Pollak: Stablecoins' main unlock is instant, global, free programmable dollars
Jesse Pollak · Why Now Is The Best Time To Build In Crypto · Y Combinator · Sep 23, 2025 · at 14:58
Coinbase's Jesse Pollak explains the core value proposition of stablecoins for global users excluded from the US banking system.
0:00 / 0:16exact quote · 16.8s
▶ Watch the full episode on YouTube → 720p mp4 · rendered on demand · StarZero watermark
“The first big unlock that stablecoins has done is basically said, okay, now everyone in the world can access dollars and not just can they access it, they can build with dollars and they can build with dollars on this new programmable platform where there's dollars can move instantly, globally, and basically for free.”
quote is from the automated transcript, cleaned for reading: filler sounds and stutters are removed, nothing is rephrased. names can be misheard (the analysis reads context, assessments check outside sources). how →
More from Jesse Pollak
Pollak: Decentralization is essential at the base layer, not entire stack
“The place where decentralization is really, really important is at the very bottom of the stack, right? You need decentralization at the Ethereum layer, at base, because what that enables is it enables this global platform that everyone can come and participat…”
Pollak: Four maturing unlocks have created crypto's golden building era
“Those, you know, four things
Chain scaling, regulatory clarity, stablecoins emerging as a really powerful tool, and then wallets getting simpler and simpler, I think have matured to the point where we've entered the golden age of crypto building, the golden ag…”
Pollak: Content and creator capital markets will become a major asset class
“I think one of the biggest asset classes that we believe is about to emerge is content and creators and Creator capital markets where for the first time you're going to have creators that start to say, Hey, I want to use this new platform to raise capital for …”
Pollak: Fintech 3.0 means rebuilding finance from scratch on crypto rails
“Now, I think about fintech three point O as the opportunity to rewrite it all to basically start from the ground up and say, how do we make the financial system work better for everyone by building it on top of the programmable software platform that includes …”
Pollak: Crypto is not yet having its ChatGPT moment
“Candidly, no. And I think the reason I say no is because if you ask a friend or family member, I don't think they'd say, oh yeah, I have had a magic moment with crypto. I think instead they might be fearful. They might not actually know what crypto is doing on…”
Pollak: Coinbase and Shopify condensed payment systems into 1,000-line smart contract
“And what we did over a nine month period was exactly that. We went into their systems, which are literally millions of lines of code where they're doing things like escrow they're taking taxes they're doing, you know, fees, tariffs they're doing refunds, charg…”