Nick Mussallem, CEO of AvaCloud, presented on the topic 'The Next Century of Payments' at a seminar held on the 23rd at the NHN KCP building in Guro-gu, Seoul. Mussallem advocated for blockchain-based payment infrastructure, stating that while payment methods have evolved from paper money to mobile payments, the underlying infrastructure still relies on systems from the 1970s. AvaCloud is an infrastructure platform providing enterprise blockchain construction and operation services based on the Avalanche ecosystem, and Mussallem noted that stablecoin transaction volume on blockchain reached tens of trillions of dollars last year, yet actual daily payment usage accounted for less than 1%.
Mussallem Identifies Three Barriers to Stablecoin Payment Adoption
Mussallem identified three reasons for the low daily payment usage of stablecoins: privacy, processing speed, and regulation. He explained that public blockchains have a structure where all transactions are disclosed, making it difficult for companies and payment institutions to expose sensitive information directly. He stated that applying privacy technology can secure confidentiality, but this causes the processing speed secured by existing blockchains to drop again. Mussallem described the current market as finding a balance among three options: public blockchains where all transactions are disclosed, central institution-centered blockchains like banks, and closed blockchains. He explained that technology solving these problems will become key to the future expansion of stablecoin payments.
Shared Ledger Structure Reduces Payment System Intermediaries
Mussallem argued that blockchain's 'shared ledger' structure can change existing payment systems. He stated that current payments involve 5-6 institutions including users, payment gateways (PG), card networks, card companies, settlement agencies, and banks, each storing and cross-checking the same information separately. He said that using a shared ledger can integrate a significant portion of this process.
Programmable Compliance Enables Pre-Embedded Asset Usage Rules
Mussallem presented programmable compliance as a strength of stablecoins. He explained that while the existing system detected regulatory violations after the fact, in the future, rules can be embedded in the assets themselves to prevent violations in advance. He provided an example where deposit tokens or stablecoins given by parents to children can be set to be used only at specific restaurants for a certain period. He added that transaction details between users can be encrypted for protection while allowing only authorized institutions such as financial authorities, external auditors, and accounting firms to view them, thus satisfying both privacy and regulatory compliance simultaneously.
AI and Stablecoin Integration Prevents Agent Transaction Errors
Mussallem predicted that the role of stablecoins will grow in the artificial intelligence (AI) era. He stated that even if an era comes where AI performs payments on behalf of users, the possibility of errors remains. He explained that if usage rules are preset in stablecoins, even if AI agents make mistakes, this can be prevented at the asset level. He evaluated that AI and blockchain payments are a very good combination.
AvaCloud Develops Payment-Specific Blockchain Infrastructure
Mussallem introduced that AvaCloud provides blockchain infrastructure capable of implementing payment, corporate services, and regulatory compliance functions in a customized manner, and is developing a dedicated payment blockchain specialized for stablecoin payments. He explained that this trend aligns with the 'payment-specialized blockchain' trend recently spreading in the United States.
Companies Issuing Stablecoins for Employee Salaries in Future Scenario
At the end of the presentation, Mussallem presented a future where stablecoins naturally permeate daily life. He stated that while obtaining stablecoins is currently cumbersome, an environment can be created in the future where companies issue their own stablecoins and pay salaries in coins. He said that if this happens, people's lifestyle patterns will change to a method where they use the stablecoins received as salaries directly in their daily lives.
FAQ
What did Nick Mussallem present at the Seoul seminar on the 23rd?
Nick Mussallem, CEO of AvaCloud, presented on 'The Next Century of Payments' at a seminar held on the 23rd at the NHN KCP building in Guro-gu, Seoul. He advocated for blockchain-based payment infrastructure and discussed how stablecoins can transform payment systems despite current challenges in privacy, processing speed, and regulation.
What are the three barriers to stablecoin payment adoption identified by Mussallem?
Mussallem identified three barriers: privacy (public blockchains disclose all transactions, making it difficult for companies to protect sensitive information), processing speed (applying privacy technology causes processing speeds to drop), and regulation (the market is finding balance among public blockchains, central institution-centered blockchains, and closed blockchains).
How does programmable compliance work in stablecoins according to the presentation?
Mussallem explained that programmable compliance allows rules to be embedded directly in assets to prevent regulatory violations in advance, rather than detecting them after the fact. For example, deposit tokens or stablecoins given by parents to children can be set to be used only at specific restaurants for a certain period, while transaction details remain encrypted for privacy but viewable by authorized institutions like financial authorities.
