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BYE-BYE TO PAPER MONEY
Jul 3, 2025
There's a new currency on the block--it's called "stable coin." Although it's an electronic form of currency--it differs markedly from Bit-Coin and other crypto which are mined and have widely fluctuating values. Find out why merchants, big banks and even the US government are rushing to embrace stable coin.
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[Music]
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The good old dollar. It has been with us
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for hundreds of years. But there's now a
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move a foot to say goodbye to paper
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currency and coins. A move that's been
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building for quite some time. I don't
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have cash in my wallet. I don't carry
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cash much. Everything is on my cards or
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even on my phone. I think the transition
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has been happening for quite a few
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years. And what would be the new coin of
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the realm? Something called stablecoin.
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That's a digitally based currency, but
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it's not Bitcoin or some other wildly
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fluctuating crypto.
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What is the difference between stable
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coin and a Bitcoin cryptotype currency?
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Well, stable coin is a little different
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because it's backed by a hard asset
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maybe like commodities or um gold um
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dollars. It's backed by something. Um
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other cryptos, currencies are not
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backed. They fluctuate with when
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popularity changes. The stable coin is
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designed to keep some stability and keep
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the price as close as possible without
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much fluctuations.
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In other words, a dollar's worth of
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stable coin would be worth a dollar.
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Period. Now, since we have credit cards,
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which are already a digital form of
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money, why do we need stable coin?
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Merchants are interested because of the
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speed there settlement issues. So when a
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credit card is utilized by um an
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individual and they pay merchants with
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it, there's a settlement that has to
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occur before the merchant is actually
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paid. And there are also associated fees
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with that purchase. You see that 2% or
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3% charge with stable coin. It just
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changes the speed. It makes it instant
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and merchants are able to be paid
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immediately. Right now, there's more
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than a hundred stable coins on the
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market, amounting to more than a half a
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trillion dollars in assets, but there
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are a half dozen of them that seem to be
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emerging as leaders, including one of
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them backed by PayPal. You just have to
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determine what company you feel
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comfortable with, someone like Tether or
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even PayPal. But I think the transition
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for individuals is going to be smoother
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than people think because we've all
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already been accustomed to some form of
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digital currencies. But what about
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regulation? Today, stable coin issuers
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are operating in a legal gray zone.
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Companies that want to follow the rules
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can't be sure what rules to follow.
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Congress is trying to impose controls on
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stable coins through something it calls
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the Genius Act. that stands for guiding
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and establishing national innovation for
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US stable coins. The Genius Act would
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provide a clear regulatory framework for
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stable coins. It would ensure Americans
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can trust who they're doing business
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with when they purchase stable coins.
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People who use illegal large amounts of
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cash, would that help try and eliminate
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that?
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Well, that's actually one of the bigger
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issues. How do you monitor money
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laundering? Um because when you're
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speaking on cryptocurrency,
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it's not as transparent as banks. The
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Genius Act would also require all stable
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coin issuers to monitor and report
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suspicious activity like money
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laundering. As more and more financial
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institutions warm to the idea of stable
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coins, experts say it's quite possible
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that we'll see digital currency pretty
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much replace paper money within the next
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3 to six years. Working for you, I'm the
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consumer guy, Steve Spraer.
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