Crypto
At the Blockchain Expert conference in Tel Aviv, leaders from the crypto and regulatory sectors talked about the future of digital payments, predicting that global transactions will soon happen instantly.
Idan Oferat, co-founder of Fireblocks, pointed out that stablecoins are becoming more important in blockchain transactions. He mentioned that more than half of the $3 trillion processed by Fireblocks included stablecoins such as USDT and USDC. He expected that stablecoins would keep growing in payment processing, with about 10% of transactions coming from payment companies.
Daal Shalev, an expert in the payment industry, noted that Bitcoin’s role in payments is decreasing. He mentioned that although it is still a valuable asset, its usefulness for transactions has declined as traditional fiat systems have improved.
He talked about central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), noting that the Bank of Israel is unsure about launching a CBDC until other countries do it first, a view shared by former U.S. President Donald Trump.
PayPal’s Yonatan Yochpaz introduced PYUSD, a stablecoin that makes dollar transactions faster and cheaper using blockchain technology. He pointed out that PYUSD is supported by real dollars and is overseen by the New York Department of Financial Services.
Shalev explained the difficulties banks have in keeping up with today’s digital payment needs, as many are still using old systems. He said that CBDCs could change monetary policy by adding features like expiration dates and geographic limits, giving governments more control. Shalev found that cryptocurrency helps improve payment methods and encourages competition, which is good for consumers.
