Keith Daly, Principal, Banking & Fintech Search at Travillian, sits down with Alex Treece, CEO and Co-Founder of Stablecore, and Branden Hansen, President at Bank of Utah, to discuss why more community banks are paying attention to digital assets and what adoption could mean for deposits, cross-border payments, and competing with fintechs.
The conversation explores the forces driving momentum behind community banking stablecoins, how bank leaders are thinking about adoption, and why the question is increasingly becoming not if this technology will matter, but when.
Alex and Branden also share why community banks may be better positioned than many realize, thanks to the trust they’ve built with customers and the relationships they’ve spent decades developing.
Listen Here: Spotify | Apple Podcasts
Have questions? Connect with Keith, kdaly@travilliangroup.com. We’re always glad to help community bankers think through the space and connect with the right people.
Community Banking Stablecoins: Episode Timestamps and Highlights
00:00: Welcome to Travillian Next
Introductions and context. The host opens with two industry leaders, Alex Treece of Stable Core and Branden Hansen of Bank of Utah and notes how quickly stablecoin headlines are arriving and how directly they’re reaching community banks and their clients.
01:32: The Technology Gap Stable Core Closes for Community Banks
Alex explains the core problem. Today’s banking technology stack, including digital banking platforms, core banking platforms, and compliance tools, doesn’t support digital assets, while existing digital asset infrastructure (custodians, issuers, wallets, on and off ramps) doesn’t integrate into banking. Stable Core sits between the two as a digital asset core, connecting both sides so banks don’t have to replace the infrastructure they already run.
03:47: Why Bank of Utah Invested in Stablecoin Infrastructure
Branden has followed the digital asset space since 2017 and expected it to eventually enter traditional banking. Once the GENIUS Act provided consumer protections and opened the regulatory door, he spent six or seven months evaluating partners and met Alex at a banking conference. What mattered most to him was the people. His view: most customers won’t open a Coinbase or Kraken account, so the opportunity is delivering digital asset offerings to them through their bank.
05:00: Why Now Is the Inflection Point for Community Banking Stablecoins
Alex points to three forces converging on community banking stablecoins. First, regulatory clarity: in 2025 the banking regulators (the OCC, FDIC, and Federal Reserve) updated their policies to treat activities like digital asset custody and stablecoin payments as permissible, and the GENIUS Act, passed in July, formalized the rules and added consumer protections. Second, market growth, from about $30 billion five years ago to roughly $330 billion today, with projections of $3 to $4 trillion over the next five years. Third, competition from fintechs and other non-bank players that built sizable businesses while banks were sidelined.
07:51: Balancing Innovation and Regulatory Risk in Digital Assets
Branden describes how Bank of Utah is moving cautiously, with attention to third-party risk management, documentation, and AML and BSA concerns, and spending on attorneys and consultants to get it right. He also stresses open communication with regulators, and shares that his FDIC point of contact’s tone shifted 180 degrees, from skeptical to genuinely excited, in a conversation just that week.
09:38: The Biggest Stablecoin Misconception in Banking
Alex reframes the conversation. Stablecoins, tokenized deposits, and Bitcoin all leverage the same underlying technology and are part of the same secular shift, comparable to the moves from branches to online banking and from online to mobile. The real decision isn’t about a single product. It’s about whether an institution wants to participate in the next evolution of financial infrastructure, which tends to create a greater sense of urgency once boards and executives see it that way.
11:29: Stablecoin Use Cases: Cross-Border Payments and Smart Contracts
Branden gets specific. With $3.7 billion in assets, Bank of Utah sends about 8,000 wires a month, roughly half of them cross-border tied to its aviation trust business, and stablecoins offer real-time settlement at a fraction of the cost and arguably greater safety. He then looks ahead to conditional payments and smart contracts, using an Amazon delivery example (pay on arrival) and a construction lending example (a drone or on-site camera verifies completion and triggers the draw automatically, even on a day the bank is closed). He adds that programmable money will be essential as agentic AI begins transacting.
14:08: What Separates Community Banks That Thrive
Both guests look out five to ten years. Alex’s central point: clients want all their accounts and rails in one place, and fintechs and neo banks have succeeded by aggregating products into a single experience. The institutions that remain the primary financial account will be those that offer these products, because failing to do so opens the door to another primary account relationship and the loss of deposits and transaction flows.
16:08: How Stablecoins Could Reshape Bank Deposits and Balance Sheets
Branden raises a structural concern. Banks have long funded ten-year fixed-rate commercial loans with low-cost checking deposits, creating a duration mismatch. As digital money lets customers keep funds invested and earning 3 to 4 percent while still spendable in real time, even down to money market funds paying interest by the hour, banks with thinner net interest margins may struggle to compete on deposit yields, and he notes the same dynamic could affect lending.
18:17: What Success Looks Like for Stable Core
Alex’s objective: help a meaningful share of the roughly 8,500 U.S. banks and credit unions integrate digital asset products and remain the primary financial account, able to compete against fintechs and other non-bank players. He acknowledges it’s a significant technical undertaking, which is why Stable Core focuses exclusively on banks and credit unions.
19:43: Stablecoin Advice for Cautious Community Bank CEOs
Branden emphasizes education first, pointing to YouTube, podcasts, and the people already inside the organization who understand the space, and notes that Fidelity began with an open Friday afternoon call. Alex recommends forming a digital asset working group or at least assigning an owner, getting up to speed on the technology and use cases, developing a point of view for your specific bank, and then exploring partners. There’s time to get up to speed, but the learning curve is steep, so it’s best to start now.
22:35: Closing Thoughts: Why Community Banks Still Win
Branden closes with an analogy: banks are like NBA All-Stars who simply haven’t practiced this particular game yet, but given time to learn it, their fundamentals and the public’s trust win out. Alex agrees and adds a forward-looking note. Banks shouldn’t treat this purely as a defensive conversation. With the regulatory blockers removed, they can offer the best bundle and play offense, which is ultimately what clients want.
