Why are stablecoins suddenly a geopolitical issue? Pete Townsend and Garrett Cassidy break down dollar dominance, EU pushback, AI’s role in digital money, and the future of global financial rails — in one fast 14-minute riff.

We cover:
• Why dollar-based stablecoins are spreading globally
• Why European policymakers are pushing back
• What Martin Wolf gets right (and wrong) in the FT
• How AI could become a major stablecoin “super-user”
• The real near-term use cases for consumers and enterprises
• The future of onchain finance and global money rails

Sharp riffs, big ideas, real insights — in 10–15 minutes.
New episodes weekly.

Hosted by Pete Townsend.

Hey there, I’m Pete Townsend, and this is MoneyNeverSleeps - where we look inside the minds of entrepreneurs and at the crossover of startups, enterprise, finance, technology, and life as we know it.

This one’s different.

We’re live from The Podcast Studios at HeadStuff HQ in Dublin - the legendary former Westland Studios where artists like U2 and Hozier recorded in the past - for Episode 300.

Seven years. Three hundred episodes. Hundreds of conversations with founders, investors, operators, technologists and builders. One story ends, another begins.

To mark the moment, I’m joined by Mai Santamaria and Alejandro Gutierrez, two of the rocks who’ve carried the show forward in the post-Eoin Fitzgerald era. We look back on how it all started with “two mics and a backpack,” revisit some of our bold 2025 predictions, riff on tokenization, stablecoins, and AI, and reflect on what this community has built together.

Big thanks to Search4Less and Barry Darmody for sponsoring this episode, to Conan Brophy for seven years of production wizardry, and to every single one of you who’s listened, shared, or joined in along the way.

Featuring: Mai Santamaria, Alejandro Gutierrez, Conan Brophy, Paul Smyth, Barry Darmody

Full predictions recap at moneyneversleeps.ie

🔗 LINKS

Leave a review & subscribe on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | MoneyNeverSleeps (website)

Email us: info@norioventures.com

Pete Townsend: X/Twitter | LinkedIn

MoneyNeverSleeps: X/Twitter | LinkedIn | Newsletter

Alejandro Gutierrez joins me to talk Solana in Ireland, stablecoins, and tokenized securities - plus I share the launch of Norio Ventures Fund I and what’s ahead for Episode 300.

🔹 Scaling Solana Superteam Ireland and building community across the island
🔹 Stablecoins moving mainstream + tokenized securities gaining momentum with Nasdaq
🔹 My launch of Norio Ventures Fund I and what’s next for MoneyNeverSleeps

🔹 Plus, we look ahead to the Payments Innovation Roundtable in Dublin, and CryptoMondays Belfast

About MoneyNeverSleeps:

I’m Pete Townsend, host of MoneyNeverSleeps and General Partner of Norio Ventures. With nearly 300 episodes, this show dives into the minds of entrepreneurs at the intersection of startups, finance, technology, and life as we know it.

References:

• Solana Superteam Ireland

• Norio Ventures

• CryptoMondays Ireland

• rwa.xyz (on tokenized securities)

LINKS:

Solana Superteam Ireland: Website | X/(Twitter) | LinkedIn

Alejandro Gutierrez: X/(Twitter) | LinkedIn

Leave a review & subscribe on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | MoneyNeverSleeps (website)

Email us: info@norioventures.com

Pete Townsend: X/Twitter | LinkedIn

MoneyNeverSleeps: X/Twitter | LinkedIn | Newsletter