There are certain financial events in history that have rippled through to today's economic paradigm.

Perhaps at the top of that list is the Bretton Woods Agreement in 1944 — when nations around the world established a system for a fixed currency exchange rate using gold as the universal standard. Eventually, that agreement would be ditched by President Nixon in 1971 when the U.S. moved off the gold standard.

Now, new builders are attempting to enact new economic paradigms using Bitcoin at the center of things. Roundtable anchor Rob Nelson recently sat down with Sasha Mitchell, Head of Operations at BeL2, to discuss an ecosystem project whose founder was one of more than 2,000 students that signed up to be members of the Harvard Innovation Labs this fall.

The New Bretton Woods Project is attempting a develop a new take on the global financial system by leveraging bitcoin and decentralized finance (DeFi) to tackle the mounting global debt crisis.

As Sasha Mitchell explained, ditching the gold standard has introduced a new debt crisis that's been building since President Richard Nixon's decision in 1971. "It took 200 years to actually reach $1 trillion in debt," he noted. "Now, every three months, the U.S. is growing by $1 trillion of debt—globally, it's $307 trillion." Mitchell emphasized the need to "anchor ourselves back into reality" by backing currencies with tangible assets.

BeL2's protocol facilitates communication between bitcoin and other blockchains, enabling sophisticated decentralized finance through smart contracts. Mitchell stated, "We can enable more sophisticated, decentralized finance" by allowing users to collateralize their bitcoin without moving it off the bitcoin network. This approach could unlock liquidity by minting stablecoins backed by bitcoin's value, offering holders new ways to leverage their assets without selling them.

Rob Nelson highlighted the significance of creating a decentralized stablecoin, noting that it removes reliance on a single centralized currency. "That's a really significant switch," he said. Mitchell agreed, adding that blockchain governance brings transparency and trust into the financial system, which is crucial for addressing the debt crisis. "Blockchain is about bringing trust into a trustless environment," he explained.