Akhil Rao

Cultural agility matters as much as tech. Teams must embrace AI-driven workflows to stay relevant in the coming decade.

#ISO20022 APIs and Corporate #Payments open.substack.com/pub/99akhil/p/…?

People are still asking me whether AI agents will be commercial Just look around

VARA issues the world’s first dedicated Guidance on Virtual Asset Issuance - defining how digital assets are created, disclosed, and distributed in a fully regulated environment. A new benchmark for transparency, clarity, and responsible innovation. #VARA

Net takeaway: This isn’t about restricting stablecoins. It’s about standardizing trust. Stablecoins can scale — but only with bank-grade controls on reserves, liquidity, and risk.

Another nuance: Tokenized deposits are treated differently If they meet legal definitions, they’re still deposits — just in a new form factor. That distinction will matter for adoption.

@FDICgov #GENIUS Act proposal is a clear signal: #Stablecoins are being pulled into the core banking regulatory perimeter. This is no longer parallel finance. It’s convergence.

Hot take: #Blockchain won’t fix #payments without fixing interoperability. Everything still needs to plug into ISO 20022 (with upgrades for on-chain data). Great piece of work by @bpconsortium

Stablecoins let neobanks launch new products to serve new customer segments, with: • Cross-border payments at a fraction of the cost • Stablecoin wallets alongside existing accounts • Self-custodial accounts in new markets A practical guide: tempo.xyz/blog/stablecoi…

We're excited to launch the first-ever Stablecoin Week, coming this summer from September 7th to 11th! 📅 A week of decentralized events. 💪 Built by the stablecoin ecosystem, for the stablecoin ecosystem. 5 days of stablecoin content, events, and alpha -- sign up below 👇

The Invisible Layer: How #Stablecoins and #AI Agents Are Rewriting #Payments Infrastructure 99akhil.substack.com/p/the-invisibl… linkedin.com/posts/akhil-ra…?

What does a “crypto bank” actually look like? It’s not just adding crypto trading. It’s a full architecture shift across technology, risk, and compliance. To offer crypto services, banks need to rethink: - Asset due diligence - Risk frameworks - Governance models - AML & compliance controls - Wallet screening & transaction monitoring Why? Because crypto introduces new challenges: - Price volatility - Regulatory uncertainty - Pseudonymous transactions - New financial crime risks Which creates a key strategic question for banks: Where do we play in the crypto value chain? Trading? Custody? Payments? Infrastructure? The reality: Crypto banking isn’t a product decision. It’s an operating model decision.

What are stablecoins (really)? Think of them as digital dollars (or assets) designed for stability, combining the speed of crypto with the reliability of traditional money. Their role is simple: Reduce volatility so crypto can actually be used for payments. 4 main types: Fiat-backed: - 1:1 reserves - Most used in payments Examples: USD Coin, Tether Crypto-collateralized: - Backed by crypto reserves - More decentralized Example: Dai Algorithmic: - Peg maintained by supply mechanisms - More experimental Example: Frax Commodity-backed: - Pegged to assets like gold Example: Pax Gold Why they matter for payments: - 24/7 settlement - Faster cross-border transfers - Lower fees than traditional rails - Programmable money - Dollar access in unstable economies Simple way to think about it: Crypto gave us digital assets. Stablecoins made them usable as money.

@NikMilanovic Congratulations to you and team @NikMilanovic. 🙌🏻

Excited to build together! 🚀

The two tracks of the Agentic Economy: 🔹 Delegate Economy — humans delegating to agents 🔹 Machine Economy — machines transacting autonomously Coinbase is giving AI agents stablecoin wallets. The primitives are being built right now. Full breakdown 👇 buff.ly/oYvlifR