Rachel from Circle: Why Stablecoin-as-Gas Changes Everything
The Rollup29 Okt 2025

Rachel from Circle: Why Stablecoin-as-Gas Changes Everything

Circle just solved one of crypto's biggest UX problems: paying gas fees with the tokens you're already using.

In this episode, we sit down with Rachel Mayer to discuss why they built Arc as an L1 instead of L2, how stablecoin-as-gas unlocks instant settlement, and why bringing $8 trillion/day FX markets onchain changes everything.


We discuss:

- Why Circle Built Arc as an L1 vs L2

- Stablecoin-as-Gas: The Silent Unlock

- Instant Settlement & Privacy Features

- 100+ Launch Partners (Apollo, BNY Mellon, Visa, Mastercard & More)

- Bringing $8 Trillion/Day FX Markets Onchain

- Multi-Currency Stablecoin Strategy

- USDC's Evolution & Global Liquidity Hub Vision


Timestamps

00:00 Intro

00:53 From TradFi to Crypto: Rachel's Journey

06:17 Why Circle Built Arc as L1 Instead of L2

09:51 The Dollar Fungibility Illusion

11:14 Enso Ad, Relay Ad

11:50 Stablecoin Proliferation: Why More Is Better

14:09 Upstream vs Downstream Money Infrastructure

16:55 The Fragmentation Problem Circle Is Solving

19:00 How Circle's USD Actually Works Under the Hood

21:28 Bridge Partnership: The Technical Architecture

26:00 Talus Ad, Alvara Ad, Hibachi Ad

26:29 Will Users Actually Notice Blockchain Rails?

28:37 Second-Order Effects When Trillions Move Onchain

30:34 The Next Major Circle Launch Coming

32:28 Hyperliquid's Stablecoin War: Circle's Take

34:19 Developer-Friendly Issuance: Lowering Barriers

34:42 Closing Thoughts


Website: https://therollup.co/

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1P6ZeYd...

Podcast: https://therollup.co/category/podcast

Follow us on X: https://www.x.com/therollupco

Follow Rob on X: https://www.x.com/robbie_rollup

Follow Andy on X: https://www.x.com/ayyyeandy

Join our TG group: https://t.me/+TsM1CRpWFgk1NGZh

The Rollup Disclosures: https://therollup.co/the-rollup-discl


𝗗𝗜𝗦𝗖𝗟𝗔𝗜𝗠𝗘𝗥: 𝘐𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘤𝘳𝘺𝘱𝘵𝘰𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘋𝘦𝘍𝘪 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘪𝘯𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘬𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘩𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘬, 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘳, 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦. 𝘈𝘵 𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘭, 𝘸𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘳 𝘧𝘦𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱, 𝘪𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳. 𝘞𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮, 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘦 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘦. 𝘞𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘧𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘴 𝘰𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘴.

Avsnitt(575)

DeFi by Design EP77: On-Chain Networking for the Ethereum Nation

DeFi by Design EP77: On-Chain Networking for the Ethereum Nation

The markets never cease to entertain. CeFi is going up in flames as Celsius faces lawsuits in New York for shady hiring practices. Meanwhile, Sam Bankman-Fried of FTX is at the center of this whirlpoo...

8 Juli 202233min

DeFi by Design EP76: The Evolution Of Money Markets w 0vix

DeFi by Design EP76: The Evolution Of Money Markets w 0vix

The growth of money markets started with the inception of Compounds yield farming back in early 2020! This was my first foray into DeFi as I saw what was happening in the world of yield farming. I rem...

20 Juni 202239min

DeFi by Design EP75: The On-Chain Era Of Sports Finance w Athlete X

DeFi by Design EP75: The On-Chain Era Of Sports Finance w Athlete X

The combination of sports and Web3 is making a massive splash as you read this! There are dozens of NFT projects and sports betting applications being built on top of Ethereum and smart contracts. Due...

10 Juni 202237min

DeFi by Design EP74: Creating Resilent DeFi Mechanisms w Sperax

DeFi by Design EP74: Creating Resilent DeFi Mechanisms w Sperax

The evolution of stablecoins has been a mighty topic of discussion as the crypto markets recover from the Black Swan that was LUNA/UST. We’re always interested to see how mass carnage can further push...

4 Juni 202253min

DeFi by Design EP73: Cross-Chain Infrastructure w Router Protocol

DeFi by Design EP73: Cross-Chain Infrastructure w Router Protocol

The multichain ecosystem is expanding w great speed and innovation. Bridge infrastructure from one chain to another is lacking sufficient liquidity and connectivity to effectively keep pace with the i...

29 Apr 202253min

DeFi by Design EP72: Building a Token Warchest w Dave Levine

DeFi by Design EP72: Building a Token Warchest w Dave Levine

The winners and losers of DeFi are separated in the trenches. As market cycles shift, we are starting to see massive opportunities for growth as market cycles turn towards a new frontier. After an ini...

21 Apr 202257min

DeFi by Design EP71: FRAX Stablecoin Strategy Debunked

DeFi by Design EP71: FRAX Stablecoin Strategy Debunked

Stablecoin wars are here and they are in full force. The best yields in DeFi, the strongest designs, and everything in between. One of the OG stable coins in DeFi that has never had a 1% peg movement ...

15 Apr 202257min

DeFi by Design EP70: veTokenomics, DeFi Revival, & Sustainability with Balancer DAO

DeFi by Design EP70: veTokenomics, DeFi Revival, & Sustainability with Balancer DAO

The return of veTokenomics is on the rise with new DEXs in DeFi. The idea behind vote locking is a novel, complex mechanism which attempts to build a longer term value proposition to the token holders...

11 Apr 202250min

Populärt inom Teknik

uppgang-och-fall
bilar-med-sladd
elbilsveckan
market-makers
rss-elektrikerpodden
bosse-bildoktorn-och-hasse-p
natets-morka-sida
rss-uppgang-och-fall
skogsforum-podcast
rss-laddstationen-med-elbilen-i-sverige
developers-mer-an-bara-kod
rss-digitala-influencer-podden
rss-veckans-ai
rss-technokratin
vi-bilagares-podcast
bli-saker-podden
hej-bruksbil
rss-kack-tech-podcast
rss-fabriken-2