
About this episode
Facundo Werning, former Tether country manager for Latin America and now at Agora, joins us to talk about his journey from Argentine policy work to the front lines of the stablecoin wars. We dive deep into how stablecoins actually work in emerging markets, why Agora is positioning itself as the credibly neutral alternative to Tether and Circle, the real state of crypto adoption in Argentina, and why traditional banks are about to get completely upended.
Subscribe to the newsletter! https://newsletter.blockspacemedia.com
NOTES:
• Argentina has more US cash per capita than America
• Stablecoin yields hit 10-12% vs banks' 3% in Argentina
• Agora shares revenue with partners unlike competitors
• $10B in stablecoins = $400M yearly opportunity cost
• Tether built dominant last-mile retail distribution
Timestamps
00:00 Start
00:29 Who is Facundo?
08:56 Role at Tether
12:09 Argentina & stablecoins
17:40 Daily stablecoin use
21:17 Ellipsis Labs Ad
22:05 What is Agora?
28:13 What is Agroa (simplified)?
30:03 Will Tether be disrupted?
34:42 Stablecoin fragmented liquidity
40:34 Will stablecoins migrate to one chain?
44:25 Hyperliquid
47:24 Treasury companies (DATs)
51:58 Did you say PROFITS?
56:07 Subscribe Ad
56:44 Anacdote
57:55 Javier Milei
59:22 My dad is a central banker
1:01:27 State BTC adoption
1:04:40 Generational BTC trade
The Gwart Show is sponsored by Ellipsis Labs, the builders behind Atlas, a blockchain for verifiable finance and Phoenix, an on-chain orderbook DEX with over $50 billion in unincentivized volume.If you’re interested in a mission-driven company, Ellipsis Labs is hiring engineers passionate about crypto and finance to work on Atlas. Learn more and apply on Twitter at @Ellipsis_Labs and @atlasxyz.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Get every episode summarized
Each time The Gwart Show | Blockspace Media publishes, we email you a written briefing from the transcript — the topics, who appeared, and any specific claims, with the ad reads skipped.
Email me new episodesFree for 3 shows. No card needed.
No transcript yet
This episode has not been transcribed. Request it and it moves to the front of the queue.
More episodes
More from The Gwart Show | Blockspace Media

The Case For Q-Day 2032 w/ Justin Drake
The Gwart Show | Blockspace Media
Apr 26, 20261:17:05failed

Why Threadguy Trades Oil Now
The Gwart Show | Blockspace Media
Apr 19, 20261:25:45failed

We Need To Stop Geofencing DeFi Like Hyperliquid w/ Jake Chervinsky
The Gwart Show | Blockspace Media
Apr 5, 20261:06:04failed

Why Miners Are Trading BTC For AI Compute w/ Rory Murray & Chris Bae
The Gwart Show | Blockspace Media
Mar 29, 20261:14:17failed