Danelle Dixon of Stellar Development Foundation interviews Chad Cascarilla, CEO of Paxos, about building regulated crypto infrastructure, tokenized assets, stablecoins, and a pilot project for T-zero stock settlement using blockchain technology.
In this Block by Block podcast episode, Danelle Dixon interviews Chad Cascarilla about Paxos, a regulated financial infrastructure company enabling institutions to offer crypto products and tokenize real-world assets. Cascarilla discusses Paxos' early focus on Bitcoin trading through ItBit, the creation of a regulated trust company in New York (approved 2015), and the development of the Paxos Dollar, a fully-backed stablecoin. He explains why stablecoins must be backed by cash equivalents like T-bills or overnight repo to maintain true dollar parity, contrasting this with unregulated alternatives. The conversation covers how Paxos partnered with major brands like PayPal and Venmo to bring crypto to mainstream users, the importance of regulatory oversight for building trust, and a pilot project called Cablecoin to enable T-zero settlement of US equities, eliminating the current two-day settlement lag that traps billions in capital and creates systemic risk.