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There’s a moment happening in finance right now that isn’t loud, but it’s deep. Behind the flashier headlines around crypto markets or token speculation, a quieter story is unfolding — one that involves the rebuilding of financial infrastructure itself. Stablecoins, once seen mostly as tools for digital trading or wallets, are now entering the operational core of treasury, liquidity, and compliance systems.
What started as an experiment around digital dollars is evolving into a practical toolkit for enterprises. From programmable settlement and 24/7 cash positioning to on-chain reporting and risk automation, stablecoins are increasingly viewed as components of day-to-day finance. This shift is happening in parallel with rising regulatory scrutiny, growing interoperability demands, and the push for real-time finance — all of which are forcing teams to revisit how payments, reporting, and liquidity should function across jurisdictions and systems.
Integrating stablecoins into enterprise operations is also a strategic choice. It requires clarity on infrastructure, compliance, and long-term viability. It also demands a different way of thinking about financial systems: not as rigid architectures, but as programmable networks that blend fiat and digital rails into a single operational framework.
To explore this shift, we spoke with Vince Tejada, Head of Treasury and Strategic Finance at Bastion, a regulated stablecoin infrastructure provider. With experience spanning Ripple, J.P. Morgan, IBM, and now a front-row role in helping enterprises adopt compliant stablecoin systems, Vince brings a pragmatic, grounded view of what this evolution actually requires — from inside the system.
Enjoy the full interview!
1. You’ve worked across both traditional treasury environments and digital asset ecosystems. From your perspective, what are the key differences in how fiat-backed stablecoins are evaluated versus more conventional payment rails?
Traditional payment rails rely on batch processing, time-bound cutoffs, and a web of correspondent banks to move funds across borders. These legacy systems often introduce settlement delays, increase transaction costs, and add operational complexity – especially for multinational treasury teams working across geographies and currencies.
In contrast, fiat-backed stablecoins settle nearly instantly on-chain, offer global accessibility 24/7, and enable automated and programmable workflows through smart contracts. Stablecoins and stablecoin-based transactions have zero time restrictions and enable businesses to optimize cash sitting in reserves worldwide. They also significantly reduce costs and operational friction associated with moving money across borders.
Treasury professionals evaluating stablecoins are increasingly focused on their ability to deliver speed, transparency, and capital efficiency. Stablecoins are especially valuable in environments where traditional rails are inefficient, expensive and restricted. The goal is not to replace legacy infrastructure but to unlock new capabilities in treasury management, payments innovation and cross-border interoperability.
2. Stablecoin adoption has moved from consumer wallets to enterprise use cases. What are the most important technical or operational features that institutional players are now prioritizing?
First and foremost, institutional players are focused on regulatory clarity at the federal level, where progress continues to be made. Most recently, the GENIUS Act was passed by the Senate and will be considered by the House of Representatives, which is a significant step forward for federal legislation. Enterprises are eager for clearer guidance from Washington and we’re closing in on that.
We also see that enterprises are prioritizing infrastructure that combines operability, security, and compliance. Real-time settlement and immutability are core benefits of leveraging stablecoins, but those things only matter if systems are secure and meet institutional-grade requirements.
It’s just as important that crypto operations and fiat operations are fully integrated – it’s not realistic right now that payment operations will stay within a crypto-only ecosystem so the two need to work completely in tandem.
Programmability is another key differentiator: being able to automate actions based on pre-set logic (e.g., balance thresholds, payment triggers) reduces operational overhead. Ultimately, stablecoins are gaining traction with institutions because they offer a powerful combination of control, compliance, and cost-efficiency.
Another emerging trend is the push for interoperability and portability – not just across blockchains, but between different systems like ERP or TMS, and other different Stablecoins. Institutions want infrastructure that is blockchain-agnostic, system-agnostic, and operationally seamless; treating stablecoins as just another payment rail within the broader Treasury payment stack.
3. You've worked closely on liquidity, FX, and trading infrastructure. What needs to evolve on the backend for stablecoins to function at true enterprise scale — not just in theory, but in practice?
For stablecoins to truly scale in enterprise environments, backend infrastructure must evolve in three core areas: liquidity, banking, and system interoperability.
Enterprises need deep and reliable liquidity, both crypto-native and fiat on/ off ramps, across jurisdictions and chains. Modern banking integrations are also critical. Current systems often rely on outdated protocols like sFTP, which aren’t built for real-time operations.
And, stablecoins need to integrate directly into ERPs, TMS platforms, and accounting systems – essentially treating stablecoins as native financial assets. Without that level of interoperability, stablecoins remain a side channel instead of a core tool for enterprise finance.
4. As more stablecoins move into regulated frameworks, what are the most critical compliance expectations that teams tend to underestimate during implementation?
One of the most underestimated challenges is operational readiness. Regulation doesn’t stop at approvals – it extends to how stablecoins are actually managed on a day-to-day basis. That includes real-time attestations, auditable reserve management, robust banking and custody infrastructure, and dedicated global operations and compliance teams.
Enterprises also need automated reporting and risk monitoring systems that can scale. The goal is real-time, source-of-truth data, without relying on manual processes. Teams often underestimate the amount of coordination, infrastructure, and expertise required to get this right from day one.
5. There’s increasing interest in programmable money and smart contract-enabled finance. How do you see stablecoins fitting into that shift, especially from a treasury or infrastructure lens?
From a treasury perspective, stablecoins are a gateway to fully automated financial operations. They make it possible to program rules from recurring payments, just-in-time funding, to trade financing – all based on pre-set conditions or data inputs. Stablecoins are programmable money.
For example, if a subsidiary’s balance drops below a certain threshold, a smart contract can trigger an automatic top-up. That kind of automation reduces risk, improves capital efficiency, and minimizes the need for manual intervention. As programmable money evolves, stablecoins will likely serve as the connective tissue between legacy financial systems and next-gen, API-driven treasury infrastructure.
6. With rising global regulatory attention on stablecoin design and reserve structures, how do you assess which models are actually built for longevity versus those that are only optimized for short-term deployment?
Long-term viability of stablecoins hinges on transparency, trust, and regulatory alignment. The strongest models are those that are clearly structured, backed 1:1 by high-quality liquid assets, and subject to regular, third-party attestations.
But it’s not just about the reserves – it’s also about the operational infrastructure behind the stablecoin: how it’s issued, redeemed, audited, and integrated into real-world systems. Many models may look similar on the surface, but longevity requires an institutional approach to compliance, liquidity, and risk management.
These fundamentals will operationalize stablecoins, making them easier to use, and that will play a significant role in longevity/ success as well – people will gravitate towards what’s easiest to use.
The space is maturing, and short-term arbitrage plays are giving way to infrastructure that can support enterprise-grade use cases.
7. For professionals coming from traditional finance who want to move into the digital asset space — especially in roles like treasury, risk, or infrastructure — what knowledge gaps should they focus on closing first?
The first step here is shifting the mental model. I think a lot of traditional finance professionals find, once they start learning about digital assets, that this is just another payments rail and mechanism for finance and treasury operations.
Start by understanding the mechanisms of digital asset infrastructure: how custody works, how liquidity is sourced and priced, and how stablecoins interact with fiat systems. It’s also important to get comfortable with real-time, blockchain-based operations, which differ from the batch-based workflows common in traditional finance. From a treasury or infrastructure lens, understanding liquidity, cash positioning, and programmable automation are all key.
The leap isn’t as big as it may seem. Stablecoins are just a new tool that enhances the existing financial system. Success in this space depends on understanding how the legacy and new digital systems interact together, and what becomes possible when payments, liquidity, and compliance go real-time around the clock.
The shift towards global and digital is already underway, and being part of building the next generation of our financial system is very exciting and meaningful.
About Vince Tejada:
Vince Tejada is Head of Treasury and Strategic Finance at Bastion, a pioneer in regulated stablecoin infrastructure and NYDFS-certified provider, where he supports the company’s rapid growth amid rising enterprise demand for compliant, scalable fiat-backed stablecoin solutions.
Vince brings deep cross-sector experience spanning traditional finance and crypto, having spent nearly four years at Ripple building out its treasury function and contributing to the launch of RLUSD, Ripple’s U.S. dollar-backed stablecoin.
At Ripple, he led initiatives across FX, liquidity management, trading operations, payments infrastructure, and automation. Earlier in his career, Vince held treasury and finance roles at J.P. Morgan and IBM. He is known for bridging institutional-grade financial rigor with innovative digital asset strategy during pivotal industry inflection points.
