When Money Finds a Better Path
Gregory Cowles
Chief Strategy Officer, Co-Founder
This Post is disseminated on behalf of Intellistake Technologies Corp.
Here’s something you don’t see every day: a major global bank quietly admitting that crypto might be reshaping the way money moves.
Standard Chartered recently suggested that stablecoins could draw roughly one trillion dollars out of emerging-market bank deposits in the next few years.1
It sounds dramatic, but the logic is simple. People everywhere want dollars that hold their value. In countries, like Argentina, where inflation erodes savings overnight2, digital dollars, stablecoins like USDT or USDC, are starting to feel potentially safer than the local bank account. With a smartphone and a half-decent internet connection, anyone could hold a dollar balance that isn’t at the mercy of local politics or monetary policy.
It’s not rebellion; it’s pragmatism. Money flows toward stability. And right now, that stability is increasingly being found on-chain.
From Local Ledgers to Global Tokens
For decades, people in places like Argentina, Nigeria, or Turkey have sought protection in dollars. What’s new is the infrastructure. The dollar no longer needs to sit in a foreign vault, it can live as a digital token on a public blockchain, verifiable by code instead of paper.
Stablecoins have effectively become the digital shadow of the U.S. dollar, moving across borders faster and more transparently than traditional bank transfers ever could. Their combined market cap is already approaching $280 billion.3 A few more years of growth, especially in economies with high inflation or weak currencies, and the trillion-dollar mark could stop looking speculative.
That shift doesn’t necessarily mean the end of banking, it just means the next version of it may not look like the old one.
When the Model Bends but Doesn’t Break
Banks make money by holding deposits and lending them out. If deposits start moving into digital tokens instead, that model has to adapt. But adaptation isn’t failure, it’s evolution.
And some institutions have already started to adjust,4 5 experimenting with blockchain custody, digital-asset funds, and tokenized treasuries. Even the most cautious institutions are now exploring how to bridge on-chain and off-chain liquidity without breaking compliance.
The real transformation isn’t that people are leaving banks, it’s that money is learning new routes. A stablecoin isn’t just a crypto convenience; it’s programmable liquidity. It moves like software, audits itself, and carries value globally without a clearinghouse in sight.
For crypto, this moment is validation. The pipes built over the last decade are finally being used for what they were meant for, efficient, transparent value transfer at scale.
The Infrastructure That Keeps It Real
Behind every transfer, yield account, or tokenized treasury sits the same quiet machinery: validators, custody networks, and compliance frameworks. It’s not glamorous work, but it’s what keeps digital finance reliable.
That’s the space where Intellistake operates, deep in the infrastructure layer that ensures uptime, transparency, and resilience for decentralized systems. When enterprises start treating stablecoins as legitimate settlement assets, they need validators with institutional-grade reliability and clear governance.
This isn’t just a theory. It’s what happens when tokenized assets, AI-integrated agents, and decentralized compute networks all rely on the same secure foundation. The shift toward blockchain-based finance doesn’t just require new tokens, it requires dependable operators who make sure the system works, even when no one’s watching.
In a way, it mirrors the early days of the internet: the glamour went to the websites, but the real value came from the servers that kept them online.
Why It’s a Positive Shift
It’s easy to read “one trillion leaving banks” as a threat. But it might actually be one of the healthiest developments global finance has seen in decades.
Stablecoins offer something many financial systems can’t: instant, auditable, borderless liquidity. They strip out settlement delays, reduce reliance on correspondent banks, and give individuals real control over their assets. Every transaction is traceable; every token is redeemable. It’s not chaos, it’s clarity.
For savers in inflation-hit economies, the ability to hold digital dollars without depending on fragile institutions is life-changing. For investors, it opens new paths for yield and risk management. And for the broader system, it adds competition, forcing banks to modernize, regulators to clarify, and infrastructure providers to innovate responsibly.
It’s progress wrapped in pragmatism.
The Next Chapter
So now, we’re entering the phase where the conversation shifts from “if” to “how.” How banks integrate with blockchain systems. How regulators define digital deposits. How infrastructure providers like Intellistake keep networks stable as value scales.
Standard Chartered’s trillion-dollar projection may sound alarming, but it’s just another sign that money is adapting to a faster, more transparent architecture. And like every major financial transition before it, the headlines will fade while the systems quietly standardize.
Capital will continue to migrate to where it’s treated best, efficiently, securely, transparently. That’s the story behind every financial evolution.
So yes, the rails are changing. But that’s not a reason to panic. It’s a reason to pay attention. Because once money finds a better path, it rarely goes back.
Sources
1) https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/stablecoins-could-suck-1-trillion-em-banks-next-three-years-standard-chartered-2025-10-07
2) https://www.batimes.com.ar/news/economy/milei-caputo-hail-deceleration-as-annual-inflation-rate-exceeds-250.phtml
3) https://thedefiant.io/news/markets/stablecoin-market-cap-surpasses-280-billion-solanas-stablecoin-hits-12-billion-fe9fc3d8
4) https://www.franklintempleton.co.uk/articles/2025/disruption/tokenized-money-market-funds-the-bridge-to-a-new-financial-infrastructure
5) https://www.jpmorgan.com/kinexys/index
Disclaimer
There has been significant volatility in digital assets and their value can decline rapidly, which in turn would lead to a decline in the stock price of companies holding digital assets. Intellistake is a start-up that does not have the same access to capital as other larger more established companies.
Intellistake has just commenced operating its business and is at an early stage of development. Intellistake is entering this space by acquiring and operating blockchain validator hardware that supports AI networks and investing in AI-related digital tokens to primarily operate validator hardware.
Intellistake is presently evaluating the regulatory framework for tokenization. Any tokenization will be subject to it being completed in compliance with applicable law, regulatory requirements and terms of any underlying agreements associated with the underlying assets. The actual structure of such tokenization, the assets that would be subject to tokenization, and the associated timeline, have not yet been determined. Intellistake will provide further updates as material developments related to this tokenization strategy occur.
Intellistake is developing custom AI software systems called "AI Agents" for businesses. It recently announced the development of IntelliScope, a newly designed enterprise artificial-intelligence (AI) suite that applies decentralized AI technologies to deliver transparent and verifiable corporate intelligence. IntelliScope, which is in testing, is being publicly introduced as Intellistake's enterprise AI suite, reflecting the Company's focus on advancing practical applications of decentralized AI technologies.
The IntelliScope suite is being developed as a collection of modular AI agents, each intended to address specific enterprise challenges. Development has advanced through internal closed testing, where functionality is being refined and validated. Built to leverage decentralized AI technologies developed within the ASI Alliance FET token ecosystem, IntelliScope is now preparing to move into closed beta testing with an enterprise client, a phase focused on gathering feedback to shape premium features and expand real-world use cases.
The Company intends to deliver these solutions either as one-time projects or ongoing subscription services. Revenue is expected to come from implementation fees and monthly subscription payments. The Company does not presently have any customers. Intellistake is just commencing operations. It is targeting significant growth but its business is subject to several risks related to general business, economic and social uncertainties; the sufficiency of cash to meet liquidity needs; legislative, political and competitive developments; the inherent risks involved in the digital currency and general securities markets; the volatility of digital currency prices and the additional risks identified in the "Risk Factors" section of the Company’s filings with applicable securities regulators. Intellistake has not yet developed or commercialized its AI solutions.
Completion of the SVH acquisition remains subject to completion of satisfactory due diligence, the negotiation, and execution of a definitive agreement ("Definitive Agreement") that will include representations, warranties, covenants, indemnities, termination rights, and other provisions customary for a transaction of this nature, no objection from the Canadian Securities Exchange, and shareholder approval of SVH, if required.
This report contains "forward-looking information" concerning anticipated developments and events related to the Company that may occur in the future. Forward-looking information contained in this report includes, but is not limited to, all statements in respect of the Company's growth and development, the operations and business segments of the Company, expectations regarding quantum computing and its impacts, expectations for infrastructure to support digital currencies, support for decentralized AI and blockchain networks, revenue generation potential and details regarding staking and validator operations.
In certain cases, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of words such as "expects", "intends", "anticipates" or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "would", or "might" suggesting future outcomes, or other expectations, assumptions, intentions or statements about future events or performance. Forward-looking information contained in this report is based on certain assumptions regarding, among other things, the Company will continue to have access to financing until it achieves profitability; the Company and SVH are satisfied with their respective due diligence; the Company and SVH enter into a definitive agreement for the transaction; the Company and SVH satisfy all conditions necessary to close the proposed transaction; the technology and blockchain industries in which the Company intends to focus its business in will grow at the rate and in the manner expected; the ability to attract and retain qualified personnel; the success of market initiatives and the ability to grow brand awareness; the ability to distribute Company's services; the Company creates strategies to mitigate risks associated with cryptocurrency price fluctuations; the Company remains compliant with all applicable laws and securities regulations; the Company engages and collaborates with local experts, as necessary, to address jurisdiction-specific matters and ensures compliance with foreign regulations to avoid penalties; the Company addresses any potential cybersecurity threats promptly and effectively; the AI Agent technology can be developed and deployed with real world applications; and the ability to successfully deploy the new business strategy as a result of the change of business. While the Company considers these assumptions to be reasonable, they may be incorrect.
Forward-looking information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results to be materially different from any future results expressed by the forward-looking information. Such factors include risks related to general business, economic and social uncertainties; failure to raise the capital necessary to fund its operations; inability to create strategies to mitigate the risks associated with cryptocurrency price fluctuations; failure of the Company and SVH enter into a definitive agreement for the transaction; failure of the Company and SVH to satisfy all conditions necessary to close the proposed transaction; risks relating to the ability to develop the AI Agent technology and relating to the deployment of validator operations; the ability to acquire digital tokens at reasonable acquisition prices; the costs of regulation in the digital asset industries increase to the extent that the Company is no longer generating sufficient returns for shareholders; failure to promptly and effectively address cybersecurity threats; insufficient resources to maintain its operations on a competitive basis; and the actual costs, timing and future plans differs expectations; legislative, environmental and other judicial, regulatory, political and competitive developments; the inherent risks involved in the cryptocurrency and general securities markets; the Company may not be able to profitably liquidate its current digital currency inventory, or at all; a decline in digital currency prices may have a significant negative impact on the Company's operations; the Company's success may depend on the continued involvement of key personnel, including advisors, whose involvement cannot be guaranteed; institutional adoption of decentralized AI infrastructure remains uncertain and may not occur at the pace or scale anticipated; evolving regulatory frameworks, including those related to AI (such as Canada's proposed Artificial Intelligence and Data Act), may impose additional compliance burdens or restrict certain business activities; valuation figures are based on publicly available market data and internal assessments at the time of the referenced transactions and may not reflect current or future valuations; the volatility of digital currency prices; the inherent uncertainty of cost estimates and the potential for unexpected costs and expenses, currency fluctuations; regulatory restrictions, liability, competition, loss of key employees and other related risks and uncertainties; delay or failure to receive regulatory approvals; failure to attract qualified personnel, labor disputes; and the additional risks identified in the "Risk Factors" section of the Company's filings with applicable Canadian securities regulators.
Although the Company has attempted to identify factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated. Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The forward-looking information is made as of the date of this report. Except as required by applicable securities laws, the Company does not undertake any obligation to publicly update forward-looking information.
