▶EP 01 · Daily series
In 1968, Wall Street was drowning in paper share certificates, and today it's starting to move shares as tokens.
Why it matters today
The shares in your brokerage app are records, not paper, and tokenisation is the next step in how those records are kept.
Sources
- 1968 Wednesday closures and the paperwork crisis: SEC Historical Society
- 1973, DTC created to hold certificates in a vault and record ownership changes in its books: DTCC
- 11 Dec 2025, SEC staff no-action letter to DTC: SEC
- July 2026, first limited live trades: DTCC
- Music: "Dreamer" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), CC BY 4.0
Not financial advice.
EP 02 · Daily series
Central bank money, bank deposits and stablecoins, and why a dollar has to stay a dollar in all three.
Why it matters today
A dollar in cash, in a bank account or in a stablecoin should all be worth exactly one dollar, and keeping it that way is the job.
Sources
Not financial advice.
EP 03 · Daily series
The asset stays put while its token moves in minutes.
Why it matters today
Big institutions want to pledge assets without moving them, the way you can borrow against your home while you still live in it.
Sources
- RLUSD custody and the planned collateral link with LMAX: Standard Chartered press release, 12 Oct 2026
- $8.2T trading volume in 2025: LMAX Group FY2025 results
- Music: "Carefree" by Kevin MacLeod, CC BY 4.0
Not financial advice.
EP 04 · Daily series
A stablecoin goes in and a regular bank payment comes out the other side.
Why it matters today
Most stablecoin volume today isn't shopping. Paying real bills with them is still the early, small part.
Sources
- $35T moved and about 1% spent on real payments: McKinsey and Artemis, "Stablecoins in payments", 2026
- 1871 money by telegraph: Western Union history
- Swift founded 1973, network live from 1977: Swift, "Our story"
- RLUSD bank transfers, 190+ countries, Metodieva quote: TrustLinq press release, 13 Oct 2026
- Music: "Easy Lemon" by Kevin MacLeod, CC BY 4.0
Not financial advice.
EP 05 · Daily series
BNY says it's the first tokenised Treasury repo on a major triparty platform.
Why it matters today
Banks lend to each other overnight to balance their books, and blockchains could let that happen outside office hours.
Sources
- About $3.0T overnight Treasury repo, and the September 2019 SOFR spike: NY Fed SOFR data
- Tokenised Treasury trade, tri-party repo, Doherty quote: BNY press release, 13 Oct 2026
- Music: "Digital Lemonade" by Kevin MacLeod, CC BY 4.0
Not financial advice.
EP 06 · Daily series
From a 1966 bank network to a platform for both regular money and stablecoins.
Why it matters today
Your card works at almost any shop because banks agreed on one network, and digital money needs that same agreement.
Sources
- 1966, 1969, 1979: Mastercard corporate history
- Global Money Platform, 17B+ endpoints, 130+ countries, 2027 targets: Mastercard and BVNK press release, 15 Oct 2026
- BVNK deal, $1.5B plus up to $300M, closed Aug 2026: Mastercard Q1 2026 10-Q and Mastercard release, 3 Aug 2026
- USDC prefunding for Visa Direct: Visa newsroom, 15 Oct 2026
- Music: "Inspired" by Kevin MacLeod, CC BY 4.0
Not financial advice.
EP 07 · Daily series
From one shared bank network in 1973 to one yen stablecoin tested by three megabanks. A proof of concept, not live.
Why it matters today
Your bank transfer lands because banks share one settlement system, and Japan is testing what that looks like on-chain.
Sources
- 1943 central settlement, 1973 Zengin launch with 88 banks and about 7,400 branches: Zengin-Net
- About 6.5M transfers a day, over ¥12T: Zengin-Net
- Joint stablecoin proof of concept, 17–23 July 2026, live transactions planned in FY2026: SMBC release, 16 Oct 2026
- Music: "Wallpaper" by Kevin MacLeod, CC BY 4.0
Not financial advice.
EP 08 · Daily series
From gold by stagecoach in 1852 to what three big US banks said about tokenisation this week. Live at Wells Fargo, but still small.
Why it matters today
Many big banks now see tokenisation as a way to grow, not a threat, which hints at where investments may be held next.
Sources
Not financial advice.
EP 09 · Daily series
In 1917–18, twenty million Americans bought Liberty Bonds. Today US debt is being tokenised, and most of the value Chainalysis can locate sits outside America, and the US comes fourth.
Why it matters today
A tokenised US Treasury can be held by eligible investors as a token, without needing a US brokerage account.
Sources
Not financial advice.
EP 10 · Daily series
In 1907, Pierpont Morgan locked bankers in his library to save the system. Today JPMorgan's dollar deposit token is live on Ethereum, the biggest public blockchain, for institutional clients.
Why it matters today
Big companies may soon move bank money on public blockchains any time, the way you send money from an app.
Sources
Not financial advice.
EP 11 · Daily series
In 1990 Malaysia took its bond market off paper. On 20 October 2026, Bank Negara Malaysia launched SSDS+, a platform for tokenised bonds and sukuk, with payment settled in central bank money around the clock. No tokenised bond has been issued on it yet.
Why it matters today
Bonds could soon settle the way your banking app does, any hour of the day, in central bank money.
Sources
Not financial advice.
EP 12 · Daily series
In 1863, Lincoln signed the law that created the OCC to put rules on bank-issued dollars. On 21 October 2026, the same regulator finalised its rules for payment stablecoins under the GENIUS Act. They take effect on 18 January 2027, and applications aren't open yet.
Why it matters today
Stablecoins already move money around the clock, and from January, issuers the OCC supervises get final federal rules.
Sources
Not financial advice.
EP 13 · Daily series
In 1933, the Banking Act created the FDIC and banned interest on checking accounts. The last of that ban was repealed on 21 July 2011. On 22 October 2026, SoFi launched SOFIE, a tokenised deposit for consumers that earns interest and is FDIC-insured up to applicable limits. It's a deposit, not a stablecoin.
Why it matters today
Your bank balance could soon move on-chain like a stablecoin and still earn interest and keep its FDIC cover.
Sources
Not financial advice.
EP 14 · Daily series
HSBC was set up in Hong Kong in 1865 and issued its first banknotes that same year. Since 17 October 1983, notes issued by Hong Kong's banks have been backed by US dollars at HK$7.80. On 23 October 2026, HSBC launched RedCoin, an HKMA-licensed Hong Kong dollar stablecoin, in the PayMe app, with wallet access rolling out in the coming days.
Why it matters today
In Hong Kong, a bank-issued stablecoin could soon sit in the same app you already use to pay friends and shops.
Sources
Not financial advice.
EP 15 · Daily series
Canada's banks once issued their own banknotes. The Bank of Canada opened in 1935 and became the sole issuer by 1950. On 24 October 2026, Canada published draft Stablecoin Regulations: issuers would register with the Bank of Canada, hold reserves of at least one to one, and redeem within three business days with no minimum. The rules are proposed, not in force, and comments close on 23 December 2026.
Why it matters today
If you hold a Canadian stablecoin, the draft rules would let you swap it back to dollars within three business days, with no minimum and a fee of at most 1%.
Sources
Not financial advice.
EP 17 · Daily series
In 1971, the Reserve Fund launched in New York, widely credited as the first money market fund. Fund shares are priced at least once a day. On 26 October 2026, Hong Kong opened the world's first secondary trading of tokenised public funds, starting with ChinaAMC's HKD and USD digital money market funds, which trade around the clock on PantherTrade, an SFC-licensed exchange.
Why it matters today
In Hong Kong, you can now sell a tokenised money market fund at any hour, weekends included.
Sources
Not financial advice.
EP 18 · Daily series
Medieval merchants used bills of exchange to get cash from a banker before the buyer paid. Today, suppliers can still wait weeks or months. On 27 October 2026, C2FO and Ripple announced plans to move settlement for C2FO Instant Pay onto the XRP Ledger, using Ripple's RLUSD stablecoin. It's US-only at launch, and no date has been set.
Why it matters today
For a small business, getting paid in seconds instead of days means cash for payroll and stock sooner, with the same invoice terms.
Sources
Not financial advice.
EP 19 · Daily series
In 1968, Wall Street was drowning in paper share certificates, and markets closed on Wednesdays to catch up. In 1973, the Depository Trust Company was set up to hold the paper in one vault and move ownership by book entry. On 28 October 2026, DTC launched the DTCC Tokenization Service: digital twins of select Russell 1000 stocks, ETFs and US Treasuries, backed one to one by assets held at DTC. 20 DTC participants have signed agreements to access it, and wallet transfers run 24/7.
Why it matters today
Tokenised versions of everyday US stocks and Treasuries can now move between big institutions around the clock.
Sources
- DTCC Tokenization Service launch, 28 Oct 2026: DTCC release
- Digital twins and eligible assets: DTCC Tokenization page
- 1:1 backing and 24/7 wallet transfers: DTS At-a-Glance (PDF)
- 1968 Wednesday closures and 1973 founding of DTC: DTCC history
- Music: "Pixel Peeker Polka (faster version)" by Kevin MacLeod, CC BY 4.0
Not financial advice.
EP 20 · Daily series
In 1871, Western Union began sending money by telegraph. In late 2025, sending $200 abroad cost 6.36% on average, according to the World Bank, more than double the UN's 3% target. On 29 October 2026, MetaMask made Stellar a default network, so every existing MetaMask account now has a Stellar address. Stellar says it settles in about 5 seconds for a fraction of a cent. A new address needs at least 1 XLM before it works.
Why it matters today
In late 2025, sending money abroad cost 6.36% on average. Every MetaMask account can now send it in seconds, though the family at the other end still needs a way to cash out.
Sources
- MetaMask makes Stellar a default network: Stellar, 29 Oct 2026
- At least 1 XLM to activate a new address: TokenPost
- Average cost 6.36%, Q3 2025: World Bank, Remittance Prices Worldwide
- 1871, money transfer by telegraph: Western Union history
- Music: "Monkeys Spinning Monkeys" by Kevin MacLeod, CC BY 4.0
Not financial advice.
