block by block

This Block by Block episode features AirTM CEO Ruben Galindo on the economics of global payroll. AirTM has processed more than $1B in stablecoin payments, paid 250,000 workers in 150+ countries, and reports 20–25% cost savings on cross-border payouts. Galindo explains how stablecoin payments are converted to local currency in minutes, why the “last mile” is the real challenge in international payroll, and what reliable settlement means for enterprises looking beyond traditional payment processors.

In this episode of block by block with Denelle Dixon, Austin Campbell (Founder of Zero Knowledge Consulting, NYU Stern professor, former Paxos, JP Morgan, Citi) talks through the parts of the financial system most people never see — settlement, velocity, trapped capital, and the tradeoffs between openness, privacy, and control. Drawing from experience in traditional finance and crypto infrastructure, Austin explains why most tokenization efforts fail, what blockchains actually make possible, and why copying legacy systems onchain won’t lead to greater adoption.

In this episode of Block by Block, Denelle Dixon sits down with Brian Pellegrino, CEO and Co-Founder of LayerZero Labs, to explore how blockchain interoperability is evolving beyond traditional bridges and wrapped assets toward true omnichain infrastructure. What You'll Learn: -How omnichain tokens eliminate fragmented liquidity and security risks -Why LayerZero is a messaging protocol, not a bridge -The importance of immutable, censorship-resistant infrastructure -How blockchain interoperability will become as invisible as HTTPS

This episode explores how Etherfuse is using Stellar to build open, interoperable financial rails that keep money, and access, truly open. Dave Taylor, Co-Founder and CEO of Etherfuse, joins Denelle to share how bringing local-currency sovereign bonds onchain through stablebonds can create transparent, yield-bearing opportunities for savings and payments. Together, discussing what it takes to keep these rails permissionless, ensure composability across builders, and expand real-world access to trusted financial assets - all while helping local economies thrive without relying solely on the U.S. dollar.

In our third and final episode in our mini-series on how to make a real-world impact, Denelle talks with Elisabeth Carpenter, COO of Circle. Denelle and Elisabeth talked about the value stablecoins have for global users, why enterprise innovation is not just compatible but complementary to social impact, and why skepticism about a new technology can be healthy, and where we are on the transformation journey in movement of money. Join us to hear how to make it happen…block by block.