Interview | Cosmos CEO Mareneck: interoperability will drive stablecoin adoption

Maghnus Mareneck, co-CEO of Interchain Labs, the business arm of Cosmos, explains the importance of interoperability in stablecoin payments.

As stablecoin adoption accelerates globally, more institutions are exploring the launch of their own tokens. However, they quickly run into several dilemmas. One of the key questions is always which blockchain to choose. According to Maghnus Mareneck, co-CEO of Interchain Labs, an increasing number of companies will opt to create their own chain.

In this environment, interoperability is everything, Mareneck explains, pointing to the recent example in Japan. With $1.3 billion in stablecoins issued in the first half of 2025, there is growing awareness of their use cases. Notably, on August 22, SMBC Group, one of Japan’s largest banks, partnered with several blockchain firms to use stablecoins in payments for security tokens.

“Stablecoins are one of the most impactful use cases for crypto, and companies are aware of it” said Mareneck. “We are getting panicked calls from company executives that ask us what is this going to do to their business, and how can they get ahead of it,” he added.

The new system will cut fees and increase the speed of settlement. At the same time, the programmable nature of blockchain eliminates counterparty risk. Critically, the partnership will leverage the IBC protocol and the Cosmos (ATOM) stack to enable interoperability between multiple blockchains.

‘Every company will run its own stablecoin’

With interest in stablecoins so high, it is only a matter of time before more and more companies adopt stablecoins. Moreover, he believes that, soon enough, every major company will have its own layer-1 blockchain network, powered by its own stablecoin or token. These could include tokens similar to Starbucks gift cards, all tradable across different networks.

“There’s a major trend when firms, when they get bigger, ultimately opt to control their own infrastructure. At one point, the cloud was a major trend, but one after another, major tech firms decided to move away from it,” said Mareneck.

He notes that the Cosmos SDK lets developers build custom blockchains quickly, while IBC connects them. While he acknowledges that launching on a different chain is more accessible, launching an L1 lets the firm capture all of the value from its activity.

‘Governments have been trying to stop us for years’

The move toward more interoperable blockchains is also good for consumers, Mareneck explains. While banks and blockchain projects alike may want to keep their users locked into their networks, cross-chain interoperability gives users more choice and power. This is a trend that even governments cannot resist, Mareneck claims.

“Governments have been trying to shut down the crypto industry for years. Even Cosmos has been debanked,” Mareneck stated. “This technology is unstoppable, and will likely last longer than any government.”