The stablecoin evangelist: Katie Haun’s fight for digital dollars

In 2018, when Bitcoin was trading about $ 4,000, and at least most Americans believed that the cryptocurrency was a heresy, Katie Hoon found herself in a discussion stage in Mexico City against Paul Krugman, Nobel Prize -winning economist. While Krugman focused on Bitcoin’s land fluctuations, Haun directed the conversation towards something else – Stablecoins.

She said on the stage: “Stablecoins is really interesting and really important to this ecosystem to hedge against this volatility,” explaining how digital symbols attached to the US dollar can provide Blockchain technology benefits without the rise and landing of traditional cryptocurrencies.

Crowgman completely rejected the idea.

This was not exactly a turning point in Hun’s profession, but it was one moment among other things that helped in identifying it. Haun provides one of the former federal prosecutors, an unusual background for investment in encryption, after spent more than a decade in investigating financial crimes and creating the first work team in the encrypted currencies in the government. After she became the first female partner at Andressen Horowitz in 2018 and participated in the leadership of her encryption boxes, Haun Ventures was established in 2022 with more than $ 1.5 billion in management assets.

Hanging it was not without its own wooden occurrence. Despite its role in the A16Z and the industry contacts that came with it, the two did not publicly participate in anything shortly before the launch of its fund, and Hun dissolved from the Coinbase Council last year while Mark Anderson remains a manager.

When she was asked Wednesday night at the Techcrunch’s Strictlyvc event about her relationship with Andressen Horowitz, she reduced any possible friction while admitting that they are not fully cooperating. She said, “There is no” Nabil Man Agreement “, echoing the question of this editor about whether there is any understanding to avoid competition with her former employer.” In fact, I am still talking to Andressen Horowitz. You are right that we have not done any deals recently. ”

A clear lack of joint investment can reflect the Cutthroat industry or challenges associated with leaving one of the most prominent Silicon Valley companies to compete directly with former colleagues. Whatever the situation, Haun is now planning its own path, and in its heart, the stablecoins, which are encrypted currencies designed to maintain a stable value by exposure to disk on traditional assets such as the US dollar.

Unlike Bitcoin or ETHEREUM, which can swing greatly in value, Stablecoins like USDC from Circle or USDT of Tether aims to trade in exactly $ 1, creating a digital representation of the traditional currency that can move on Blockchain networks.

In fact, it looks fast forward, and Iman Hun appears to be increasingly. Stablecoins – which was barely present in 2015 – represented a quarter of a trillion dollars. They have become the fourteenth of the United States Treasury in the world. According to what was reported, for the first time in the past year, the volume of Stablecoin transactions in the visa exceeded.

“I think people who looked at Stablecoins a few years ago thought, what is the value of the pillar?” Hon said on Wednesday night. “You asked me before. I said,” Why do I need stablecoins? And I said, “I point out that” if he works for me, then this works for everyone. “

In fact, for most Americans, the current financial system works well. Our veenmo, bank accounts, credit cards. But Hoon, who is based on the understanding of the Public Prosecutor of Global Financial Systems, says she has long realized that the United States experience is not global.

In countries with unstable currencies or limited banking infrastructure, Stablecoins offers a unique thing, she says, which is immediate access to a stable value provided in dollars that can be sent anywhere in the world against pennies. She said on Wednesday: “People in Türkiye are not thinking about expressing it as an encrypted currency, as they think about expression as money,” she said on Wednesday.

Technology has developed significantly since these early discussions. The cost of stablecoins once $ 12 to send it internationally. Stable Stablecoin says fully backed by the dollar held in JP Morgan bank accounts and are surprised by the four major accounting companies.

No wonder that the company’s world is noticing in a big way. According to what was reported, Walmart and Amazon Stablecoins, as well as other Goliats such as Uber, Apple and Airbnb. The reason is the simple economy. Stablecoins provides a way to move the value of US dollars using cryptocurrencies instead of traditional banking infrastructure, which may provide these heavy retail companies in processing fees.

But the shift has reduced critics from economic chaos. While Circle and Tether are committed to having sufficient reserves to support their symbols, unlike traditional banks, there is no secure government protection behind these reserves. Regarding, if the major companies can issue their own currencies, what happens to monetary policy and banking organization?

Fears are deeper than mere economic turmoil. Not all stablecoins are not created equally, and many of them lack support and control provided by companies such as Circle. While organized Stablecoins is well -known as USDC backed by actual dollars in US Treasury leaves, others work to reduce transparency or depend on complex algorithm mechanisms that have proven vulnerable to collapse. (Terrausd has been subjected to the greatest crash so far, as it eradicates $ 60 billion of value when it is separated.)

Corruption fears in particular appeared in the recent focus when the family of President Donald Trump issued Stablecoin, a move that has highlighted the potential conflict of interests in an industry that could directly affect the political influence on the market value and organizational results.

These concerns have reached a large extent as congress discussed the law of a genius, legislation that creates a federal framework for the organization of Stablecoin. The draft law approved the Senate early last week with the support of the two parties, as 14 Democrats cross party lines to support it. The House of Representatives is now awaiting before it reaches the president’s office.

But Senator Elizabeth Warren, a member of the Senate Banking Committee, was especially audio in its opposition, and described the legislation as a “highway for the corruption of Donald Trump.” Her criticism focuses on a noticeable gap in the draft law: While it is prohibited from members of Congress and senior executives officials from issuing Stablecoin products, he does not say anything about their family members.

When I was asked about Warren’s fears on Wednesday night, Hun was practically rolled. “I think it is really paradoxes that Elizabeth Warren or other Democrats who call this corruption do not run to pass the encryption legislation,” she said. “If there were the road rules in place [already]There was a framework that could have been, and there could be clear rules for what is safety, what the commodity, and what consumer protection about it. “

Hun, who has made the investment capital company that has made many Stablecoin investments including Bridge (obtained by Stripe for ten times front revenues), largely supporting legislation, in an indisputable way. But she had one prominent criticism when she was asked about what she did not like: banning the draft law on the back -to -name stablecoins.

“I am not sure that the stand -up Stablecooins is a good idea for consumers in the United States, but I am not sure that the ban is a good idea.” The case is due to the profits of the interest gained on Stablecoin reserves. Currently, these money goes to companies like Circle and Coinbase. But Hon wondering why consumers should not get this return, just as they do with the savings account.

“If you have a savings account or check the account and you get the return on that, you get attention,” she explained. “What if I just say,” No, the bank gets an interest, not you, “and they lend to your money?”

Haun was less accurate when it comes to another interest to Warren: If the genius law was signed, Stablecoins may become a means for money laundering and terrorist financing.

Hon said: “criminals are a great experimental test for all technologies,” Hoon said. “But this technology can be tracked, and more cash tracking. The largest criminal tool is the dollar bill.” (According to Haun, the Ministry of Treasury witnessed that 99.9 % of money laundering crimes succeed in using traditional banking wires, not cryptocurrency.)

Meanwhile, she said, the organizational clarity provided by legislation such as the law of genius can make the system safer by distinguishing between the legal and well -supported changes from experimental or risky variables.

In fact, with the continued maturity in the ecological system Stablecoin, Haun sees greater changes. It imagines in the future as all kinds of assets – from the money market boxes to real estate to private credit – get a “code” and provide 24/7 for global markets.

“It is just a digital representation of the physical asset,” she explained. “Blackrock, Franklin Templeton, have already repeated their money market money. It has already happened.”

According to Haun, distinctive assets can add democratically access investments in ways similar to how Netflix gives a democratic character to entertainment. Instead of having to be wealthy enough to meet the minimum investment thresholds, a person with $ 25 and the smartphone can buy a fracture ownership in a class of Apple or Amazon, for example.

Hon said on Wednesday: “Just because something is inevitable, it does not mean that he is imminent.” But it is confident that the transformation is coming, driven by the same forces that made Stablecoins successful: it’s faster and cheaper and insists on reaching more than traditional alternatives.

If we look back in this 2018 discussion with Krugman, it seems that the stability of Haun has resulted. The main question now is not whether digital dollars will reshape the financial system, but perhaps most importantly, whether organizers can keep pace with technology while addressing legitimate concerns about corruption, consumer protection and financial stability.

Hun does not seem worried. While critics refer to the fact that Stablecoins account for only 2 % of global payments, they question the suitability of their product market, and this anxiety also blows. Instead, you see this is a familiar story of technical adoption – a story that has been played again and again and takes a longer time than people initially imagine.

“We think it is really early,” she said to the crowd.

If you are interested in learn more about what Haun said this week last week, you can see our full conversation below: