Overview
In October 2023, I presented a strategic proposal at the Neo Community Assembly in Hong Kong, advocating for the integration of native fiat-backed stablecoins into the Neo blockchain ecosystem.
My argument drew on market research, competitive analysis, and conversations with institutional blockchain builders through The Smart Economy Podcast.
The objective was to demonstrate why stablecoins deserved greater strategic priority and propose practical ways for Neo to participate in their growing adoption.
The Challenge
By 2023, stablecoins had become one of blockchain technology’s clearest use cases. Yet Neo lacked native integrations with major fiat-backed stablecoins such as USDC and USDT.
Meanwhile, competing blockchain networks were attracting substantial stablecoin activity, creating new opportunities for payments, decentralized finance, and ecosystem growth.
I believed Neo risked falling further behind without making stablecoin infrastructure a priority.
The challenge was to turn that observation into a compelling, evidence-backed recommendation for the ecosystem’s leadership.
My Approach
Researching the opportunity: I developed a 26-slide presentation examining stablecoin adoption, transaction activity, and the role of fiat-backed digital assets across competing networks.
Building the business case: I compared stablecoin usage across Ethereum, Tron, Polygon, Avalanche, Solana, and Arbitrum, highlighting the potential benefits of bringing native stablecoin infrastructure to Neo.
Proposing actionable solutions: I presented a two-pronged approach:
- Top-down: Engage directly with Tether and explore collaboration with Axelar to improve access to major stablecoins.
- Bottom-up: Encourage ecosystem developers to integrate Circle’s Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol, enabling USDC transfers through native burning and minting.
Communicating with stakeholders: I presented my findings and recommendations in person to the Neo Community Assembly, which included ecosystem leaders, developers, and Neo founder Da Hongfei.
The Results
The presentation helped build support for prioritizing stablecoin infrastructure within the Neo ecosystem.
In the subsequent attendee vote, approximately two-thirds of participants supported elevating stablecoins among the ecosystem’s top strategic priorities.
Although Neo did not ultimately implement the proposed strategic direction, the discussion demonstrated that an evidence-backed argument could influence consensus among stakeholders with different responsibilities and perspectives.
The original presentation remains an example of my ability to connect emerging industry trends with specific organizational opportunities.
View my original presentation: Native USDC/USDT on Neo (October 2023, 26 slides)
What This Experience Demonstrates
Strategic communications begins with understanding where an industry is heading and explaining why that direction matters to a particular organization.
This experience brought together my background in blockchain journalism, relationships with industry builders, market research, and public speaking.
It demonstrated my ability to develop a strategic recommendation, communicate it to senior stakeholders, and build support for a proposed direction.