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In this conversation, we chat withTeana Baker-Taylor, VP of Policy and Regulatory Strategy, EMEA for Circle, a financial technology company and sole issuer of the digital currencies USD Coin (USDC) and Euro Coin (EUROC). Teana works directly with policymakers on the development of regulatory policy for digital currencies.
Prior to Circle, Teana was the Chief Policy Officer for the Chamber of Digital Commerce, where she worked with Capitol Hill policymakers and regulators on policy developments for digital assets and blockchain. Previously, she held leadership roles at Crypto.com and Binance, where she was responsible for go-to-market strategies, operations, and government affairs.
Teana was also previously the Executive Director of Global Digital Finance, leading policymaker advocacy initiatives focussing on the risks and opportunities of digital assets. Teana has held leadership roles in strategy and communications at Coinfloor, HSBC, Citi, Fiserv and Royal Bank of Scotland and Hilton Hotels. Teana is a Non-Executive Director of CryptoUK.
2’38”: Tracing Teana’s professional journey: From traditional finance to innovative blockchain and crypto exchange operations
5’14”: Exploring the true purpose of banks: Bridging the gap between abstract finance and tangible economic activity
9’48”: Decoding the digital asset space: A deep dive into the function, philosophy and criticisms of crypto exchanges
15’58”: Unraveling USDC: Understanding its creation, uses, and its novel role as a cash equivalent and unit of account on a payment rail
20’10”: Differentiating stablecoins: Examining redemption processes, collateralization practices, and the existence of investment risk
21’11”: Exploring the underlying mechanics of USDC: The role of bank-held dollars in stablecoin operations
24’47”: Envisioning the role of money in the metaverse: The use cases and potential dominance of stablecoins in emerging digital spaces
28’11”: The channels used to connect with Teana & learn more about Circle and USDC
Sneak Peek:
Teana Baker-Taylor: …we have created digital cash, tokenized cash, which means you can now take a US dollar and move it around open-source technology. So USDC is native on eight blockchains. Euro Coin is native on two blockchains, but it can be bridged onto others, and you can move it around into any of these blockchains. You can pay for things.
For example, we have a pilot undergoing right now where the Stellar network is the wallet provider for UNHCR. They are using USDC to essentially airdrop, humanitarian aid to people displaced by the Ukraine War. They then have this USDC in a wallet provided by seller, and they can walk into any MoneyGram anywhere in the world and cash out in whatever currency they need and whatever amount that they need, maybe they've got $500, they only need $100, they can still move around with $400 secure on their wallet and only take out $100 in cash or 100 euros or 100 pesos or whatever they need.
And so, that is a way to basically supersize the dollar or supersize the Euro and change its form factor so that can be…
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