At the Australian Crypto Convention 2025, a panel titled "Trust, Transparency, and Tokenised Dollars: The Next Phase of Stablecoins" brought together builders, operators, and infrastructure providers working at different layers of the stablecoin ecosystem.
The discussion reflected a clear shift in how stablecoins are being understood: no longer as experimental crypto instruments, but as foundational components of future financial infrastructure.
Panelists
- Cristian Ulloa — Liquid Loans
- Maximilian Marenbach — Damisa
- Drew Bradford — Macropod
- Ivy Fan — Co-Founder, iBnk
- Rachel Jones — AUDD (Moderator)
Rather than debating whether stablecoins "will work," the panel focused on how they must be designed, governed, and integrated to earn long-term trust.
From Experimentation to Infrastructure
The panel opened by reflecting on how far stablecoins have evolved.
Early stablecoins emerged as bridges between traditional finance and crypto markets. Today, they increasingly function as global settlement layers, supporting real-world payments, treasury operations, and cross-border liquidity.
A recurring theme was the shift away from offshore dollar dominance toward locally regulated, fiat-backed stablecoins, such as AUD-backed assets in Australia and similar initiatives across Asia-Pacific.
Lessons from past failures — including algorithmic collapses — were contrasted with more resilient models that emphasise collateralisation, transparency, and governance.
Australia's Strategic Position in APAC
All panelists acknowledged that Australia occupies a unique position in the global stablecoin landscape.
Operating within a well-regarded regulatory environment provides:
- Credibility with international counterparties
- A strong foundation for compliant innovation
- A gateway into broader APAC corridors
From an iBnk perspective, recent observations across Southeast Asia, Japan, and Vietnam show that regional stablecoins and local currency rails are becoming increasingly relevant for real-world commerce — particularly for businesses managing FX exposure and settlement efficiency.
Australia's challenge, and opportunity, lies in aligning domestic clarity with regional interoperability.
Trust Is an Engineering Problem
One of the strongest consensus points was that trust is not a narrative — it is a system design outcome.
Panel discussions highlighted:
- Proof-of-reserves and regular attestations
- Clear governance structures
- Transparent settlement and redemption mechanics
True stability, as discussed, depends less on branding and more on verifiable transparency and operational discipline.
As one perspective noted, decentralisation does not mean the absence of rules — it means reducing unnecessary counterparty risk through architecture, not promises.
Tokenised Dollars and Institutional Readiness
Tokenised fiat currencies such as AUDD and USDC were discussed as critical bridges between banks, fintechs, and on-chain systems.
For institutional adoption to scale, several conditions were identified:
- Regulatory clarity across jurisdictions
- Clearly defined roles between issuers, infrastructure providers, and licensed entities
- Programmable settlement that improves liquidity management without increasing risk
Tokenised dollars are increasingly viewed not as consumer products, but as back-end primitives enabling more efficient financial operations.
Regulation, Risk, and Resilience
Rather than framing regulation as a constraint, the panel treated it as a structural input.
Topics included:
- Navigating fragmented global regulatory frameworks
- Managing sovereign risk and capital controls in markets such as Southeast Asia
- Comparing algorithmic and collateral-backed models over long time horizons
The shared view was clear: responsible innovation requires collaboration between builders, regulators, and financial institutions — not isolation.
Looking Ahead: The Next Phase
When asked to look five to ten years ahead, panelists emphasised that the defining factors will not be hype cycles, but:
- Sound governance
- Regulatory alignment
- Infrastructure-level integration
Stablecoins that succeed will do so quietly — embedded in treasury systems, payment flows, and settlement logic — rather than as standalone financial products.
In closing, panelists were asked to describe the next two years of Australia's stablecoin industry in just three words. While the answers varied, the underlying sentiment converged on maturity, integration, and accountability.
Final Thought
The future of stablecoins will not be shaped by who moves fastest — but by who builds systems that can be trusted at scale.
Australia has the opportunity to play a leading role in APAC by focusing not on novelty, but on transparent, compliant, and resilient financial infrastructure.