# Fireside Chat with Pedro Gomes (WalletConnect) and Francesco Andreoli (MetaMask) at ETHConf

- Speakers: [Pedro Gomes](https://streameth.org/speakers/pedro-gomes)
- Channel: [ETHGlobal](https://streameth.org/ethglobal)
- Date: 2026-07-09
- Duration: 19:42
- Topics: WalletConnect, Pedro Gomes, Francesco Andreoli, Consensys, MetaMask, ETHConf, WalletConnect Pay, payments, agentic commerce, agentic payments, agent wallet, stablecoins, MetaMask USD, MetaMask card, QR code standard, interoperability, wallets, payins, payouts, remittance, self custody, authorizations, pull payments, USDC, guardrails, transaction simulation, X2X, embedded wallets, account abstraction, prediction markets, distribution, travel rule, decentralized identity, card payments
- Watch: https://streameth.org/watch/yt-0vbhN0TivLw
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vbhN0TivLw

## Description

In this fireside chat, Francesco Andreoli, who leads developer relations at Consensys, sits down with Pedro Gomes, founder of WalletConnect, to discuss payments, agentic commerce, and the evolution of wallets. Pedro explains that WalletConnect created the WalletCon network, the largest interoperability network across digital wallets known for its QR code standard, and has now launched WalletConnect Pay for merchants accepting crypto. Francesco notes Consensys just launched an Agentic Wallet. Pedro describes a shift where wallet features are consolidating inside wallets like MetaMask, making the key question what users interface with when connecting to the outside world, and payments emerged as the number one pain point. WalletConnect narrowed from a general purpose tool to focus on payments, helping existing payment providers accept crypto rather than forcing merchants onto a new platform.

Pedro breaks down the payments landscape (peer to peer, remittance, consumer to business, and business to business) and shares a lesson from the payin versus payout distinction: consumers find paying with crypto attractive, but businesses want stablecoin payouts to simplify paying creators globally, where WalletConnect's 700 plus wallet network gave an edge. Francesco covers how UX improves by meeting users where they are, and the range from invisible embedded wallets (Amazon), to wallet as a service behind a bank (Revolut), to crypto native super apps (MetaMask card and MetaMask USD). On agentic payments, Pedro argues the missing piece is authorization: stablecoins succeeded through pull payments pioneered by USDC, which agentic payments lack, making yolo beast mode fine for a mini app but dangerous for buying flights. Francesco explains the MetaMask agent wallet was built to add currently non-existent guardrails like transaction simulation and security checks before signing. Pedro's biggest lesson is that Web3 needs TradFi's distribution more than the reverse, since their only real gap is self custody, and closes with the vision that wallet payments will become as safe as card payments through native guardrails.

00:00 Introduction
00:29 Meet WalletConnect and Consensys
01:18 How WalletConnect Is Evolving Toward Payments
01:42 Why Wallet Actions Are Consolidating
02:11 Payments as the Number One Pain Point
02:42 From DeFi QR Code to Payments QR Code
03:12 The Main Categories of Payments
03:53 Consumer, Business, and Cross Border Types
04:13 Why Past Crypto Payments Failed Merchants
04:30 Meeting Users Where They Are
04:59 Embedding Prediction Markets Into MetaMask
05:34 Why Users Pay a Premium to De-Risk
06:05 Is the UX Improving Enough
06:35 Embedded Wallets: Amazon, Revolut, MetaMask
07:12 MetaMask as a Crypto Native Super App
07:32 Breaking Fragmentation With a Unified Standard
08:02 Lessons Learned: Payins vs Payouts
08:44 Why Businesses Want Stablecoin Payouts
09:14 How Payout Demand Surprised the Team
09:30 Why the Wallet Network Was a Competitive Edge
09:49 Why Distribution Is What Matters
10:12 Distribution to Agents and Guardrails
10:31 Where Agentic Commerce Stands Today
10:53 Beast Modes and Trader CLIs
11:15 Stablecoins and Agents at Money 20/20
11:34 The Missing Authorization Piece
12:06 How USDC Pull Payments Made Stablecoins Work
12:34 Why Yolo Mode Is Dangerous for Real Purchases
13:07 Why the MetaMask Agent Wallet Added Guardrails
14:03 Why Agentic PMF Is Still Early
14:23 Misconceptions Web3 Has About TradFi
14:46 Why They Need Us Less Than We Need Them
15:14 Why Self Custody Is the Real Differentiator
15:46 How Wallet Verification Predated the Travel Rule
16:37 Decentralized Identity and Agent Reputation
16:56 Why Self Custody Changes Identity Control
17:30 How DIDs Bridge Server and Wallet Infrastructure
17:52 What Pedro Wants in the Next Six Months
18:20 Learning From Visa and Mastercard's Guardrails
18:40 The Vision of Wallet and Card Payments Merging
18:59 Permissioned Infrastructure by Design
19:29 Closing

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  

*ETHConf 2026*
ETHConf is a 3 day event for founders, industry leaders, and builders who are excited about the possibilities of building on top of Ethereum.

Connect with 2,000+ top innovators in crypto, finance, technology, and policy at our inaugural three-day event packed with showcases, demos, partnerships, and conversations shaping the future of the global economy.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  

✅ *Follow ETHConf*
X: https://x.com/ethconf
Website: https://ethconf.com

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  

🎟️ Get your early bird tickets for ETHConf 2027: https://ethconf.com/2027#tickets
🎤 View the full ETHConf 2026 Speaker Schedule: https://ethconf.com/schedule

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _