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Loop Crypto's CEO, Eleni Steinman, joins the Amberdata Podcast to share how her team is making stablecoin autopay as seamless as credit cards. From her start in public policy during the 2008 financial crisis to building API-first crypto payment infrastructure, Eleni breaks down the challenges and opportunities of recurring billing on blockchain. Discover why AI startups and global businesses are adopting stablecoins—and what it means for the future of payments.
In this episode of the Amberdata Podcast, host Izzy Henderson, Director of Product Marketing, interviews Eleni Steinman, Co-Founder and CEO of Loop Crypto, about building smart contract-powered recurring payment infrastructure for businesses. The conversation spans Steinman’s unconventional career path, Loop’s iterative product development, the technical and market challenges of crypto autopay, and the broader evolution of stablecoin payments.
From Public Policy to Crypto Payments Innovation
Steinman began her career in public policy during the 2008 financial crisis, working on trade and economic policy at the U.S. State Department and the White House. A desire to work in tech led her to Yale’s MBA program, where she discovered blockchain technology through the Bitcoin white paper and academic texts. Fascinated by its potential, she joined a blockchain scaling startup in Chicago, where she met her co-founder.
Her government experience—particularly overseeing large, slow, top-down system overhauls, influenced Loop’s approach to product building. Steinman emphasizes agile, iterative development: get a product in front of customers quickly, gather feedback, and adapt, rather than relying on static requirements. She notes that startups have the advantage of failing fast and learning, unlike the high-stakes, risk-averse culture of government.
Identifying the Recurring Payments Problem
Loop’s origin came from Steinman and her co-founder’s frustrations at their previous company in accepting crypto payments. Two issues stood out:
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Lack of autopay functionality – Unlike credit cards, crypto transactions required manual initiation every time.
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Poor integration with existing merchant workflows – Businesses using tools like QuickBooks or Stripe needed crypto payments to work seamlessly within their established systems.
Loop set out to build interoperable infrastructure that mirrored the ease of traditional payment rails while taking advantage of blockchain’s global reach.
Iterative Product Development
Initially, Loop built entirely on-chain smart contracts with customizable logic. Over time, they realized merchants needed more flexibility—especially in billing models, trial periods, discounts, and payment method switching. This led to a hybrid approach: keeping only the essential components on-chain and handling the rest off-chain for adaptability.
Eventually, Loop evolved into an API-first platform. Merchants and payment platforms can now integrate directly into Loop’s APIs for wallet-based autopay without adopting Loop’s entire front end. UI components like crypto checkout widgets remain available for those wanting quick setup.
Technical Complexity of Crypto Autopay
Recurring billing in crypto is more complex than simple “push” payments. Loop enables “pull” payments—charging a wallet at scheduled intervals—requiring robust wallet management, customer notifications, and safeguards against payment failures. The platform monitors wallet balances, handles on-chain congestion, and ensures transactions happen reliably, relieving merchants of these burdens.
Popular Networks and Stablecoin Dominance
Loop’s most active payment networks are Solana and Ethereum Layer 2s like Optimism and Arbitrum, chosen for their low fees and growing exchange integration. While Ethereum remains for high-value transactions, smaller payments benefit from cheaper networks. Stablecoins dominate Loop’s payment volume (98%), largely for their price stability and ease of use.
Unexpected Market Trends
A significant shift is the influx of non-Web3 businesses, particularly AI startups with global customer bases, seeking stablecoin billing to avoid cross-border payment friction. Steinman reports that merchants selling in stablecoins often reach twice as many countries as with fiat, including developed markets like Germany, the Netherlands, and Sweden. Cultural openness to new tech, reduced FX fees, and existing “pay by bank” norms contribute to adoption in Europe.
Stablecoins as Global Payment Rails
Steinman sees parallels between stablecoin rails and legacy systems like SWIFT but highlights that with self-custodied wallets, individuals can move funds without intermediaries. She envisions a transitional “Web 2.5” phase where banks, payment processors, and crypto coexist, eventually moving toward more stablecoin-native systems—potentially even bank-issued stablecoins.
A tipping point for mainstream adoption, she suggests, could come if major consumer platforms like Apple Pay or Stripe integrate stablecoins directly, making them invisible to the end user.
From Niche to Invisible Payments
While “paying with crypto” is still a novelty phrase, Steinman believes it will become as invisible as using a credit card. Most Web2 merchants already lack detailed knowledge of chains or stablecoin issuers; they simply see it as accepting “digital dollars.” Loop’s role is to abstract away blockchain complexity while ensuring safety, compliance, and ease of checkout.
Evolving User Concerns
Early adopters wanted transparency and control over the technical process. Today’s broader user base wants simplicity and error prevention, as well as assurances they won’t send funds to the wrong address or network. Loop handles these checks automatically, reflecting the shift toward usability over technical detail.
Future Outlook and Industry Fragmentation
Steinman expects stablecoin markets to remain fragmented, similar to traditional currency systems, with different products optimized for safety, liquidity, or low fees. This diversity fosters competition, and interoperability between coins means switching is frictionless.
She believes stablecoin adoption will expand through integration with mainstream platforms, continued fee reductions via L2s and high-throughput chains like Solana, and the growing appeal of global, instant settlement for both merchants and consumers.
Advice for Founders
Looking back, Steinman would tell her earlier self to embrace the learning process, accept that losing early customers is part of iteration, and keep a long-term view. Confidence in the product’s eventual market fit enables better decision-making and more innovative solutions.
Key Takeaways
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Loop’s mission: Make crypto autopay as seamless as credit cards by integrating into existing merchant workflows.
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Stablecoins dominate usage for recurring crypto payments due to stability, global reach, and FX savings.
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Market expansion is being driven by non-crypto companies, especially global-first AI businesses.
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Technical advantage lies in handling wallet approvals, payment scheduling, and network variability so merchants don’t have to.
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Mainstream tipping point could come from adoption by major consumer payment platforms.
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Fragmentation isn’t a flaw—competition and interoperability create a healthy, resilient payment ecosystem.
Conclusion
As stablecoins move from niche tech to mainstream finance, Loop Crypto is paving the way for a future where crypto payments are invisible, reliable, and effortless. Eleni Steinman’s journey—from public policy during the financial crisis to building next-gen payment rails—offers a rare perspective on how technology, regulation, and market demand intersect. Her vision is clear: paying with stablecoins should be as seamless as swiping a card, unlocking new opportunities for merchants to reach global audiences and for customers to transact without borders. If you want to understand where digital payments are headed, this episode is your roadmap.
