Mobb Deep ft. Alchemist & Nina Sky - Hold You Down.mp3

The GENIUS Act brings regulatory clarity to stablecoins, but Conduit CEO Kirill Gertman argues that clarity alone won't guarantee success. Banks face a choice between building their own infrastructure or becoming the pipes for others.

Kirill Gertman has watched the stablecoin industry evolve from multiple angles. He spent nearly two decades in financial services before founding Conduit in 2021, including six years in crypto and a stint as VP of product at BRD, which became Coinbase Wallet. His company grew 16x in 2024 by solving a practical problem: businesses in emerging markets were accumulating stablecoins to hedge against local currency volatility but couldn't use those balances in their day-to-day operations. Conduit now works with tier-one banks and multinational corporations, processing billions in cross-border payments. And with the GENIUS Act bringing the first comprehensive regulatory framework for stablecoins in the United States, Gertman argues the legislation's passage raises as many strategic questions as it answers—particularly for banks that have been sitting on the sidelines.

Today, we'll explore why the GENIUS Act matters, the critical difference between stablecoins and deposit tokens, what strategy banks should actually pursue, and where Gertman sees the industry heading as major players race to build vertically integrated stacks.

Why every bank now needs a stablecoin strategy (whether they like it or not)

Republicans aren't looking to help out those who get healthcare through the ACA. Alice Miranda Ollstein from POLITICO has the story. 

Why Republicans aren’t eager to cut an Obamacare deal

Lawmakers see video of second strike on boat survivors, Supreme Court to allow Texas to use new Congressional map, and these US cities top the list for daily stress.

This Morning with Gordon Deal December 05, 2025

Why customer service is designed not to serve customers, millennials have a stuff problem, and dogs, parrots and peacocks live at this school and help ease student stress.

This Weekend with Gordon Deal December 06, 2025

A Paris-based journalist lets us in on what happens behind closed doors at the city's grandest museum when it shuts to the public each Tuesday. And the last apprentice to be trained in the medieval techniques of masonry in Tuscany reveals how ancient secrets help to turn stone into masterpieces of art and architecture.

For more information on Travel with Rick Steves — including episode descriptions, program archives and related details — visit www.ricksteves.com.

814 Tuesdays at the Louvre; Stone

Democrats call for releasing classified video of deadly boat attacks, GOP dismisses off-year races as Democrats eye 2026 Senate takeover, and tips for managing your kids’ holiday screen time.

This Morning with Gordon Deal December 08, 2025

Community and regional banks operate in an environment of perpetual tension. They need to grow deposits and drive lending profitability while managing operating costs that threaten to overwhelm smaller institutions. They must also prevent increasingly sophisticated fraud while delivering customer experiences that match Amazon and Netflix. And they need to do all of this while building technology foundations that won't become obsolete before the implementation is complete.

At FIS's Emerald 2025 conference in Orlando, Peter Boyer, head of banking at FIS, and Craig Focardi, principal analyst at Celent, discussed how financial institutions are navigating these competing demands. Focardi and Boyer discuss how modernization is now a continuous process of adaptation, and that the institutions most likely to succeed will focus on enabling agility rather than chasing specific technologies.

"If you really take a step back and think about regional and community banking, there's a couple headwinds or tailwinds, that are driving how banks are thinking about the market," Boyer explained. "One is deposit growth and profitability growth through lending. Every bank right now is thinking, how do I grow? What is my sweet spot in my segment? Thing two is operating costs. How do they continue to drive a more efficient bank? AI is a big topic on that particular solution. And thing three is fraud. How do you protect the banking ecosystem? You put those three together and you've got a meaningful amount of where the energy is in the market today."


How community banks are balancing urgent pressures with long-term modernization

Trump continues to blame Democrats for his economy woes, the GOP can’t agree on a healthcare plan, and insufficient sleep strongly predicts shorter life expectancy.

This Morning with Gordon Deal December 10, 2025

U.S. seizes oil tanker off Venezuela in escalation of pressure on Maduro Regime, evacuations ordered in parts of Washington amid threat of 'catastrophic' flooding, and leftover hacks explode on social media as Americans fight high prices with scrap food feasts.

This Morning with Gordon Deal December 11, 2025

Hear a Francophile's recommendations for some of the most magnificent religious architecture to explore in Paris. Then vicariously experience a winter solstice ritual from inside an ancient tomb in Ireland, and warm up to the custom that's central to life in Finland: the sauna. Plus, kick off the Christmas season with local holiday traditions from Tallinn, Rome, and Venice.

For more information on Travel with Rick Steves — including episode descriptions, program archives and related details — visit www.ricksteves.com.

Mobb Deep ft. Alchemist & Nina Sky - Hold You Down.mp3

David James Jr. 3