Bitcoin.com News Interviews
Arthur Firstov, Chief Business Officer at Mercuryo, joined Alex Richardson at Paris Blockchain Week 2026 to challenge the dominant DeFi narrative.
The future isn't DeFi platforms beating banks — it's DeFi primitives living as backend infrastructure inside Revolut, neobanks, and traditional banks with polished UX and millions of users. Plus crypto cards as the consumer gateway, the 2026 fintech-pivot M&A wave, and Mercuryo's Mastercard crypto credentials product.
We cover:
- DeFi's actual adoption path: white-label inside banks
- Crypto cards as the mainstream stablecoin gateway
- The fintech-pivot driving crypto M&A in 2026
- Mercuryo + Mastercard's crypto credentials product
- What MiCA actually changed for an early-stage compliant firm👇
Chapters:
00:11 - Welcome and Introduction of Arthur Firstov
01:01 - Overview of Mercurio
01:29 - The Role of Stablecoins
03:06 - Stablecoin Payments in Consumer Platforms
05:12 - The Future of Crypto Cards
06:25 - Peer-to-Peer Payments and Agents
09:26 - Changes in DeFi and UX
11:41 - Impact of Micah Regulation
15:34 - Expansion to the US and Regulatory Challenges
18:05 - Trends in Payments and FinTech
23:21 - Future Trends in FinTech and AI
Drop your take in the comments — are banks winning, or just adapting?
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