Christian Catalini

Dollars trickle in; ~$750bn of imports, ~$90bn in debt coupons, and ~$89bn in illicit flows suck them right back out.

What free-banking history warns about the new U.S. stablecoin framework.

When a bot's inner monologue is 'what leverage keeps me from being unplugged?'

'Agency' is the same unruly territory we mapped as unknown unknowns in HBR — the edge lives in the frontiers no metric dares to tread.

We were selected to navigate half-drawn maps.

In 1957, Zvi Griliches showed farmers tried hybrid corn on prime acres first.

Even if progress stopped tomorrow, the disruption is already underway.

On payments, stablecoins, and open rails at the FBC Summit 2025.

Measurability decides which work AI automates first — and where humans stay in the loop.

Openness versus convenience as crypto reaches mainstream scale.

IPO, a Coinbase buy, a Ripple bid, or the PayPal lane — four doors out, each with its own catch.

Forget Bitcoin — stablecoins are the real revolution in payments.

A plug-and-play swap for the big models: smart routing trims the bill and lets you mix and match as many brains as you like — the skunkworks project bolted together at Lightspark on Spark.

Stablecoins are laying fresh asphalt for global payments, but they need great on/off-ramps to the old highways — bank and card rails — as well as consumer safeguards.

Westinghouse locked in the marquee distribution deals and used cheaper, easier-to-scale AC to undercut Edison.

The U.S. debut is noteworthy, but the real plot twist is Worldcoin's sprint toward the mainstream: build real utility first, then sweeten it with tokens.

Build utility first, bridge old-and-new tech, execute flawlessly—why most crypto projects miss these basics and how getting them right will unlock mainstream adoption.

Seize distribution and scale into mainstream payments now — or watch regulators standardize the grid and turn every digital dollar into commodity electrons.

Stablecoins graduated from the playpen of crypto traders to the main stage of mainstream payments.

Stablecoins are at a crossroads: either fade into bank plumbing or outrun incumbents and own the distribution.

Trump’s aggressive tariff gamble threatens dollar dominance—will taxing the world cost America its greatest economic privilege, and could crypto emerge as the winner?

Stablecoins and Bitcoin do the boring-but-effective B2B job behind the scenes while consumer crypto takes the other road — and the two will eventually run into each other.

A currency's global dominance isn't just size or military might — it's trust, stability, and forward-looking strategy.

A U.S. strategy for Bitcoin and stablecoins, at the Bitcoin Policy Institute.

No need to reboot Libra.

President Trump’s executive order carefully positions the U.S. to lead in digital assets without undermining the dollar’s global dominance

Crypto's oldest magic trick: networks with puppet masters backstage imitating peer-to-peer systems to rake in cash.

One day you're rummaging for paper bills; the next, your wallet is lines of code.

OpenAI's old edge was scale and talent.

Instead of merely stockpiling Bitcoin, the U.S. must overhaul its financial architecture for open networks — leveraging its most powerful asset: the dollar.

Instead of merely stockpiling Bitcoin, the U.S. must overhaul its financial architecture to prepare for—and ultimately succeed in—open networks.

The best way for the U.S. to lower its debt-to-GDP ratio isn't speculation — it's fiscal discipline and economic growth.

Today, Coinbase unveiled a bold new white paper, proposing permissionless networks as the key to transforming payments, finance, and beyond.

Weighing the case for a U.S. strategic bitcoin reserve.

In a world overflowing with AI-generated content and AI agents, can crypto step in to bring back trust, authenticity, and scarcity?

The latest crypto narrative positions it as the future backbone of AI.

Why stablecoins won’t crown a single winner: success requires a complementary business model, not just exporting digital dollars.

Crypto regulation should reward building real utility, not speculation.

The SEC’s regulation by enforcement stifles innovation, undermines creators, and risks leaving the U.S. trailing in the race to shape the future of digital platforms.

As the battle over content moderation escalates, digital platforms and government mandates are failing.

Conversation at Bitcoin Nashville.

The competitive dynamics deciding who wins the stablecoin market.

On the academic research behind blockchain economics.

Whether network effects make the stablecoin market tip to a single winner.

Big tech will not be tamed by lawsuits, fines or draconian rules, but by the same forces that fueled its rise.

Lightning-network payments and the lessons Libra taught.

After more than a decade of infrastructure building, crypto is at a turning point, and might soon find its ChatGPT moment.

Conference talk on what it takes to turn Bitcoin and Lightning into real global payment rails.

A long-form conversation on building Lightspark and making Bitcoin useful for payments.

Introducing Lightspark from the Bitcoin 2023 main stage.