double-header. First, Zach Abrams, CEO of Bridge (acquired by Stripe), unveils Open Issuance, a platform designed to let any company launch its own stablecoin. He explains why the stablecoin duopoly is ending, why fragmentation won’t slow adoption, and how stablecoins could pair with AI to reshape global money movement. Then, Kenny Li, co-founder of Manta Network, joins to reveal why Manta is pivoting away from being just another L2. He argues that the scaling wars are oversaturated, that mercenary users make infra battles a fight for crumbs, and that the real prize is at the application layer. Thank you to our sponsors! Mantle Aptos Guests: Zach Abrams, Co-Founder and CEO of Bridge Kenny Li, Co-Founder and Core Contributor of Manta Network Links: Unchained: How New Stablecoin Startup Bridge Got Acquired by Stripe for $1.1B MetaMask Stablecoin mUSD Goes Live Why JPMorgan and Shopify Are Rolling Out New Products on Ethereum Layer 2 Base Tempo Launch Announcement: The Blockchain Designed for Payments Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Hi, everyone. Welcome to Unchained, your no-hype resource for all things crypto. I'm your host, Laura Shin.
0:10.2	Today we've got a double header. First step is Zach Abrams, CEO of Bridge, the Stripe acquired
0:16.4	startup that just launched Open Issuance, a platform that allows every company to launch its own
0:21.8	stablecoin.
0:23.0	He explains what this means for stable coins, payments, and even AI.
0:27.6	Then in the second half, we're joined by Kenny Lee, co-founder of Manta Network, who reveals
0:32.9	why Manta is pivoting away from being just another L2 to focusing on building applications.
0:38.5	He makes the case that the L2 wars are a fight for crumbs and that the real opportunity
0:43.1	is an app that can bring in the next wave of users.
0:46.9	It's a pack show, but before we dive in, let's hear from Aptos and Mantle, the sponsors
0:52.0	who make this show possible.
0:54.3	Aptos is the no-compromise infrastructure for global financial markets, fast, reliable, and 100
1:00.9	times more cost-efficient than other blockchains.
1:03.9	See for yourself why APDOS is the chain of choice for institutions, users, and developers
1:09.1	alike at the APDOS Experience, October 15th and 16th
1:13.5	in Brooklyn. Mantle is pioneering blockchain for banking of revolutionary new category at the
1:19.8	intersection of Tradfai and Web 3. Follow Mantle underscore official to learn more. I'm here with
1:26.8	Zach Abrams, co-founder and CEO of Bridge.
1:29.4	Welcome, Zach.
1:30.5	Hey, Laura.
1:31.6	Excited to be here.
1:33.2	Yeah, excited to have you.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Laura Shin, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Laura Shin and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.