Stablecoin Sandwich Falls Short Without Trust Layer

The stablecoin sandwich model has become a popular way to explain how digital currencies like stablecoins can improve cross-border payments. The model works by using traditional banking infrastructure as the 'bread' and stablecoins as a faster, more programmable settlement layer in the middle.

However, this analogy obscures the hardest part of institutional adoption: trust. Moving money across borders is only one component of a cross-border transaction; the system must also determine who is sending it, who is receiving it, and whether both parties are authorized to transact.

The traditional cross-border payment system is slow partly because it repeatedly verifies information. The stablecoin sandwich compresses the payment path but doesn't eliminate the underlying obligations. This distinction matters as stablecoin payments move from crypto-native use cases into institutional finance.