From Stablecoins to the Future of Crypto: A Discussion with Nine Blocks Capital Management Co-Founder Henri Arslanian

The crypto trade is having a glow-up second, as the newest spherical of laws and regulation, corresponding to the upcoming Clarity Act, is popping cryptocurrencies from a fringe asset class right into a must-own asset class for all traders.

At Consensus 2026 in Miami Beach, BeInCrypto met up with Henri Arslanian, Co-founder of Nine Blocks Capital Management. Henri has been an early investor in the crypto house, and firsthand witness to the huge modifications in crypto over the years.

The Focus on Stablecoins

In latest weeks, information broke that the U.S. Senate would transfer on the Clarity Act. This laws would create the regulatory rails that can permit adoption by massive monetary establishments.

At its core, the laws focuses on stablecoins. This offers an onramp from bodily {dollars} to a digital token backed by, and pegged at a worth of one greenback.

According to Henri:

“I’ve been stunned to see how the dialog is dominated this yr at Consensus on the subject of stablecoins. 

It looks as if we’re going to get some type of passage this time as opposed to final yr when the Clarity Act was developing. 

I feel the crypto trade is getting a crash course on the function of lobbying and lobbyists and PACs. You know, partly, thanks to this Clarity Act discussions, negotiations happening. Whether it’s going to transfer ahead or not, I don’t know.

However, I feel for lots of these institutional massive gamers, they’re shifting forward, regardless of the Clarity Act.”

The Rise of Crypto Payments

Companies have embraced crypto funds for his or her quick settlement instances and decrease charges in contrast to legacy techniques corresponding to banks and bank card suppliers.

The newest iteration of funds? Agentic funds, or funds made by AI packages with none human enter. Many of these funds are routed by way of crypto packages.

But whilst funds through cryptos rise, it raises with them vital questions that stay to be addressed.

“If we’re utilizing agentic funds, how are we going to do KYC on these agentic funds? How are we going to do commerce surveillance to guarantee there’s no market manipulation, watch buying and selling or insider buying and selling happening? Ultimately, they’ve agentic funds on it. And then the broader monetary crime compliance matters on these matters. I feel there’s loads of these, sure, agentic funds are very horny.”

Crypto Mainstream Remains A Distant Goal

Cryptocurrencies have been round since 2009. That’s nonetheless in its infancy in contrast to shares or bonds, which have been round for tons of of years, or gold and actual property, which have been round for 1000’s of years.

Currently, solely a small share of the inhabitants is actively concerned in the house. And with many new crypto instruments being developed into mainstream banking platforms, a lot of crypto’s success is going on away from the eyes of on a regular basis traders.

Henri has recognized the three largest challenges dealing with crypto at the moment:

“First is crypto markets. If there’s not a lot curiosity in direction of Bitcoin, altcoins usually, there’s loads of curiosity. 

Second is a few of the exterior elements.

Consider all the hacks that we’ve had in DeFi in North Korea. These clearly, if anyone was hesitant, then they’d positively turn out to be hesitant in coming into the house. 

And third is steady ingredient, which is an absence of schooling in the house. We’re at a crypto convention, but when I’m going exterior and ask folks, you recognize, what do you suppose of crypto? I don’t suppose that the notion is that good.”

Crypto’s Institutional Moment

One of the largest observations of this yr’s Consensus convention was the overlap between main banking establishments and the crypto house. 

Much of the technopunk vibe is gone, changed with a convergence between the present banking system and the twenty first century instruments developed in the crypto market.

Henri, a veteran of the Consensus convention, has famous the shift:

“I’ve had the privilege of talking at each consensus since the first one, however one in Toronto. I’ve been to all of them in the U.S. and in Asia.

And that is by far the consensus that I discovered has the most institutional presence, truly. Not solely in phrases of attendees, but in addition in phrases of content material and audio system. Which is sweet or dangerous.

I’d argue it’s good on the long run, however clearly causes some quite a few points. I imply, these establishments embody the large banks. I do know like JP Morgan’s had like a sales space right here.”

The Crypto Winter

While some had hoped that Bitcoin would break its four-year value cycle final yr, that didn’t occur. Prices peaked round $120,000, and promptly fell by almost 50% inside just a few months.

But a crypto winter isn’t nearly value motion. It’s about what it means for sentiment in the house:

“I’ve been in the house since 2013. So, I’ve seen these ups and downs. The trade goes up and down.

Every time there’s a cleanup. My largest concern now’s if the bear market continues. Are we going to lose loads of new expertise that got here to the house? Because, frankly, they’ve to pay their payments.

They have bills. And the crypto market is in a troublesome place proper now.”

While costs have turned greater off their lows, it is going to take some extra time to affirm that the worst of the associated selloff is over. While nonetheless a crypto winter, it has been an energetic one in phrases of the tasks being constructed out, and the convention between tradfi and crypto.

As Henri notes, there are loads of challenges in crypto proper now… however with it, loads of alternatives.

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