Stablecoins are moving from crypto niche to real financial plumbing, and institutions are building for that reality today. This post recaps the top 5 key takeaways from the Merkle Meets webinar held on September 9, 2025, where Robert Whitaker, Director of Law Enforcement Affairs at Merkle Science, spoke with Sulaiman Javed, Legal Counsel at Mastercard, about what it will take for stablecoins and tokenized money to scale responsibly. The full recorded discussion is available on our YouTube channel here.
Sulaiman framed Mastercard as a payment technology company where trust and compliance are not accessories but foundations. Early collapses, security incidents, and inconsistent practices across chains left a credibility gap in digital assets. Robert pressed on how that gap closes, and Sulaiman’s answer centered on shared standards that regulated participants can actually adopt. Onboarding, KYC and AML, and sanctions controls look far closer to traditional finance than they did a few years ago, but fragmentation across chains and actors still makes consistent rulebooks essential. The institutions that grow this market will be the ones that treat trust and compliance as product features from day one.
Stablecoins make value move in seconds, any day of the week, at very low cost. Robert connected this to real life, recalling a weekend payment he could have made instantly in USDC if the counterparty had accepted it. Sulaiman emphasized the inclusion angle. In parts of Africa, Asia, and Latin America, USD-pegged stablecoins already hedge inflation and lower remittance costs. The practical friction is off-ramping into local currency and absorbing foreign exchange spreads. Because most volume is still USD denominated, broader issuance in other currencies would ease FX pain and make day-to-day spending more straightforward for local economies.
A recurring theme was the distinction between tokenized deposits and stablecoins. Tokenized deposits are commercial bank money recorded on token rails and remain claims on regulated banks. Stablecoins are usually issued by non-bank entities and are backed by reserves held by the issuer. Robert and Sulaiman agreed that this legal and operational difference matters. Many jurisdictions treat a deposit as a deposit regardless of recording technology, which gives tokenized deposits clearer footing under banking rules. Tokenization also unlocks programmability, such as milestone-based releases, escrow conditions, and time-based payouts, while remaining inside bank guardrails.
Sulaiman described Mastercard’s Multi-Token Network as a programmable payments platform built on a private, permissioned blockchain. It is designed to bring speed, efficiency, and programmability to regulated money by connecting banks and application providers through a single connection and a shared rulebook. The network is a back-end fabric rather than a public retail front end, with identity and compliance tooling that lets regulated participants transact on standardized rails. The vision includes near real time, always on interbank settlement and payment logic that can encode conditions directly into the transfer flow. Robert noted that announcements around bank connectivity and real world asset application providers show where the market structure is heading.
Technology is moving faster than legislation. Sulaiman’s read across major jurisdictions is that one principle remains constant. A deposit is a claim on a regulated bank, whether or not it is tokenized. The United Kingdom has articulated that stance clearly. The European Union’s MiCA creates a comprehensive framework for crypto assets while carving out tokenized deposits issued by credit institutions under core banking law. The United States remains more fragmented, but the deposit principle still applies. During Q&A, Robert raised interoperability and settlement questions that many market participants are asking, including the role of projects that connect multiple chains. Sulaiman viewed cross chain connectivity as a positive force for reducing fragmentation. On monetary policy in emerging markets, he noted that stablecoins can hedge inflation for households, but real world spending still depends on local acceptance and the quality of off ramps. Governments will try to balance innovation and sovereignty, and some will explore CBDCs or local currency stablecoins to preserve policy tools while enabling digital efficiency.
Robert closed by pointing to the industry stack that grows as stablecoins become truly mainstream. Programmable money rails will require bank grade analytics, investigations, and risk controls. That is where Merkle Science focuses, helping institutions monitor behavior, trace funds, and meet compliance obligations so trust, compliance, and interoperability can scale together. As standards and education improve, tapping to pay with stablecoins can feel as natural as card payments do today, with better transparency and safeguards built into the rails.
To learn how Merkle Science helps institutions build trust, compliance, and transparency into their digital asset strategies, explore our solutions or reach out to our team for a demo today.
