On August 15, the HSC Conference returned to Ho Chi Minh City, bringing together senior figures from financial institutions, technology companies, and venture capital to debate blockchain infrastructure, digital assets, and the future of on-chain financial markets.

One of the most anticipated sessions, "Stablecoins Won the Payments War. What Comes Next?", was moderated by Berken Menges, Chief Marketing Officer at CoinTracking. The panel featured Carney Mak, Partner at FXHB Asset Management; Nathanael Christian, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer at IDRX; Harry Bui, Analyst at The Spartan Group; and Kevin Lee, Chief Strategy Officer at BingX.

The debate comes at a moment when stablecoins have moved to the center of mainstream financial policy. The total market capitalization of stablecoins has grown into the hundreds of billions of dollars, dominated by dollar-pegged tokens such as USDT and USDC, and 2025 has seen major jurisdictions formalize rules for the sector—the United States enacted federal stablecoin legislation with the GENIUS Act, while the European Union's MiCA framework began applying stablecoin provisions to issuers operating in its market. Rather than accepting stablecoins' dominance as a settled conclusion, the panelists examined the next frontier of monetary infrastructure. Their discussion covered where stablecoins have displaced legacy payment rails versus where they remain primarily a settlement layer, why emerging markets such as Indonesia and Vietnam are advancing local-currency alternatives to mitigate dollarization and capital-flight risks, and what it will take for stablecoins to evolve from speculative instruments into fully bankable assets embedded in everyday financial life.

The Payment War: What Was Actually Won?

Opening the session, the moderator challenged the speakers to define the terms of victory itself, asking what the thesis meant in practice. The resulting exchange revealed a nuanced consensus.

While stablecoins have not displaced efficient domestic retail rails—Nathanael cited Indonesia's QRIS and e-wallet systems as superior for local commerce—the panel agreed they have secured a more strategic foothold as a global settlement layer. "I agree stablecoin won, but not like in the way people think we are using day to day," Harry said. "It's about a settlement layer. That is most important here." Kevin added that although the infrastructure to move money instantly, 24/7, has now been proven, the full "scheme of things"—from daily deposits to insurance and property payments—remains unrealized.

Transparency, Regulation, and Market Resilience

Having established stablecoins' current position, the panel turned to the factor that could erode or cement it: trust. Carney offered a candid defense of regulators, saying it is "really hard for regulators" to keep pace with a constantly mutating landscape that spans algorithmic, fiat-backed, yield-bearing, and public-backed stablecoins. In her view, genuine transparency requires understanding not just whether reserves are audited, but also how issuers generate yield and manage counterparty risk.

Harry addressed recent de-pegging incidents involving USDE and Team Finance, framing them as painful but necessary lessons in leverage and oracle risk. "Market does really learn about it. They learn from the mistake," he said, describing the process as a "natural transition of things when they try, they fail, and they try again."

National Currencies Versus Dollar Dominance

Beneath the technical discussion of reserves and regulation lay a deeper geopolitical tension, with a central divide emerging between dollar-pegged stablecoins and local monetary sovereignty. Nathanael outlined Indonesia's push for a Rupiah-backed stablecoin designed to facilitate cross-border trade without converting through the US dollar or relying on SWIFT. Harry, meanwhile, detailed Vietnam's forthcoming 2026 framework, which will treat crypto as a taxable asset and tie foreign exchange operations to the Vietnamese dong—a requirement that complicates entry for global platforms.

Carney crystallized the stakes: "Stablecoin is global, we all know, but currency and regulatory frameworks are local." For many nations, the priority is not fostering innovation for its own sake, but preventing capital flight and protecting foreign reserves.

The Road Ahead

With current tensions mapped, the panelists looked toward a future in which stablecoins fade into the background of finance. Kevin predicted that within two years the technology would be so embedded in Apple Pay and Google Pay that consumers would no longer distinguish between crypto and fiat at the point of sale. Harry envisioned on-chain credit lines bridging DeFi and traditional banking, while Carney urged the industry to make stablecoins fully "bankable"—recognized as formal assets that can collateralize property, vehicles, and daily payments. Nathanael concluded that Southeast Asia's major fintechs will soon run on blockchain rails, even if users never realize they are touching stablecoins.