Today, we discuss how the current international payment system is broken. We have Alexander Wilke, co-founder of Pendulum on the show, a project on a mission to bring fiat currencies on-chain and to bridge fiat with the DeFi ecosystem.

We chat about the high fees and complexity involved in sending money from one country to another through traditional banks. The process often involves numerous intermediaries, each adding to the cost and time required for transactions. This is especially rough in emerging markets, where money can get "stuck" due to inefficiencies in the looong chain of financial intermediaries.

We also explore how disruptors like Wise operate within the traditional financial system to reduce these issues. 

However, then we shift our focus to the potential of blockchain and cryptocurrencies, particularly stablecoins, to provide a cheaper, faster, and more secure alternative. Alex explains how Pendulum is bridging the gap between the traditional financial system and blockchain. 

For example: You could send Brazilian Real from your bank account, it gets (1) converted to a Brazilian Real stablecoin, (2) swapped to a USD stablecoin, and (3) you receive USD (as fiat) in the destination bank account. Pendulum leverages the Stellar Network and Polkadot to make this possible. They are also focusing on seamless off-ramping of crypto to fiat in seconds, which of course is handy if you are used to the typical off-ramping through centralized exchanges which is not really seamless...

How do you send money internationally? Are you open to solutions being built on blockchain? Drop a comment!

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Timestamps:

00:00 - Blockchain = Crime & Drugs?

03:20 - International Payments Are Broken

08:30 - Money gets stuck

10:10 - Blockchains enable “Triple-Entry Accounting”

12:50 - Disruption: Wise

21:20 - Bank issues Stablecoin

26:35 - EU loooves to regulate

35:35 - Off-Ramp Crypto in Seconds 

40:55 - Pendulum: Step by Step

47:55 - What can users do with Pendulum today?

50:15 - Liquidity 

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Links / Additional Material:

Pendulum Website: https://pendulumchain.org/

Pendulum on X: https://x.com/pendulum_chain

Alex on X: https://x.com/pendulumalex

Docs: https://pendulum.gitbook.io/pendulum-docs

Spacewalk bridge: https://portal.pendulumchain.org/pendulum/spacewalk/bridge

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Disclaimer:

TEACHMEDEFI is a provider of entertainment and opinions. We are neither a broker/dealer nor an investment advisor. This is not a service for issuing or receiving financial or investment advice. None of our content constitutes a recommendation – or should be understood as such – to conduct transactions in securities, cryptocurrencies, or crypto-assets, or to engage in any of the investment strategies presented in our discussions or provided content. We do not provide personalized recommendations or views on whether a stock, cryptocurrency, crypto-asset, or investment approach is suitable for the financial needs of a particular individual.