Epicenter - Learn about Crypto, Blockchain, Ethereum, Bitcoin and Distributed Technologies

Author: Epicenter Media Ltd.

Epicenter brings you in-depth conversations about the technical, economic and social implications of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technologies. Every week, we interview business leaders, engineers academics and entrepreneurs, and bring you a diverse spectrum of opinions and points of view. Epicenter is hosted by Sebastien Couture, Brian Fabian Crain, Friederike Ernst, Meher Roy and Felix Lutsch. Since 2014, our episodes have been downloaded over 8 million times.
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Something better than USDC for your Ethereum?
Episode 636
Sunday, 15 February, 2026

In this episode, host Friederike Ernst is joined by Michael Svoboda, CEO of Liquid AG, to discuss Liquity V2 and the launch of the BOLD stablecoin. Michael explains how Liquity maintains a governance-free, immutable architecture to provide "sovereign dollars" that are not dependent on human committees or centralized backstops. He introduces user-set interest rates, a novel DeFi primitive where borrowers determine their own rates to balance their cost of capital against the risk of being redeemed by stablecoin holders. They explore the technical mechanics of the BOLD stablecoin, its multi-collateral backing of ETH and LSTs, and why the protocol funnels 100% of fees directly to users rather than extracting rent. Michael also shares his analogy of crypto-native stablecoins as "electric engines" that offer a fundamentally different risk profile from traditional banking rails. Finally, the conversation dives into the impact of global regulations like MiCA and why the future of finance belongs to peer-to-peer credit markets.Topics00:00 Intro & Context04:15 Why Banking is Under Pressure09:30 From V1 to Liquity V215:00 User-Set Rates Explained21:45 Redemptions & Peg Stability27:10 Collateral Risk: ETH & LSTs35:20 Cefi vs. Defi Risk Spectrum42:15 Is Immutability Dogmatic?49:00 Revenue Distribution & Self-Sustainability55:30 Non-USD Stables & Global ShiftsLinksMichael on X: https://x.com/svobodamichaelLiquity: https://www.liquity.org/Bluechip: https://bluechip.org/Lido: https://lido.fi/stvaults?mtm_campaign=epicenterSponsors: Lido V3 introduces stVaults: modular staking infrastructure that lets builders and institutions deploy custom staking vaults, while staying anchored to stETH as a shared liquidity layer. Get started building with Lido V3 today: https://lido.fi/stvaults?mtm_campaign=epicenter