Circle CEO's Latest Interview: Stablecoins Are Not Cryptocurrency

Video Title: David Rubenstein Show: Jeremy Allaire
Video Author: David Rubenstein, Youtube
Translation: Peggy, BlockBeats

Editor's Note: In 2025, stablecoin issuer Circle completed its IPO, becoming one of the most prominent listings in the crypto industry in recent years. As the issuer of USDC, Circle is attempting to transform the stablecoin from a trading tool in the crypto market into a digital dollar infrastructure that can circulate on the internet.

In the latest episode of "The David Rubenstein Show: p2p-211">Peer to Peer Conversations," Circle's co-founder, CEO, and chairman Jeremy Allaire engaged in a conversation with host David Rubenstein, reviewing the company's long journey from its founding in 2013 to a successful public listing, and shared his views on the future role of stablecoins.

The interview not only discussed whether stablecoins could potentially disrupt the traditional banking system but also delved into Allaire's personal experience in internet entrepreneurship, as well as his views on artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and the future of internet financial platforms. In his opinion, the development of stablecoins is still in a very early stage, and their true potential lies in building a "monetary infrastructure" akin to an internet protocol, enabling the efficient circulation of digital dollars across the global network.

Around this vision, the two further explored the practical applications of stablecoins in cross-border payments, the potential impact of AI on the labor market, and the financial security challenges that quantum computing may bring. Allaire believes that the next decade is likely to see a wave of financial platform companies built on top of the open internet, and Circle hopes to be a key player among them.

Below is the translation of the original text:

Long-Termism: Why Circle Is a "20-Year Company"

David (Host): One of the most successful IPOs in 2025 was the listing of Circle. Circle is a regulated stablecoin network. This company was founded by Jeremy Allaire. Recently, I had the opportunity to sit down with Jeremy and discuss: what is a stablecoin network and why it may represent the future of the banking system.

Today, the market value of this company is about $20 billion, and you own approximately 10% of the shares, is that correct?

Jeremy Allaire: More or less.

David (Host): So you must be very happy now.

Jeremy Allaire: I've been working on this company for 12 and a half years. It's been a very long journey, and for a long time, almost no one believed we could achieve the scale we have today. So I am indeed very proud of what we have built.

But what I want to say is, looking at the future we envision, Circle is actually still a very early-stage company. The IPO is just a milestone. What really excites me is that, as a public company, the public can participate in the long-term development of this company. And the regulatory framework for stablecoins has only recently been passed and is not even fully implemented yet. So from a longer-term perspective, we are still at a very early stage.

That's what motivates me to keep moving forward.

Embedding the Dollar in the Internet: The True Goal of Stablecoins

The Original Vision: Turning the Dollar into an "Internet Protocol"

David (Host): What year did you found Circle?

Jeremy Allaire: 2013.

David (Host): Who initially provided you with startup funding?

Jeremy Allaire: The earliest investors included General Catalyst, Jim Breyer (Breyer Capital), and Accel; they were the first investors to support us.

David (Host): Did people know what stablecoins were back then?

Jeremy Allaire: In fact, the concept of "stablecoins" did not exist at that time. But the idea we proposed at that time was this: the internet has various protocols, such as the Web protocol, Email protocol, and voice communication protocol. These protocols allow information to flow globally. And blockchain technology would enable us to establish a new protocol: the "Internet Money Protocol".

That is, in the future, we could enable the dollar to flow natively on the internet like information. At that time, we believed that blockchain and encryption technology would make all this possible.

Of course, in 2013, this idea was far from being truly realized.

Why Stablecoins are Needed: The Efficiency Revolution of Cross-Border Payments

David (Host): If I want to send money to Istanbul, I can do a bank wire transfer. Why do we need stablecoins?

Jeremy Allaire: If you've ever tried to make a cross-border remittance, you'll find that in reality, it is often slow, complex, expensive, and sometimes prone to delays or failures.

Turkey is a very typical example. There, the demand for the USDC stablecoin is very high. The reason is simple: many people do not want to hold the lira; they would rather hold dollars. Stablecoins allow them to hold digital dollars directly on their phones, engage in peer-to-peer transfers, almost zero cost, and instant settlement. It's as simple as making a phone call.

Therefore, in many places, stablecoins are actually becoming an alternative to the banking system.

Furthermore, a regulated stablecoin has an important feature: the issuer does not use reserve assets for lending or take on risks. These assets are safely held in high-security assets such as US Treasuries or cash.

So many holders would consider this a very secure digital dollar.

Will Stablecoins Replace Banks?

David (Host): Will banks still exist in ten years? Or will stablecoin networks replace banks?

Jeremy Allaire: In the future, there could likely be a new form of institution, a financial software platform built entirely on internet infrastructure. These platforms might be as important as banks, even surpassing many large banks in scale. However, at the same time, many banks will also start to adopt this technology.

Just as media companies gradually embraced the internet, and telecom companies started using the internet, banks will also gradually integrate into this new technological system.

The Next Generation Financial Infrastructure: AI, Quantum Computing, and Internet Financial Platforms

From Internet Entrepreneur to Stablecoin Founder

David (Host): Let's talk about your background. Where were you born?

Jeremy Allaire: I was born in 1971 in Philadelphia. Later, when I was 11 years old, my whole family moved to a small town in Minnesota.

David (Host): Were you a good student during your school days?

Jeremy Allaire: Sure, but I prefer debates and Model UN. I later went to Macalester College, a top liberal arts college in the U.S., where I majored in Political Science and Philosophy.

David (Host): What did you do after graduation?

Jeremy Allaire: That was in 1993. At that time, I originally planned to pursue policy research work, but at the same time, I had developed a great interest in the Internet during my college years. The Internet was not yet commercialized back then. So I made a decision to become an Internet consultant.

Many people thought that decision was very strange at the time because the Internet was almost nonexistent. But I firmly believed that the Internet would fundamentally change communication, media, and software.

Later on, I founded several companies, including Allaire and Brightcove. These companies all went public. It wasn't until 2012 that I started delving into encryption technology, and then in 2013, I founded Circle.

The AI Era: Will Jobs Be Replaced?

David (Host): Will Artificial Intelligence lead to widespread unemployment?

Jeremy Allaire: I believe AI is likely to profoundly change the labor market, indeed, many jobs will be replaced. But at the same time, I also tell employees in the company that they must quickly learn to use AI tools.

It's like in the past when personal computers emerged, and the Internet appeared. Those who are willing to learn new tools will gain a huge advantage.

In the future, the most valuable skill set will be the ability of humans to collaborate with AI, and this collaboration will create new productivity.

Quantum Computing and Cryptographic Risk

David (Host): Will quantum computing threaten existing financial systems?

Jeremy Allaire: All modern financial systems rely on cryptography. If quantum computing can break cryptography, the impact will be enormous. For example, banking systems, the power grid, digital infrastructure. So we are researching post-quantum cryptography. Our goal is to make core infrastructure quantum-resistant by 2026 to 2027.

What Circle Wants the World to Understand

David (Host): When you want everyone to remember Circle when they leave here today?

Jeremy Allaire: I want to emphasize two points. First, stablecoin technology is still in a very early stage. While stablecoin transaction volumes have now reached trillions of dollars, in the long term, this is still just the beginning.

Second, Circle's goal is not only to issue stablecoins. What we are building is a whole set of internet financial infrastructure. This includes a developer platform, a financial operating system, and digital currency infrastructure.

Just as the past saw the rise of many platform-based companies in social media, e-commerce, and media, in the next decade, a group of internet financial platform companies is likely to emerge. They will become crucial infrastructure for the global financial system, and Circle aims to be one of them.

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