My takeaways from the 2025 Stablecoin Conference in Mexico City: > B2B international remittances are HOT, and possibly overcrowded. Everyone is doing stablecoin borderless payments. Those who win will be those who realize they need to specialize in particular corridors and niches. > People still misunderstand LATAM as a market, but they're learning. The smart ones know that you can't just "conquer LATAM." Every country is different in its culture and regulatory environment. Yeah, they all speak Spanish, but that doesn't make the US/UK the same market. > The major international companies want in, and mostly through M&A. After Stripe bought Bridge and Privy there's a general frenzy for crypto-native companies with a solid foundation and polished founders. They want founders who fit in with their current work culture. Companies that are too immature or degenerate will never be acquired for this reason. They're not just buying the tech, but the founders and their expertise. The older generation of these larger fintech and payment companies still don't understand crypto fundamentally. > To reiterate, they still don't understand the fundamentals of crypto. Last night I explained to a large provider the security and resilience of Ethereum. Many of them don't even understand what a block is or what it means to validate them. They're just riding the hot hand of the stablecoin narrative and the cost savings it brings to their clients. > Many aren't even telling their clients they use stablecoins. They are luring them in with fast settlement and low fees. > Non-crypto VCs are becoming more interested in investing in crypto companies, stablecoins, and neobanks. However, they are still quite risk off and much more interested in the Series A+ stages to minimize their risk. > Cards and Ramps. Both are improving month over month, and card offerings are becoming more competitive as ramping rates head to zero. Within the next 5 years I expect nearly all fiat on/off ramping to be 0% commissions. Moving money around the globe will be fast and efficient. > They still don't understand DeFi. There is massive opportunity for DeFi companies that can make earning yield easy for these institutions and also for custodial companies. Bridging the gap for easy DeFi is a massive opportunity, and I don't just say this as somebody who is very well positioned to capitalize on it. > Crypto is maturing. The adults are finally coming to the table. This doesn't mean they're coming to buy your memecoin bags. The only networks I heard mentioned this week were Bitcoin, Ethereum (including L2s), Solana (once), and Stellar (once). > The networks with presence at the conference were Arbitrum and Scroll, that's it. Solana was technically a sponsor but had zero presence. > Investors seem heavily interested in B2B stablecoin banking; where clients can be given access to high quality DeFi yield. Everyone wants access to onchain yield but they're not fully informed of how to get it. Big money also wants security guarantees before investing liquidity. They're not just yeeting millions into unproven protocols.