CRYPTO COMES OF AGE: TRUST, RULES, AND REAL-WORLD USE
CRYPTO COMES OF AGE: TRUST, RULES, AND REAL-WORLD USE
January 29, 2026
On today’s show, I’m joined by Stu Alderoty, Chief Legal Officer of Ripple and President of the National Cryptocurrency Association. We are looking at crypto — where it stands today and where it’s headed.
Stu gives us an update on what Ripple is doing and planning, along with a bit about his own journey in moving from traditional finance into the fintech and crypto world, to which he was attracted, he says, by the opportunity to build things.
He also shares his thoughts on the evolving regulatory landscape in the U.S. and globally. Crypto has entered people’s lives slowly over the past 15 years or so, with its legal frameworks taking shape gradually. From the earliest days, there has been a cohort of supporters who have wanted crypto to operate mainly outside of mainstream finance and, therefore, its regulatory constraints. There has also been a second cohort pursuing the potential of this technology to become a mainstream financial solution, which, inevitably, comes with regulation. For years, the latter group have been seeking clear rules to follow. Stu talks about the recent breakthroughs on that front in the U.S. with last year’s passage of the GENIUS Act to regulate stablecoins, and now the work underway in Congress on broader market structure legislation.
Clarified rules of the road will fuel growth in America and around the world across the myriad financial use cases of these technologies. And we shouldn’t underestimate the growth already underway. In our talk, Stu shares the results of a recent study the NCA conducted with Paypal, showing the tremendous diversity among crypto investors across all demographics, and the ways in which people are using crypto in their lives.
As we enter into this growth stage, Stu talks candidly about what he calls crypto’s “branding problem.” In addition to being Ripple’s chief legal officer, he is president of the National Cryptocurrency Association, a nonprofit founded a year ago to educate consumers about crypto. I serve on the NCA’s advisory board, and I couldn’t agree more about the enormous need for better information, demystification, and real public understanding — about both the benefits and risks. The risks include the shockingly rapid growth of fraud and scams. Those are not limited to crypto — far from it, unfortunately, as crimes are proliferating across every financial channel, driven heavily by AI. The programmability and traceability of crypto even offer hope for better tools for fighting back. That said, the very novelty and complexity of crypto make it essential to educate the public.
Stu Alderoty is the President of the National Cryptocurrency Association (NCA) and Chief Legal Officer at Ripple, with over 35 years of experience in law and financial services including at CIT Group, HSBC, and American Express. At the NCA, he focuses on helping everyday Americans understand and use crypto with confidence, and at Ripple, he oversees the legal, compliance and regulation departments. Stu’s transition from traditional finance to crypto was ignited by his passion for professional growth and challenge and a desire to help real people and businesses benefit from technology.
More for Our Listeners
Coming soon on Barefoot Innovation, I will sit down with Patrick Murck, CEO and Co‑Founder of Surus, for a candid look at innovating financial infrastructure. Then Saket Narayan of AWS joins me to explore how cloud and AI technologies are reshaping compliance. And we’ll have part 2 of our very popular conversation on financial crime with gurus Carole House, Ari Redbord, and Matthew Van Buskirk, diving even deeper into how we can fight fraud and protect consumers.
AIR Speaking Engagements
Mar. 4, 2026 – GARP Financial Risk Symposium 2026, New York, NY – The Global Association of Risk Managers will gather risk leaders to discuss evolving opportunities and challenges in risk management, with Jo Ann Barefoot speaking on the evolution of Gen AI.
