In this episode, we understand stablecoins in simple terms and explore how Canada’s approach impacts innovation, competitiveness, and the path forward.

Guest: Adam Cai, CEO & Founder at Virgo.co

The Simplify Payments Podcast, presented by Paramount Commerce, is a podcast series that takes a closer look at new and emerging financial technologies and practices with some amazing industry experts.

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Full episode transcript:

Varad Mehta: What exactly are stablecoins? I'm sure you must have seen the term pop up during industry events, LinkedIn posts, YouTube videos, or having conversations with an acquaintance who thinks they know about the crypto space, but maybe not so much. But stablecoins have been a big conversation topic in 2025, which is what we're exploring in the seventh episode of the Simplify Payments podcast with Adam Cai, the CEO and founder of Virgo.co, so without further ado, please sit back and enjoy the show. Okay, so Adam, how we begin this podcast is by asking you a few fun questions. So I'm going to name you some coins, and you got to tell me if they're fake or if they're real. Start. Okay. So the first one is Solana.​

Adam Cai: Real.​

VM: Then how about Chainlink?​

AC: Real.​

VM: Lunarchip?​

AC: Fake.​

VM: Pixelmint?​

AC: Fake.​

VM: Avalanche?​

AC: Used to be real. Now, I'm not sure.​

VM: Okay, there you go. And the last one is Hyperchain Credit. A hundred out of hundred Adam knows his coins. My next question would be, if you had a meme coin, what would it be called and what would be the idea behind having an Adam meme coin?​

AC: A meme coin, you mean the ticker of the token?​

VM: Yeah. Dogecoin or whatever it is. Yeah.​

AC: Oh, that's a good question. Yeah. I probably would call it Adam, because Adam is supposed to be the first man in the world, right? The first man, literally, along with Eve, to be the birth of humanity, right? So it would have a special meaning.​

VM: I love it. That's a good answer. And my last fun question is, what is your number one tip for delivering a great TEDx Talk or a keynote in general?​

AC: The tips to deliver a great talk, essentially? I think more importantly, it is to just be yourself and be natural. Don't over-script it. Try to really be yourself, be who you are, and speak out the things you believe in. That typically touches people.​

VM: Love it. Now, going to the topic of discussion that we're here for today. We've been hearing a lot about stablecoins, Adam, and we'd love to learn more about that. Can you maybe begin with a brief explanation of what stablecoins are, and then why they are so important for the future of crypto and digital payments in general?​

AC: Sounds good. So stablecoin, obviously by its name, has the purpose of being stable and pegged to a particular legal tender. The most popular ones are the USD-based stablecoins such as USDC and USDT. The original purpose of stablecoins was to hedge against the volatility of cryptocurrencies. When people did not like the price of a cryptocurrency, they wanted something more stable relative to their legal tender, without putting money back into a bank account, so they used stablecoins in the early days. It was really just hedging price volatility. Recently, stablecoins have evolved significantly to become a very efficient tool to do global transmission of money. A lot of countries now leverage stablecoins for cross-border payments because they are fast, error-free, efficient, and cost-wise typically better than many traditional fee-based payment processors. Stablecoins also provide a way for people to have a very stable value against USD, especially in countries where the main currency is not stable, so those users also like to use stablecoins. Stablecoins are one of the most prominent and popular applications on blockchain or real-world assets, however you call it. This space will continue to grow with clearer regulations around the globe. We have seen the US Genesis Act, Hong Kong’s work, and Canada bringing out stablecoin regulation under the federal budget plan. There is a lot of attention on this. Every country is going to catch up with legislation around it. Stablecoins are likely to be some of the best forms of digital money globally. They will serve far more than just crypto trading in the future. In addition to payments, they can also serve as the base currency to access DeFi. DeFi is going to be huge in the future, and to really power DeFi activities, alongside bank tokens, stablecoins will still be the main choice for people who seek better returns than what financial institutions provide, or for those who love the freedom of holding money directly in their wallet. Overall, the outlook is very positive. Stablecoins are likely to be the first real “carrier app,” alongside Bitcoin itself, to drive global adoption.​

VM: And speaking about that positivity, I read online that Virgo and Vaulta teamed up for a stablecoin transfer. You just mentioned how it works on an international scale where you have two countries exchanging funds via stablecoins. Can you share why that partnership was really important, and why it's important for the Canadian crypto and stablecoin space?​

AC: Sounds good. First of all, as mentioned earlier, stablecoins are very important for fulfilling remittance purposes in the near future. One of our business lines is called Virgo Pay, which is a global stablecoin on-ramp and off-ramp gateway. It currently supports 23 countries and 10 currencies, allowing people in those countries to on-ramp and off-ramp stablecoins easily, cheaply, cost-effectively, and in real time. Our vision is to first expand to around 40 to 50 countries. Then we want to leverage that network to allow people from developing countries to developed nations or vice versa to transfer money at very affordable rates and in a fast, efficient manner, without waiting days like traditional transfers. Vaulta is one of our partners running a strong public protocol. Many protocols, including Vaulta, are trying to bring more stablecoin volume onto their chains. We will support Vaulta and other prominent public protocols as well. The end goal is for end users to enjoy the benefits. At the end of the day, they do not need to know what a stablecoin is or how blockchain works. All they need is for their goal—moving money from one place to another at a good rate—to be fulfilled.​

VM: That's interesting. I want to go back to something you mentioned. You said there was news about stablecoins in Canada's recent federal budget. Can you explain how the stablecoin regulatory approach in Canada differs from what you've seen elsewhere, like Hong Kong or the US? Are there any differentiating factors you see internationally when compared to Canada?​

AC: This is a very interesting question. Before the federal budget plan, stablecoins were under quite a bit of pressure from the Canadian Securities Administrators. Most securities regulators in Canada at that time considered stablecoins to be securities, which is very different from how much of the rest of the world views them. Recently, with the budget plan, we see clear language that fiat-backed stablecoins are not securities. The framework also names the relevant regulators and includes a role for the Bank of Canada. This aligns Canada more closely with places like Hong Kong and the US, where stablecoins are not considered securities. For many countries, stablecoins are also a way to increase demand for their own treasury bills, essentially attracting people to buy more of that country’s debt. In the US, for example, USD-based stablecoins require large holdings of US Treasuries. Canada similarly wants to maintain monetary sovereignty and manage sovereignty risk so that not everything is under USD-backed stablecoins. Hong Kong has a similar approach in its legislation. Stablecoins become a way to attract global investors to that country’s assets. Every country recognises that importance and wants stablecoin reserves to reflect their own instruments appropriately. This makes stablecoins a tool for national growth and for making the financial system more flexible and free.​

VM: And do you think that because of that “security” classification you mentioned, some platforms have been restricted in how they offer stablecoins in Canada?​

AC: Of course. That was the status quo, and people had to live with it until the law finally passed and brought clarity to the market.​

VM: I want to combine two questions into one. What would be your key message to policymakers after reviewing the federal budget and its mention of stablecoins, especially for those who want to support stablecoins but are hesitant or still trying to understand this space? Is there any innovation or evidence you feel would help them better understand the value here?​

AC: This question often comes from regulators: how important are stablecoins to a given economy or to a country’s citizens? The industry is trying to lobby and use data to show this. For example, the volume of stablecoin transactions processed on blockchains is enormous and has even exceeded some large traditional networks in value processed. It has become a huge network with many transactions happening daily. Another aspect is that many countries, including Canada, still do not have a true real-time payment rail beyond e-Transfers, which have limits. Stablecoins, as digital money, can be much better than traditional e-money. They can increase productivity for economic activity, which regulators should recognise. Regulators also care about risk controls, anti–money laundering, and scam protection. While stablecoin blockchain applications do have some privacy characteristics and often do not require KYC at the protocol level, blockchain forensic technology has evolved significantly. On-chain money is very transparent; you can see where funds go and where they end. It is now much easier for governments, if they want to investigate, to determine sources and destinations of funds. In many ways this is better than cash or other legacy methods. Governments are starting to recognise this, which is why they are paying more attention and working on appropriate frameworks.​

VM: Having that digital asset would make many things easier for them—that’s the mindset they would need to adopt. My last question, Adam: what are some exciting things you and the Virgo team are working on and looking forward to bringing in 2026? We’ve spoken about Vaulta, but are there bigger initiatives you’re excited about in 2026?​

AC: Oh, yeah. 2026 is going to be a huge year for us. First, we are building a global stablecoin payment network covering 40-plus countries, not only for on-ramp/off-ramp but also for remittance. That is a major project. Second, our wallet, Wallet V, is going to be a DeFi “super gateway” we are building. We aim to be one of the first and most robust DeFi wallets, giving people access to top-tier DeFi applications natively within the app. This will smoothen the user experience and provide significant access with proper design directly in-app. In the future, more people will increasingly use their own wallets and participate in DeFi activities rather than leaving funds in centralised exchanges, and Wallet V will be in a strong position to capture that trend. Finally, we plan to grow our global brand and our ability to access capital. We are already planning a go-public strategy in the United States via a Nasdaq listing. If all goes well, we may aim to complete that sometime next year.​

VM: That's amazing. I wish you all the best. And thank you again, Adam. Stablecoins have been such a big conversation topic this year, but there wasn’t one definitive conversation that clearly answered what stablecoins are, what is happening, how they can be used, and why countries are so keen on regulating them. Thank you for your expertise—you’re always very generous with your information.​

AC: Thank you for inviting me.​

VM: I want to thank Adam Cai, the CEO and founder of Virgo.co, for joining us and sharing his expertise on stablecoins. If you have any questions for us or Adam, please comment down below. Please like and share this episode and subscribe to our YouTube channel. For the episode transcript, please visit paramountcommerce.com. Thank you for tuning into the Simplify Payments podcast presented by Paramount Commerce. I'm Varad Mehta, and I'll see you soon.​

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