From crypto to cash: a playbook for paying 24/7 with stablecoins

At the Stablecoin Conference, held in Mexico City on August 27–28, the opening session grounded two very real pain points in cross-border payments: trust and the total cost of moving money across fiat and crypto rails. The panel summed it up like this: “Trust is hard to build with international payments because every step is fraught with delays.” That tension between user expectations and operational friction was the thread running through the panel.

The conversation—led by Daniel Vogel (CEO and co-founder of Bitso), Matthew Oppenheimer (CEO and co-founder of Remitly), and Zach Abrams (CEO and co-founder of Bridge)—put numbers and an execution lens on that challenge.

Oppenheimer stressed that 24/7 disbursement is costly and that the greatest efficiency gains lie in the “third bucket”: treasury, FX, and cash management. He also shared scale metrics—sub-1-hour delivery in ~93% of transactions, coverage in ~170 countries, and a potential reach of ~5 billion bank accounts and wallets—that explain why optimizing the liquidity layer is already a priority. Abrams, for his part, emphasized orchestration: making stablecoin balances useful by moving USDC → fiat and connecting crypto rails with payout networks (bank accounts, wallets, cash) in a predictable, compliant way. 

The spirit of the session

Stablecoin adoption isn’t “crypto for crypto’s sake,” but about solving concrete pains: trust, cost, and usability. Trust erodes with delays; operating 24/7 raises disbursement costs; and the third bucket (treasury, FX, cash management) concentrates the biggest savings opportunity. While legacy rails lag, the ecosystem is moving forward by combining stablecoins with 24/7 local rails (SPEI/PIX) and partners that already bridge both worlds.

What’s next for the fintech industry?

1. Receive in stablecoins with your existing back office.
   Expose a single API for stablecoin pay-ins; don’t touch your financial systems or reconciliation flows. Everything is API-based and seamless to integrate.
   
   
2. Convert and manage FX/treasury in the “third bucket.”
   Automate conversion and treasury ops to reduce trapped capital. This is the key efficiency lever as volumes grow (nights/weekends).
   
   
3. Settle in local fiat over 24/7 rails (SPEI/PIX).
   Orchestrate real-time payouts to bank accounts, wallets, or debit cards with direct connections to SPEI and PIX.
   
   
4. Unified reconciliation.
   Align pay-ins and payouts under one reconciliation to reduce accounting breaks and speed up closing cycles.
   
   
5. Compliance and local licensing.
   Operate with regulatory coverage: a licensed Payment Institution in Brazil (connected to PIX) and IFPE status in Mexico (direct SPEI connection), plus reach into Colombia and Argentina under a single framework.

Use cases for your product committee

• PSPs / regional acquirers. Stablecoin on-ramp → conversion → SPEI/PIX payouts; one API and unified reconciliation.
• Gaming & marketplaces. Instant deposits and withdrawals (PIX/SPEI) with eFX and compliance in BR/MX.
• Money transmitters. Lower 24/7 disbursement costs and better capital efficiency by reducing prefunding with a single provider for FX + payouts.
  
  

In cross-border payments, trust remains the quiet variable—every delay erodes it—hence the value of sub-1-hour settlement for ~93% of transactions. The scale is already there—networks reaching ~5 billion accounts and wallets across ~170 countries; the real challenge now is orchestrating local rails and meeting each market’s regulatory requirements. In that context, Bitso acts as the operational bridge: a single API with direct SPEI/PIX, integrated FX, and local licenses in Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, and Argentina—reducing prefunding, simplifying reconciliation, and accelerating time-to-cash. In short, crypto-to-cash is no longer a promise: it’s production-ready.

Key takeaways from the opening session

• Legacy rails vs. new rails. The global infrastructure (SWIFT) is “old, antiquated, and outdated,” which is why builders are creating new rails and partnering with companies like Bitso.
• Making stablecoin balances useful. The challenge isn’t just holding USDC, but making it useful: “How do you move from a USDC wallet to fiat to actually spend it?”
• 24/7 cost and the “third bucket.” 24/7 disbursement is expensive, and the largest efficiency upside sits in treasury/FX/cash management—the “third bucket”—where multiple players already collaborate with Bitso.

*NVIO Mexico enables direct access to SPEI and provides payment services in full compliance with Mexican regulations. NVIO Pagos México, S.A.P.I. de C.V., IFPE (“NVIO Mexico”), is an entity authorized and regulated by Mexico’s National Banking and Securities Commission (CNBV). Learn more at nvio.mx/terms.