I build stablecoin payments for a living. The #1 question I get from TradFi folks:

OK, but how does it actually work?

Here’s everything under a “Pay with USDC” button, simplified for beginners.

At AllScale, we believe in one thing: build the end-to-end non-custodial payment product purely on chain, but remove all the

crypto UX so our non-custodial stablecoin neobank is truly accessible to anyone. And this is how we are doing it.

Fair question. Cards run on a stack of standards: ISO 8583, EMV, 3-D Secure. Stablecoins do too.

About ten open protocols cover basically every real-world stablecoin payment flow: checkout, subscriptions, payouts, even AI agents paying each other. So let’s open up the button and see what’s inside.

Here’s the whole map:

Layer 0: The money itself

Every major stablecoin, including USDC, USDT, and PYUSD, is an ERC-20 token.

Strip the jargon and it’s a shared ledger that runs as a program on a blockchain. A big table of “account, balance” plus a few standard functions:

• transfer pushes money to someone

• approve + transferFrom lets a third party pull money from your account, up to a limit (the on-chain ancestor of the direct-debit mandate)

The issuer, such as Circle, Tether, or PayPal, controls minting and redemption against reserves. They can also freeze individual addresses. That’s a compliance feature, and worth knowing if you do risk. What they can’t do is shut down the ledger itself. It runs on public infrastructure.

Now the weird parts. Three things about this rail will feel alien if you come from cards:

1. Gas. Every transaction pays a network fee, and by default that fee is paid in the network’s own currency (ETH on Ethereum), not in the stablecoin you’re sending. So a customer holding $100,000 in USDC literally cannot send one dollar of it until they buy a few bucks of ETH first.

2. Settlement is final. Once a transfer confirms (seconds to minutes), it’s done. No chargebacks, no ACH return window. Great for merchants, scary for buyers.

3. No account recovery. A basic wallet is one private key. Lose the key, lose the money.

Here’s the painful default experience, before any of the fixes:

Two transactions. Two fees. A second currency. This was the standard before 2021, but customers would all hate you if you launched this now.

Layer 1: Signatures replace transactions

Here’s the big unlock, and honestly my favorite idea in the whole stack: the customer shouldn’t submit transactions at all. The customer should just sign a payment instruction. Free, instant, works offline. Then someone else (the merchant, a processor) submits it to the network and deals with gas.

Sound familiar? It’s auth and capture. Customer authorizes, merchant captures. Three standards make it work.

EIP-712: the message format

Early wallets asked users to sign unreadable hex blobs. EIP-712 fixed the format: signatures now cover structured, labeled fields (spender, amount, deadline) that a wallet can display. Every other standard here is just an EIP-712 message with a specific template. Think of it as the ISO 8583 of this world.

It also locks every signature to one specific token contract on one specific network. A payment instruction signed for USDC on Base can’t be replayed somewhere else.

One thing it did NOT fix: wallets spent years teaching users that “signing” is harmless and “transactions” are the scary thing. But a signature here can move real money. Phishing crews exploit exactly that gap. Remember this, it comes back twice below.

EIP-2612 “permit”: the pull-payment mandate

The customer signs a message: “I authorize company S to pull up to N of my USDC until date D.” Anyone can submit that signature on-chain, the allowance goes live, and the company pulls funds. Exactly like signing a direct-debit mandate.

Early wallets asked users to sign unreadable hex blobs. EIP-712 fixed the format: signatures now cover structured, labeled fields (spender, amount, deadline) that a wallet can display. Every other standard here is just an EIP-712 message with a specific template. Think of it as the ISO 8583 of this world.

It also locks every signature to one specific token contract on one specific network. A payment instruction signed for USDC on Base can’t be replayed somewhere else.

One thing it did NOT fix: wallets spent years teaching users that “signing” is harmless and “transactions” are the scary thing. But a signature here can move real money. Phishing crews exploit exactly that gap. Remember this, it comes back twice below.

EIP-2612 “permit”: the pull-payment mandate

The customer signs a message: “I authorize company S to pull up to N of my USDC until date D.” Anyone can submit that signature on-chain, the allowance goes live, and the company pulls funds. Exactly like signing a direct-debit mandate.

However, a plain permit is a single capped allowance, not a true ‘X per month’ mandate — it pins a ceiling and an expiry, and the monthly cadence is your billing logic.

The catch: a permit is exactly as dangerous as what it grants, and it doesn’t feel dangerous. In the canonical case, a phishing site got a victim to sign a permit for unlimited USDC with no expiry. The attacker cashed it in later and drained $1.77 million in one transaction the victim never saw. The victim only ever clicked “Sign.”

The lesson if you build with this: request the exact amount you need with a tight expiry. Never unlimited, never forever. That’s the exact shape scammers harvest, and asking for it legitimately trains your users to sign it illegitimately.

EIP-3009: the digital check

One step further, and this is the one to remember: the signature IS the payment. The customer signs “pay exactly $X to exactly account Y, valid between time A and time B.” Whoever holds that message submits it and the money moves. Nothing is left behind. No standing allowance to abuse later.

It’s a signed check with three upgrades:

• amount and payee are cryptographically pinned (no altering)

• it can be post-dated AND given an expiry, both enforced by the ledger

• every check has a random serial number, so you can have fifty outstanding at once and they clear in any order

This is the cleanest stablecoin checkout that exists. One signature, done. Merchants control capture timing, can batch settlements, and expired authorizations just die with zero cleanup.

Layer 2: Make gas disappear

Layer 1 fixed checkout. But the customer’s account is still primitive: one key, no recovery, no limits. And anything the customer initiates directly still needs gas. Layer 2 upgrades the account itself.

ERC-4337: smart accounts and paymasters

Live since March 2023. The idea: replace the bare-key account with a smart account, an account that is itself a program. Suddenly your account can do things a real bank account does:

• sign in with Face ID instead of a 12-word seed phrase

• recover access through guardians if you lose your device

• enforce spending limits and 2FA on big transfers

• batch multiple steps into one action

For payments, the killer component is the paymaster: a service that pays the gas fee on the user’s behalf. Two business models, both familiar:

1. App pays. The product eats gas as a cost of doing business, like merchants eat interchange. User sees zero fees.

2. User pays in USDC. A paymaster fronts the ETH and charges the user’s USDC balance plus a markup. Circle runs the canonical one. Its markup is 10% of the gas cost on Arbitrum and Base, so a $0.01 fee becomes $0.011, billed in dollars.

   

This is exactly the experience you can get on AllScale’s wallet.

EIP-7702: upgrade the wallet you already have

Smart accounts are new accounts. What about the hundreds of millions of existing wallets? Since Ethereum’s Pectra upgrade (May 2025), an existing wallet can delegate to smart-account logic in place. Same address, same funds, new powers: batching, sponsored gas, fees in USDC, passkeys. MetaMask, Coinbase Wallet, and Trust Wallet all ship this today. It’s why “pay gas in USDC from a normal wallet” went from demo to table stakes in about a year.

Now the dark side, and it’s genuinely dark. That upgrade authorization is the most powerful signature in this entire article. It hands control of the account to a program. Phishing kits noticed within weeks. In the feature’s first year, security researchers found that the overwhelming majority of observed delegations pointed to malicious “sweeper” programs that auto-drain everything a victim deposits, forever, until revoked.

The bigger lesson from 7702’s first year: every UX improvement on this rail is also a new fraud surface. Signatures that silently move money. Upgrades that hand over accounts. Each convenience gets weaponized fast. Whatever you ship, ask in design review: what does the phishing version of this feature look like?

Layer 3: Plumbing you’ll never see

Three standards that show up in every integration but never in the product. Thirty seconds each:

• EIP-5792 is how apps talk to wallets: “what can you do?” (batching? sponsored gas?) and “run these steps as one action.” The USB-C of app-wallet communication.

• ERC-7677 is how an app tells any wallet “use this fee sponsor.” Before it, every app-wallet-paymaster combo was a custom integration. Now it’s a parameter.

• ERC-1271 is how a smart account signs anything. A smart account has no single key, so the world verifies its signatures by asking the account program itself. Like a bank checking a corporate mandate against the company’s authorized-signatory rules.

Layer 4: Machines paying machines

Everything above serves humans at checkout. The newest layer targets software: AI agents and APIs paying each other amounts too small and frequent for card rails. No card numbers, no accounts, no API keys. This layer hasn’t been mass adopted but almost all stablecoin payment companies are preparing for this.

x402: “Payment Required” over HTTP

HTTP has had status code 402 Payment Required reserved since the 1990s. Nobody ever used it. x402 (launched by Coinbase in 2025) finally does:

It’s also why USDC is x402’s default rail: EIP-3009 lets an agent pay in one signature, with no pre-approval and no gas. x402 can settle other tokens too — via Permit2, which retrofits signed approvals onto tokens like USDT — but that path needs a one-time setup transaction per user. So the clean, zero-setup flow runs on the tokens that ship EIP-3009 natively - USDC.

In April 2026, Coinbase donated x402 to a Linux Foundation body whose members include Visa, Mastercard, Amex, Stripe, Adyen, Google, Microsoft, AWS, Cloudflare, and Shopify. Read that list again. The card networks are buying governance seats in an open stablecoin protocol.

There’s also ERC-8004, an on-chain registry giving AI agents identity and reputation (think KYB plus a credit bureau, for software). Authors from MetaMask, the Ethereum Foundation, Google, and Coinbase. Live since January 2026, tens of thousands of registrations, still a draft standard.

Why AllScale?

That’s the whole stack. Ten protocols, five layers, one idea: turn payments into signatures and let infrastructure do the rest. At , we are building exactly that on-chain neobank experience. What’s even more exciting is that on top of our non-custodial layer, any user can also complete the additional KYC and/or KYB to unlock more fiat features like on-off ramp, virtual account, and crypto cards that we will be launching soon.

AllScale also works with many leading service providers to help them embed stablecoin-based solutions into their existing product. If this sounds interesting to you, my DM is always open!

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Source:

Editor - Jackie

🌍 Macro: The new battleground is reserve admin as Morgan Stanley steps in and Tether tightens its lead

Morgan Stanley is turning stablecoin reserve management into a real institutional category

• Morgan Stanley’s new reserves portfolio suggests stablecoin reserve management is becoming a defined institutional business rather than an ad hoc treasury function.

• The product points to a new phase of competition where firms are not just competing on issuance, but on regulated reserve administration.

• The broader shift is that stablecoin infrastructure is starting to look more like mainstream asset-management plumbing.

Tether is widening its lead over USDC after recent market stress - Tether is widening its lead over USDC as post-hack market stress pushed more users toward USDT and increased scrutiny on Circle.

🔍 Policies: $344M USDT frozen, BIS demands coordination, and UK moves stables into payments law

Tether froze more than $344 million in USDT after wallets were flagged by U.S. authorities

• Tether froze more than $344 million in USDT on Tron after wallets were flagged by U.S. authorities.

• The move was one of the largest USDT freezes on record.

• The event highlighted the core compliance tradeoff in stablecoins, where fast issuer intervention strengthens law-enforcement utility but also sharpens concerns about issuer control.

Global stablecoin coordination is becoming more urgent

• The BIS said international coordination on stablecoin rules is critical and warned that divergent regimes could create fragmentation and regulatory arbitrage.

• It also argued that redemption frictions mean major stablecoins can resemble securities more than money.

• The report noted that USDT and USDC together account for roughly 85% of about $315 billion in circulation.

The U.S. crypto bill is edging toward a stablecoin-rewards compromise

• Negotiators were reported to be moving closer to a compromise on stablecoin rewards language.

• Ethics concerns were also returning to the debate even as progress continued behind the scenes.

• The article showed that yield on stablecoin balances remained the narrow but decisive issue inside the broader crypto bill.

South Korea’s central bank is still prioritizing CBDCs over private stablecoins - South Korea is still prioritizing CBDCs over private stablecoins, leaving retail stablecoin issuance outside its preferred model.

The U.K. wants stablecoins folded into mainstream payments law - The U.K. wants stablecoins folded into mainstream payments law instead of treating them as a separate crypto silo.

Banks are trying to slow down implementation of stablecoin oversight - Banks are trying to slow implementation of stablecoin oversight even after the broader framework gained momentum.

Crypto groups are pressing the Senate to move faster on market-structure legislation - Crypto groups are pressing the Senate to move faster on market-structure legislation as stablecoin-yield disputes keep slowing broader digital-asset lawmaking.

U.S. bankers want a 60-day pause before stablecoin rules go live - U.S. bankers want a 60-day pause before stablecoin rules go live, showing the rulemaking phase is still politically contested.

Terra fallout is still generating fresh legal pressure - Terra fallout is still generating fresh legal pressure as UST-related litigation continues moving through the courts.

The big Tether freeze is now part of a wider sanctions case - The big Tether freeze is now part of a wider sanctions case, reinforcing stablecoins’ growing role in enforcement flows.

🔥 Biz Beats: DoorDash tests payouts, Nium and Coinbase push USDC to 190 countries, and MoneyGram expands USDC in LATAM

DoorDash is taking stablecoin payouts into a mainstream marketplace

• DoorDash was reported to be using the Tempo stack for stablecoin-powered payouts.

• The story mattered because it tied stablecoins to routine labor and merchant payments rather than crypto-native remittances or trading.

• It was one of the clearest examples of stablecoins moving into everyday platform finance.

Nium and Coinbase are pushing USDC deeper into enterprise payments

• Nium integrated Coinbase infrastructure so clients can send and receive USDC, convert stablecoin to fiat, and use a unified platform spanning onchain and fiat rails.

• The network was described as covering more than 190 countries and 40 plus licenses.

• The partnership is a concrete example of stablecoins moving deeper into enterprise cross-border payments rather than staying mostly as exchange collateral.

MoneyGram and Stellar are extending real-world USDC utility in Latin America

• MoneyGram and Stellar said they expanded the MoneyGram app’s USDC-powered stablecoin-balance feature from Colombia into El Salvador.

• More Latin American markets are set to follow.

• The release emphasized MoneyGram’s scale of more than 200 countries and territories and nearly 500,000 retail locations as the bridge between digital dollars and cash-heavy remittance markets.

OSL and Circle are expanding regional distribution for USDC - OSL and Circle are expanding regional distribution for USDC, showing how access is becoming as important as issuance.

Paytently is adding stablecoin settlement through BVNK - Paytently is adding stablecoin settlement through BVNK to make stablecoins more useful for merchant cash management.

Stablecoin infrastructure is moving downstream into smaller banks - Stablecoin infrastructure is moving downstream into smaller banks, not just giant banks and crypto exchanges.

Western Union is now treating stablecoins as part of core growth planning - Western Union is now treating stablecoins as part of core growth planning rather than as a side experiment.

Drift’s recovery became a visible competitive win for Tether - Drift’s recovery became a visible competitive win for Tether after the platform secured support and switched from USDC to USDT.

Tempo is building an advisory layer to speed up enterprise adoption - Tempo is building an advisory layer to help enterprises identify and implement stablecoin use cases faster.

Societe Generale is slowly expanding its stablecoin client base - Societe Generale is slowly expanding its stablecoin client base as corporate adoption grows from a small base.

💡Rollouts: MoonPay launches virtual accounts that auto convert to stables, MS ships a GENIUS ready reserve fund, and payroll goes onchain via Plasma and Ramp

MoonPay is tightening the bridge between fiat accounts and stablecoin settlement

• MoonPay launched Virtual Accounts in New York powered by Iron.

• The accounts can receive ACH, wire, or SWIFT funds and automatically convert them into stablecoins settled to non-custodial wallets.

• The rollout linked regulated fiat-account functionality directly to stablecoin rails.

Morgan Stanley has launched a fund built for stablecoin reserves

• Morgan Stanley Investment Management launched MSNXX, a fund designed to align with GENIUS Act reserve-investment requirements for payment stablecoins.

• The product is aimed directly at stablecoin issuers that need compliant reserve management.

• It showed traditional asset managers building products explicitly around the stablecoin rulebook instead of waiting for later adoption.

Plasma and Ramp are pushing stablecoins into payroll

• Plasma expanded Plasma One through an integration with Ramp to move stablecoins into payroll flows.

• Payroll is one of the clearest real-economy use cases for stablecoins, which makes this rollout more meaningful than exchange-only utility.

• The product move suggested firms are trying to push stablecoins into routine compensation workflows.

Ramp is making USDT to dollar conversion cheaper and easier - Ramp is making USDT to dollar conversion cheaper and easier for merchant and treasury use.

tGBP is getting major-exchange distribution through Coinbase - tGBP is getting major-exchange distribution through Coinbase, marking a meaningful step for non-USD stablecoin utility.

Coinbase is turning UK crypto holdings into instant USDC borrowing power - Coinbase is turning UK crypto holdings into instant USDC borrowing power through a new user lending product.

RedotPay is bringing Sui-native stablecoin spending to millions of users - RedotPay is bringing Sui-native stablecoin spending to millions of users through smoother onchain payments.

dLocal is trying to make stablecoins feel like just another payment method - dLocal is making stablecoins feel like another payment method for merchants across emerging markets.

Infinite is launching bank accounts that work across fiat and stablecoin rails - Infinite is launching bank accounts that combine traditional rails with stablecoin transfers.

👋 That’s your stablecoin scoop for the week!

Until next time — AllScale Weekly

👉 Learn how AllScale can help your team pay, invoice, and scale globally

Editor - Jackie

🌍 Macro: Banks warn stablecoin loopholes, yuan-stablecoin talk heats up, and USDC hits $75.3B

Big banks are still warning stablecoins could become a regulatory loophole

• JPMorgan’s CFO warned that stablecoins could turn into a form of regulatory arbitrage if they are not supervised under comparable standards.

• The comment shows that even as major banks study issuance and blockchain payments, they remain worried about uneven prudential treatment.

• The broader issue is whether stablecoins will be regulated as serious financial infrastructure or allowed to operate under lighter rules than banks.

Circle sees real long-term potential for a yuan stablecoin

• Jeremy Allaire said a yuan-backed stablecoin could emerge within three to five years.

• He also said USDC circulation rose 72% year over year to $75.3 billion at the end of 2025.

• The bigger message is that large issuers increasingly see local-currency stablecoins as part of the next growth phase.

Global coordination on stablecoin standards is losing momentum - Global rulemaking is losing momentum as officials warn stablecoin adoption is moving faster than international standards.

Markets still see the U.S. stablecoin bill facing a rough path - Markets still see a rough path for the U.S. stablecoin bill, with yield rules still viewed as one of the biggest political sticking points.

Yuan stablecoins are entering the strategic conversation - Yuan-backed stablecoins are moving into the strategic conversation as issuers and policymakers pay more attention to local-currency competition and Hong Kong’s licensing push.

🔍 Policies: UK locks stablecoin issuance into its crypto rulebook as South Korea warms to won stablecoins

JPMorgan says the stablecoin fight may finally be nearing the endgame

• JPMorgan analysts said negotiations appeared close to a breakthrough as lawmakers worked toward resolving the stablecoin-yield dispute.

• That makes this one of the most important market-facing signals in the latest U.S. policy cycle.

• A final deal would have major implications for issuance, distribution, and rewards models.

The U.K. is moving stablecoin issuance into its future crypto rulebook

• The FCA opened consultation on the U.K.’s future crypto regime and explicitly included issuing qualifying stablecoins as a regulated activity.

• Firms will be able to begin applications in September 2026 before the regime takes effect in October 2027.

• The consultation shows the U.K. is giving stablecoin issuance a defined place inside its formal regulatory framework.

Banks are pushing back hard on the White House’s stablecoin yield view - Banks are pushing back against the White House’s yield stance, keeping deposit flight and rewards rules at the center of the U.S. stablecoin debate.

Lawmakers returned to Washington with stablecoin rewards still unresolved - U.S. lawmakers returned to a critical week of talks with stablecoin rewards still unresolved and central to how future legislation may treat distribution and marketing.

The White House says progress is being made on CLARITY, but not everything is settled - The White House said progress is building on CLARITY talks, though key parts of the bill still have not been fully resolved.

South Korea’s central bank nominee is open to won stablecoins - South Korea is taking won stablecoins more seriously, with its central bank nominee backing their place in the future stablecoins mix alongside CBDCs and deposit tokens.

South Korea still appears to favor a central-bank-led digital system - South Korea still appears to favor a tightly supervised, central-bank-led digital system where stablecoins play a narrower role.

Corporate stablecoin holdings could face new disclosure rules - Companies may soon face new disclosure rules for material stablecoin holdings, a change that could shape treasury policy and business adoption.

FASB is reviewing whether coins like USDC can be treated like cash - FASB is reviewing whether coins like USDC should be treated more like cash in company reporting, which could influence how firms present stablecoin exposure.

A draft compromise on stablecoin yield was expected this week - A draft compromise on stablecoin yield was expected to help break one of the biggest remaining fights in U.S. crypto legislation.

🔥 Biz Beats: SocGen takes its dollar stablecoin to MetaMask, ClearBank links clients to Circle Mint, and USD1 expands again

SocGen is taking its dollar stablecoin to mainstream wallet distribution

• Societe Generale-FORGE pushed its dollar stablecoin into MetaMask through a distribution move tied to a mainstream crypto wallet.

• The rollout was framed around access to millions of wallet users rather than a narrow institutional audience.

• It shows a major bank expanding stablecoin reach through consumer-facing Web3 infrastructure.

ClearBank is connecting European clients to Circle’s stablecoin rails

• ClearBank was reported to be linking institutional clients to Circle Mint for both EURC and USDC.

• The setup ties regulated European banking infrastructure more directly to stablecoin issuance and settlement rails.

• It also reflects growing bank interest in integrating stablecoins through compliant channels.

Circle says it will not freeze USDC without legal process - Circle said it will only freeze USDC when ordered by courts or law enforcement, drawing a hard line against discretionary intervention.

WLFI expands USD1 supply again after recent repayment claims - WLFI expanded USD1 supply again as fresh supply activity showed the Trump-linked stablecoin is still moving quickly.

Circle sees South Korea as a distribution opportunity, not a local stablecoin market - Circle is treating South Korea as a distribution market for dollar stablecoins rather than a place to launch a won-pegged token.

Stables and MANSA want to connect Asia’s fragmented stablecoin corridors - Stables and MANSA want to connect Asia’s fragmented corridors by building a liquidity layer for fiat-to-USDT payments across the region.

Tether’s political orbit is getting more visible in Washington - Tether’s Washington orbit is becoming more visible as political spending around U.S. crypto policy picks up.

💡Rollouts: Tether ships a consumer wallet, Visa anchors Stripe’s Tempo chain , and Circle explores Arc token and PoS

Tether is taking its wallet product directly to end users

• Tether.Wallet supports USDT, USAT, XAUT, and Bitcoin.

• The wallet works across Ethereum, Polygon, Plasma, Arbitrum, and Lightning.

• It also uses email-like identifiers to make sending assets easier and more readable for users.

Visa is becoming an anchor validator for Stripe’s Tempo chain

• Visa will operate as an anchor validator on Tempo, the stablecoin and payments-focused blockchain backed by Stripe and Paradigm.

• The move adds large-scale institutional credibility to stablecoin-native payment infrastructure.

• It also shows major payments companies leaning further into blockchain settlement rails.

Circle is considering a token and proof-of-stake path for Arc Network - Circle is exploring a future token and proof-of-stake model for Arc as it works toward a 2026 mainnet beta.

Fireblocks is bringing native stablecoin yield tools into institutional workflows - Fireblocks is bringing stablecoin yield directly into institutional treasury workflows through onchain strategies powered by Aave and Morpho.

💲Money in motion: This week’s hottest stablecoin industry financing moves!

👋 That’s your stablecoin scoop for the week!

Until next time — AllScale Weekly

👉 Learn how AllScale can help your team pay, invoice, and scale globally

Editor - Jackie

✅ AllScale launches Checkout for instant stablecoin payments

• AllScale proudly introduces AllScale Checkout, a payment product built for global businesses that offers instant settlement, robust security, and full self-custody.

• The product includes features like Auto-KYT, privacy protections, and a unified dashboard for managing multiple storefronts through one secure interface.

• Merchants also gain access to more than 1.5 million self-custody wallets, where customers will be able to pay from any compatible Web3 wallet.

• Review our product documentation here to learn more about the technical details and implementation!

🌎 Macro: Ethereum reaches $180B, industry pegs $2T by 2028, and long-range models call for $1.5 quadrillion yearly volume by 2035

Ethereum’s stablecoin lead keeps getting bigger

• Ethereum’s stablecoin supply reached a record $180 billion, which is about 60% of the global stablecoin market.

• That total represents roughly 150% growth over the past three years, showing how dominant Ethereum remains as stablecoin infrastructure.

• Longer-term projections suggest stablecoin inflows could expand sharply by 2030, even if Ethereum’s market share slips from current levels.

Stablecoins could hit $1.5 quadrillion in yearly volume by 2035

• A new forecast projects stablecoin transaction volume could reach $1.5 quadrillion annually by 2035.

• The projection builds on 133% annual growth from 2022 to 2025, when stablecoin activity reached $28 trillion.

• The outlook assumes tailwinds from merchant adoption and a major wealth transfer toward younger, more crypto-native generations.

South Korea is emerging as a serious stablecoin test market

• South Korea was highlighted as a strong market for stablecoin-based retail payments because of its high digital payment penetration.

• The broader point is that stablecoin adoption may move fastest in markets that already have mature digital payments behavior.

• The story also reinforces how urgently major payments players want clearer rules before scaling consumer stablecoin use cases.

Stablecoins are now on track for a $2 trillion market by 2028 — New industry research says stablecoins could grow about five-fold to $2 trillion by 2028 from a market of roughly $315.5 billion.

🔍 Policies: FDIC sets 2-day redemptions and no-yield rules, Treasury pushes bank-grade AML, and the White House downplays deposit-flight fears

FDIC lays out the first concrete GENIUS Act rulebook

• The proposed framework sets reserve, capital, redemption, and risk-management standards for regulated payment stablecoin issuers.

• Issuers would need to redeem tokens within two business days and would not be allowed to offer interest or yield on the tokens.

• The rules also make clear that stablecoin reserves would not receive pass-through deposit insurance coverage.

Treasury moves to bring stablecoin issuers under bank-grade compliance rules

• Treasury proposed AML and sanctions rules that would require stablecoin issuers to run bank-like compliance programs.

• The framework includes KYC, transaction monitoring, and the ability to block or freeze tokens tied to illicit activity.

• The proposal shows that U.S. stablecoin regulation is increasingly being built around compliance, control, and enforcement.

The White House says stablecoin yield is not a major threat to banks

• White House economists found that banning stablecoin yield would increase community bank lending by only about 0.026%, or roughly $2.1 billion.

• The analysis also estimated a net welfare cost of around $800 million from such a ban.

• That directly challenges claims that stablecoin rewards would seriously drain deposits from smaller banks.

🔥 Biz Beats: Circle heads to Seoul as USDC activity jumps, Merge launches named EUR IBANs for fiat-to-stablecoin rails, and WLFI preps a USD1 airdrop test

Merge launches euro accounts built for fiat-to-stablecoin flows

• Merge introduced Named EUR IBANs, giving end users fully branded euro accounts connected to stablecoin rails.

• The product is designed to make fiat on-ramps and off-ramps more seamless for businesses handling SEPA payments and blockchain settlement.

• The bigger play is compliant fiat-stablecoin infrastructure that can scale through API-based integrations.

Circle heads to Seoul as USDC trading surges in Korea

• Circle executives held high-level meetings in South Korea to discuss licensing and USDC’s role in regional finance.

• The push comes amid sharp increases in local USD Coin trading activity.

• The broader angle is that Asia is becoming a more important battleground for stablecoin distribution and trade settlement.

Merge launches euro accounts built for fiat-to-stablecoin flows

• Merge introduced Named EUR IBANs, giving end users fully branded euro accounts connected to stablecoin rails.

• The product is designed to make fiat on-ramps and off-ramps more seamless for businesses handling SEPA payments and blockchain settlement.

• The bigger play is compliant fiat-stablecoin infrastructure that can scale through API-based integrations.

Sky moves to make its yield-bearing stablecoin more defensive - Sky is reshaping USDy to make the system more defensive, with stronger buffers and lower yield risk taking priority over headline returns.

World Liberty Financial plans a USD1 airdrop test - WLFI wants to test its USD1 rollout by giving a small amount to current holders, using the giveaway to check distribution and spark early traction.

Circle’s freeze powers are facing more scrutiny - Circle is facing new scrutiny as critics argue its wallet-freezing powers can support compliance but also create trust and reputation risks.

XRP-linked stablecoin infrastructure starts drawing institutional attention - XRP-based payment rails are gaining more institutional interest as improving U.S. policy signals make firms more open to trying alternative stablecoin networks.

Split Capital shuts down as its founder joins Plasma - Split Capital wound down even after reporting profitability, with founder Zaheer Ebtikar moving to stablecoin startup Plasma as chief strategy officer. The move reflects a broader shift from liquid crypto trading toward infrastructure-focused stablecoin bets.

💡Rollouts: Polymarket launches its own USDC-baked stablecoin and new trading engine CTF Exchange V2

Polymarket replaces bridged liquidity with its own app-native stablecoin

• Polymarket launched Polymarket USD, a new 1:1 USDC-backed token that replaces bridged USDC.e on the platform.

• User balances in USDC and USDC.e are set to convert automatically, simplifying the transition to the new system.

• The move shows a growing trend toward app-specific stablecoins that improve control over liquidity, UX, and platform economics.

Polymarket rolls out a faster trading engine alongside the new stablecoin

• The platform also launched CTF Exchange V2, a rebuilt order book designed to improve execution speed and reduce gas costs.

• The upgrade adds smart-contract wallet support, including EIP-1271 compatibility.

• Together, the changes push Polymarket toward a more seamless trading experience while tightening its stablecoin infrastructure.

💲Money in motion: This week’s hottest stablecoin industry financing moves!

👋 That’s your stablecoin scoop for the week!

Until next time — AllScale Weekly

👉 Learn how AllScale can help your team pay, invoice, and scale globally

Editor - Jackie

🌎 Macro: From trading to plumbing...stables hit $7.2T in a milestone month

Stablecoins overtake the U.S. automated clearing house volume in Feb

• In Feb 2026, stablecoin transaction volume ($7.2T) exceeded the US Automated Clearing House volume ($6.8T), marking stablecoins’ rise as foundational global payment rails.

• This is a major milestone for stablecoins moving from crypto markets into real payment infrastructure.

• ACH is a core part of traditional US money movement, so beating it signals scale that is hard to ignore.

‘Unstable velocity’: Standard Chartered says stablecoin usage rising faster than expected as new use cases emerge

• Standard Chartered said stablecoin usage was rising faster than expected as new use cases emerged.

• The report framed this as the clearest macro stablecoin story during the coverage window.

• The takeaway is that adoption is broadening beyond trading into more practical uses.

🔍 Policies: U.S. Pushes stricter rules and HK still has no issuers

US Treasury seeks public input for state-level stablecoin regulations

• The US Treasury issued an Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NRPM) under the GENIUS Act calling for comment on state frameworks that mirror federal rules.

• It requires 1:1 reserve backing, monthly audits, full AML and sanctions compliance, and bans on token rehypothecation.

• This matters because it shows Washington trying to shape how state-level stablecoin regimes can qualify under a national framework.

Fed’s Barr invokes ‘long and painful history’ while encouraging strong stablecoin oversight

• Federal Reserve Governor Michael Barr called for robust oversight of stablecoins and reserve monitoring.

• He tied those comments to wider U.S. legislative fights around crypto regulation.

• The message reinforces that reserve quality and supervision remain central to the U.S. policy debate.

Hong Kong hasn’t issued a single HKD stablecoin license after March target

• Hong Kong missed its own March 2026 target to approve HKD stablecoin issuers.

• As of Apr 1, the HKMA had approved zero issuers, delaying the rollout of its tokenized Hong Kong dollar framework.

• The delay matters because it slows one of the most-watched bank-friendly stablecoin jurisdictions in Asia.

Coin Center warns future U.S. crackdowns stay possible if Congress leaves crypto rules vague - Crypto advocates argue that without clearer law, future administrations could still squeeze stablecoin activity through enforcement rather than formal rulemaking.

🔥 Biz Beats: Ripple-Convera embed settlement, Solana wins institutions, and TRON expands USDT access

Convera and Ripple empower stablecoin-enabled cross-border payments

• Payments firm Convera partnered with Ripple to integrate stablecoin settlement into its FX network.

• The deal combines Convera’s global payments platform with Ripple’s blockchain infrastructure to offer faster, stablecoin-backed cross-border and treasury solutions.

• It matters because this is a clear example of stablecoins getting embedded into existing enterprise payment workflows.

SBI Holdings’ B2C2 designates Solana as primary stablecoin network for institutional clients

• Institutional liquidity provider B2C2 said it would route and settle large-scale stablecoin transactions for institutional clients primarily through Solana.

• The move stands out as one of the biggest infrastructure decisions in the coverage window.

• It signals stronger institutional confidence in Solana for stablecoin settlement.

South Korea’s KB Card taps Avalanche for ‘hybrid’ stablecoin credit card

• KB Kookmin Card said it would build a hybrid stablecoin payment model with Avalanche.

• The announcement shows major traditional card infrastructure moving closer to stablecoin-linked consumer payments.

• It matters because it points to stablecoins entering everyday card experiences, not just crypto-native platforms.

NovaBay’s pivot into crypto turns a former biotech company into a Sky-heavy stablecoin bet - NovaBay rebranded as Stablecoin Development Corporation after raising $134 million and building a large SKY position to anchor its new strategy.

TRON opens more institutional access to TRC-20 USDT through zerohash - TRON said expanded enterprise access will let fintech and business clients use TRX and TRC-20 USDT for custody, liquidity, trading, and settlement more easily.

OSL says stablecoins are becoming central to its business model - OSL claimed stablecoin trading made up 60% of transaction volume as it repositioned itself around global stablecoin payments and trading.

💡Rollouts: Circle drops cirBTC!

USDC Stablecoin Issuer Circle Unveils New Token to Give Bitcoin More Utility

• Circle launched cirBTC, a new fully-backed wrapped Bitcoin token.

• It is designed to bring BTC liquidity to DeFi and will debut on Ethereum and Circle’s Arc blockchain.

• The launch matters because it extends Circle’s role from stablecoins into broader tokenized infrastructure around Bitcoin liquidity.

💲Money in motion: This week’s hottest stablecoin industry financing moves!

👋 That’s your stablecoin scoop for the week!

Until next time — AllScale Weekly

👉 Learn how AllScale can help your team pay, invoice, and scale globally

Editor - Jackie

🌎 Macro: Non-USD stablecoins hit ~$1.1B as agentic payments become the next demand story

Beyond dollarization: non-USD stablecoins are starting to behave like money

• Non-USD stablecoin supply grew to roughly $1.1B, alongside strong expansion in transfer volume.

• The patterns point to payments and treasury usage, not just DeFi collateral loops.

• The broader implication is growing traction for local-currency rails instead of default USD settlement.

AI and stablecoins held up despite the 2026 crypto slump

• Stablecoins and AI tokens outperformed most sectors early in 2026, helped by usage-driven demand.

• Stablecoin market cap and monthly transaction volumes were highlighted as hitting record levels.

• The takeaway is that “utility” categories are showing more resilience than purely speculative segments.

Bernstein: stablecoins could get a tailwind from “agentic” payments even if adoption starts slow

• The thesis is that machine-to-machine payments could become a medium-term demand driver for stablecoins.

• Early uptake is expected to be limited, but the narrative expands stablecoin demand beyond exchange settlement.

• The practical bet is on stablecoins as the default unit for automated, high-frequency payment flows.

🔍 Policies: Japan clears USDC issuance as U.S. lawmakers close in on a stablecoin rewards compromise

Almost there? Clarity Act talks move forward with an agreement-in-principle on the bank–crypto standoff

• Negotiators reached an agreement in principle to advance market-structure legislation.

• The stablecoin language aims to reduce deposit-flight fears while keeping room for innovation.

• The core tension remains how rewards should be treated under a bank-like rule set.

FLAGGED! FSB warns USD stablecoins can amplify emerging-market macro risks

• USD stablecoins were flagged as a bigger emerging-market risk due to currency substitution dynamics.

• The risks include weaker monetary-policy transmission and new ways to route around capital controls.

• The framing pushes stablecoins from a payments topic into a financial-stability agenda item.

Delaware lawmakers introduce bills to license stablecoin issuers

• Bills were introduced to license payment stablecoin issuers at the state level.

• This reinforces state licensing as an active policy lever alongside federal guardrails.

• The direction of travel is more formal issuer requirements, not a permissive gray zone.

Draft Clarity language would ban “set-it-and-forget-it” stablecoin rewards but allow activity perks - The draft targets rewards for simply holding stablecoins while still leaving room for incentives tied to transactions or promotions, though the definitions are still murky.

Treasury tells Congress to target suspicious crypto activity while flagging stablecoins in laundering cases - Treasury argued mixers can have legitimate privacy uses but said enforcement should tighten around suspicious behavior, explicitly including stablecoins in the laundering debate.

Circle pushes Europe to speed up DLT reforms so stablecoins can settle more widely - Circle urged faster rules and broader settlement access, arguing today’s restrictions are a bottleneck for real-economy stablecoin use in the European Union.

Delaware’s stablecoin push becomes a formal “Payment Stablecoin Act” proposal - Delaware Senate Bill 19 lays out licensing for payment stablecoin issuers and related digital-asset service providers operating with or for Delaware residents.

Japan approves USDC issuance, clearing the way for SBI VC Trade distribution - Japan’s regulator approval was framed as a first for a global dollar stablecoin getting onshore clearance under Japan’s new rules.

🔥 Biz Beats: Resolv USR depegs after ~80M unbacked mint and ~$25M extraction, and Tether aims for a big-four audit

Resolv’s USR depegs after an attacker mints roughly 80M unbacked tokens and extracts about $25M

• The exploit involved minting around 80M unbacked USR and pulling out roughly $25M.

• The incident highlighted privileged-key and off-chain key-management risk in stablecoin protocol designs.

• The result was a sharp depeg that quickly spilled into integrated DeFi venues.

Tether engages a Big Four firm for a first full audit of USDT reserves

• The plan is a full financial statement audit rather than another attestation-style snapshot.

• The selected auditor was described as Big Four, but the firm name was not disclosed.

• The move was positioned as an answer to long-running reserves transparency scrutiny.

Circle falls ~20% as reward limits loom and enforcement-style wallet actions add pressure

• The drop was tied to the expectation that reward limits will reshape stablecoin distribution.

• Tether’s audit step and wallet-freeze style actions reinforced the compliance-first direction of the sector.

• The combined effect is tighter regulation colliding with competitive positioning.

More on the Resolve depeg incident....

Resolv insists collateral wasn’t drained, but DeFi partners cut exposure fast - Resolv said its core collateral pool wasn’t drained, yet the episode showed how quickly trust and liquidity can vanish once a stablecoin breaks its peg.

Resolv’s USR crash revives fears about “yield stablecoin” fragility - Decrypt linked the sharp depeg to an exploit hitting a yield-bearing design, reinforcing that “earn” wrappers still carry smart-contract and key risks.

The Resolv hack shows “risk docs” don’t matter if controls aren’t enforced - DL said a vulnerability was flagged days earlier, but mitigations failed, prompting outreach that included trying to negotiate a return.

Morpho curator says depositors took zero losses by treating USR as un-usable collateral - kpk said it protected depositors by halting allocations and setting risk tolerance to zero as the depeg spread through vault stacks.

And everything else...

Circle expands USDC remittance rails in Africa through a Sasai partnership - Circle said the goal is to embed USDC into regional payment networks for cross-border settlement, not just trading use.

Circle stock drops as reward policy changes collide with Tether’s audit headline - Circle tied the selloff to shifting U.S. rewards economics while “trust” headlines intensified competition.

Western Union taps Crossmint to support a Solana-based stablecoin and digital payout rails - Western Union positioned stablecoins as the bridge between digital wallets and real-world cash-out distribution.

💡Rollouts: From Japan to Canada...USDC launches onshore and QCAD infrastructure goes institutional

Deloitte and Stablecorp plan QCAD stablecoin infrastructure for Canadian institutions

• The rollout integrates the CAD-pegged QCAD into institutional payment and settlement workflows.

• The implementation is positioned to fit with Canada’s evolving approach to fiat-backed digital asset rules.

• The focus is operational adoption for institutions, not retail speculation.

Resolv pauses its protocol to contain fallout from the ~80M USR unbacked mint

• The pause was framed as a systemic upgrade intended to stop further damage after the exploit.

• The incident underlined how mint/burn mechanics and privileged roles can destabilize stablecoin pegs.

• The response prioritized containment over keeping markets open.

USDC rollout timeline for Japan: approval on March 25, launch on March 26

• Regulatory approval on March 25 set up a next-day launch window for USDC on SBI VC Trade.

• The rollout was framed around regulated deposit/withdrawal and usage flows via licensed financial firms.

• The milestone matters because it establishes a compliant template for dollar stablecoin distribution in Japan.

USDC starts trading in Japan via SBI VC Trade as a fully regulated dollar stablecoin - USDC launched onshore with more platform expansion suggested as the next step.

Fidelity is reportedly testing a USD stablecoin through Fidelity Digital Assets - Fidelity was described as in late-stage testing, aligning with broader institutional demand for regulated dollar rails.

💲Money in motion: FX startup XFX raises $17M to bridge cash and stablecoin flows

• XFX raised $17 million in a Series A led by Castle Island Ventures, with Haun Ventures and Coinbase Ventures also participating after backing its $9 million seed round.

• The company is building foreign-exchange and payments infrastructure that can operate at stablecoin speed, targeting faster fiat–stablecoin conversions where crypto settles in seconds but bank transfers can take days.

• XFX currently supports swaps between stablecoins and three fiat currencies (USD, MXN, COP) and plans to use the funding to hire more quantitative traders and expand relationships with trading desks and banks.

👋 That’s your stablecoin scoop for the week!

Until next time — AllScale Weekly

👉 Learn how AllScale can help your team pay, invoice, and scale globally

Editor - Jackie

🌎 Macro: $2.2B USDT hits Binance in one day as stablecoin payment volume jumps to $1.78T

Exchange “dry powder” jumps as a $2.2B USDT inflow hits Binance in one day

• Exchange-held stablecoin reserves rose sharply, highlighted by a roughly $2.2B single-day USDT inflow into Binance on March 18.

• The same update tied the move to a broader jump in total exchange stablecoin balances, often interpreted as near-term liquidity for spot and derivatives activity.

• The implication is a short-horizon sentiment and liquidity shift as traders re-enter risk.

A $50M USDT “fat-finger” swap shows who really wins when execution goes wrong

• An onchain incident saw roughly $50M of USDT swapped for about $37,000 of Aave tokens in a high-profile execution mistake.

• The forensics-style breakdown traced where value accrued across the stack (including bots/builders/protocol pathways) and summarized post-mortems.

• The takeaway is that stablecoins can be the “fuel” for massive losses in permissionless routing, reinforcing demand for stronger UI safeguards and price-impact controls.

Desjardins frames USD stablecoins as a macro and market-structure story, not a niche crypto product - Desjardins says dollar stablecoins are increasingly discussed in terms of corporate treasury, foreign exchange, and how reserves can reshape cross-border settlement and market plumbing.

Stablecoin payments go mainstream as onchain volume more than doubles - Global stablecoin transaction value rose to $1.78T last month as coverage ties the jump to payments/remittances and widening merchant acceptance.

Weekly snapshot shows stablecoins inching higher while product churn continues - The report estimates all-chain stablecoin market cap around $315.97B with Ethereum near 52.63% share, framing it as modest growth alongside ongoing wallet and product shifts.

Stablecoins are big enough that “what are they?” is now a policy problem - A WEF explainer pegs the market near $300B and cites $34T+ annual volume, arguing unresolved definitions and treatment are now central issues.

The real fight is becoming network-level, not coin-level - Analysts argue competition is shifting to which settlement network wins standards and liquidity, risking fragmentation unless interoperability improves.

A $50M USDT mishap shows how fast DeFi mistakes become AML headlines - Experts told DL the trade pattern doesn’t look like efficient laundering, but it highlights how stablecoin-heavy execution errors can cause massive losses and trigger tougher guardrails.

🔍 Policies: GENIUS payment stablecoins get carved out of “securities” talk as a rewards compromise nears

SEC and CFTC publish a joint crypto taxonomy that explicitly includes stablecoins

• A new SEC interpretation clarified how federal securities laws apply to crypto assets and explicitly included stablecoins in a token taxonomy.

• The CFTC “joined” the interpretation to support more harmonized administration, reducing regulatory ambiguity across agencies.

• A clearer “payment stablecoin” bucket can materially change compliance planning for issuers, trading venues, broker-dealers, and banks building stablecoin-adjacent products.

Five-part classification scheme lands as “long-awaited” U.S. crypto guidance

• Wire coverage spotlighted the SEC’s new interpretation and the five-part classification scheme that includes stablecoins.

• The update emphasized that even when an asset is treated as “non-security,” certain activity can still implicate securities-law obligations depending on facts and marketing.

• The practical result is faster institutional compliance reprioritization around stablecoin treatment and “investment contract” risk in product positioning.

Atkins floats a token safe harbor and carves out GENIUS payment stablecoins from “securities”

• SEC Chair Paul Atkins outlined a “token safe harbor” concept and referenced startup and fundraising-style exemptions plus an investment-contract safe harbor.

• The framework explicitly treated payment stablecoins under the GENIUS Act as not deemed securities under the interpretation’s approach.

• If implemented, the structure could reshape how stablecoin-adjacent projects raise capital and communicate “utility vs. investment” in U.S. markets.

White House and senators edge toward a deal on stablecoin rewards - Senators reportedly agreed in principle on how yield/rewards should be treated, aiming to unblock broader market-structure negotiations.

South Korea accelerates a stablecoin-ready digital asset law - A Democratic Party task force is moving to finalize a Digital Asset Basic Act package that includes stablecoins, with reporting suggesting key rules on issuers, reserves, and who can participate are still being negotiated.

FATF wants oversight to extend past onramps into stablecoin peer-to-peer and secondary-market activity - FATF is pushing regulators to monitor stablecoin movement across wallets and markets after issuance, raising expectations for freezing controls, tracing, and rapid law-enforcement coordination.

FDIC signals stablecoin-linked deposit setups may lose pass-through insurance treatment - FDIC is reported to be preparing a proposal that would restrict pass-through deposit insurance for some stablecoin-related structures, forcing clearer disclosures about what is and isn’t insured.

Senate leaders tease a new draft to break the stablecoin yield deadlock - Tim Scott said a compromise draft on stablecoin yield could land soon, which would determine whether “earn” style programs stay widely available or get narrowed to payment-only models.

Senators flag an April–May window as stablecoin yield remains the final holdup - Senators pointed to an April markup and May urgency while warning the yield issue is still blocking bipartisan momentum, creating near-term policy risk for rewards-based distribution.

Lummis says market-structure progress is close, but yield is still the last blocker - Cynthia Lummis said a deal could be days away, but everything hinges on whether stablecoin rewards are allowed in the final package.

🔥 Biz Beats: Payroll goes onchain Ontop, BVNK ship embedded USD stablecoin accounts, and SWIFT plugs into wallet payouts

Thunes extends SWIFT connectivity into stablecoin wallet payouts for 11,500 banks

• A new bank-to-stablecoin-wallet payout flow was announced using existing SWIFT connectivity, positioning stablecoin settlement as an extension of traditional payout rails.

• The program targets Pay-to-Stablecoin-Wallets use cases where banks can reach wallet endpoints without rebuilding their integration stack.

• If adopted broadly, it reduces “integration friction” and normalizes stablecoin wallets as destinations in corporate payout systems.

Ontop and BVNK launch embedded USD stablecoin accounts for global worker payouts

• A partnership launched USD stablecoin accounts aimed at cross-border worker payments across many countries.

• The product is positioned for globally distributed workforces facing banking delays and FX costs.

• The broader signal is stablecoins continuing to move from trading collateral into payroll and contractor payout workflows.

Special feature from AllScale’s co-founder! - Stablecoin Acquisitions: Who’s Buying, Who’s Getting Bought, and Who’s Next

Aster lists USD1-denominated perpetuals to bootstrap demand through trading - USD1-denominated perpetual contracts are being used as the growth engine for USD1 by making it the margin and settlement unit, aiming to build sticky liquidity before payments adoption is widespread.

CFOs want stablecoins through banks, not standalone wallets - PYMNTS says finance leaders view stablecoins as faster settlement and cash-management tools, but prefer bank rails for compliance comfort and system integration.

Community banks can join stablecoin rails via partners, not big builds - American Banker points to vendor-led models (like Bank of North Dakota with Fiserv) that target wholesale payments and cross-border cost cuts.

💡Rollouts: PayPal puts PYUSD inside 70 markets, Tempo launches mainnetm and Coinbase ships USDC stock perps

PayPal expands PYUSD inside PayPal accounts across 70 markets

• PYUSD became available inside PayPal accounts across 70 markets, enabling buy, hold, send, and receive flows.

• The rollout included eligibility-linked rewards features tied to PYUSD usage in supported regions.

• This is a major “embedded distribution” push: stablecoins show up directly in a mainstream payments app rather than requiring separate crypto wallets.

Tempo mainnet goes live, pitching stablecoin settlement for AI-agent transactions

• Tempo launched mainnet and positioned the chain around stablecoin settlement with standardized support for “machine payments” and AI-agent transactions.

• The project is described as backed by Stripe and Paradigm, aligning the rollout with the “agentic commerce” narrative.

• The competitive angle is infrastructure optimized for low fees and fast finality rather than general-purpose smart-contract breadth.

Native USDC and CCTP are coming to Injective

• Native USDC issuance and Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol support were announced as “coming soon” to Injective.

• The goal is to reduce bridge risk and liquidity fragmentation by using canonical issuance plus native cross-chain transfer tooling.

• This kind of rollout is typically a prerequisite for deeper institutional participation in onchain markets on the target network.

SBI VC Trade launches a retail USD Coin lending product in Japan - A new fixed-term lending product packages USD Coin (USDC) into a consumer “earn” offering, shifting the risk conversation toward who holds the assets and what happens in an insolvency.

Rhino.fi launches “Stablecoin 1:1” to make multi-chain settlement feel like dollars - “Stablecoin 1:1” claims predictable, transparent 1:1 settlement across 25+ chains to remove hidden spreads and make stablecoins easier for fintechs to use as customer balances.

Sokin rolls out stablecoin accounts and conversions as part of a “hybrid finance” platform - Stablecoin features are launching in phases for select clients, positioning stablecoins as back-end treasury and settlement tools that later expand into merchant acceptance, yield, and application programming interfaces.

Circle tests “gas-free” USDC for micropayments down to one-millionth of a dollar - Circle says batching tiny transfers offchain can enable USDC payments as small as $0.000001 without per-transaction gas fees.

Aerodrome adds TRX/USDC to smooth cross-chain liquidity routing - A new TRX/USDC markets aim to deepen liquidity and reduce friction for cross-chain capital movement into Tron-linked flows.

Coinbase brings “Magnificent 7” stock perps to crypto rails with USDC settlement - Stock perpetual futures for major U.S. equities will settle in USDC, extending stablecoins as collateral and clearing balances beyond crypto-native markets.

💲Money in motion: This week’s hottest stablecoin industry financing moves!

👋 That’s your stablecoin scoop for the week!

Until next time — AllScale Weekly

👉 Learn how AllScale can help your team pay, invoice, and scale globally

Editor - Jackie

🌎 Macro: Druckenmiller calls stables the next payment backbone as Circle and Mastercard push “payments not trading”

Stablecoins could become global payments backbone, Druckenmiller argues

• Stanley Druckenmiller argued blockchain and stablecoins could underpin global payments within the next 10–15 years by improving efficiency versus legacy rails.

• He framed stablecoins as a more credible use case than crypto as a store of value, keeping the focus on transaction infrastructure over speculation.

• The message adds high-profile institutional validation to the “stablecoins as payments plumbing” narrative.

Sky cuts buybacks 87% to reinforce USDS/DAI reserves as macro risk rises

• Governance approved an 87% reduction in buybacks to build reserves and backstop capital supporting USDS/DAI.

• The move reflects a more conservative credibility playbook for DeFi stablecoin systems when reserve adequacy becomes the main narrative.

• It can reprice governance-token expectations while improving peg confidence and risk scores for stablecoin-linked strategies.

Circle’s long-term edge is framed as a three-way fight with Tether, banks, and platforms - USDC is pitched as a regulatory-tailwind winner, but DL News frames the next phase as a race between mega-issuers, bank entrants, and infrastructure platforms that control distribution.

Yield-bearing stablecoins are booming while Washington argues over what “yield” should count as - Yield products are growing faster than the broader stablecoin market, and the policy fight is increasingly about whether those payouts should be treated like bank interest.

A7A5’s rise on Tron shows how sanctions pressure can push flow to smaller stablecoins - A7A5 is described as climbing because some high-risk corridors are shifting away from bigger issuers, raising monitoring expectations for exchanges and onchain routes.

Circle and Mastercard push the “payments, not trading” stablecoin story - Circle framed stablecoins as everyday money-movement infrastructure for cross-border and business payments, not just a crypto trading tool.

🔍 Policies: HK’s first stablecoin licenses could go to HSBC and Standard Chartered as the BoE signals it may soften GBP rules

Bank of England signals it may revise proposed sterling stablecoin rules after backlash

• The Bank of England indicated it is open to amending proposed requirements for “systemic” sterling stablecoins after industry criticism, while maintaining a financial-stability focus.

• The discussion centered on how conservative reserve and limit proposals should be, and whether industry can offer workable alternatives.

• This shift in tone matters for the economics and feasibility of sterling stablecoin product design and any retail/wholesale usage caps.

FDIC chair signals payment stablecoins won’t qualify for pass-through deposit insurance under GENIUS

• The FDIC chair said the agency plans to propose that GENIUS-governed payment stablecoins are not eligible for pass-through deposit insurance.

• The rationale was that pass-through coverage would conflict with statutory prohibitions and could create misleading consumer expectations.

• This draws a clear boundary for issuer/partner marketing and reserve-custody structuring if anyone hoped to lean on insurance signaling as a confidence tool.

Hong Kong licensing: HSBC and Standard Chartered expected among first stablecoin issuers

• HSBC and Standard Chartered were reported as likely early recipients of Hong Kong stablecoin issuer licenses.

• If realized, early licensing of major banks would tilt Hong Kong’s stablecoin market toward bank-led issuance models.

• That shift would raise the bar for nonbank entrants on governance, reserves, and compliance readiness.

New Zealand says one NZD stablecoin is “not a financial product,” but still sets reserve and disclosure conditions - New Zealand carved out an NZD stablecoin from “financial product” treatment for certain periods, while still requiring matched reserves and clear verification and disclosures.

Florida passes a stablecoin pilot to accept stablecoins for certain state fees - Florida advanced a program that would let a state department accept approved stablecoins for select payments, creating a real-world public-sector test case if signed and implemented.

Bank lobby leans harder into “deposit flight” messaging as the U.S. stablecoin rewards fight stalls Clarity - Banking groups are portraying rewards as a threat to deposits and lending, because whether wallets and exchanges can share stablecoin economics is now central to the bill’s path forward.

U.S. prosecutors target $3.4M in USDT linked to an alleged investment scam - Federal prosecutors filed to seize roughly $3.4M in Tether (USDT), underscoring how often stablecoins show up in fraud tracing and recovery.

🔥 Biz Beats: WFUSD trademark, Mastercard’s 85 plus crypto partners, and Aon’s multi-chain stablecoin settlement signal enterprise go-time

Aon settles insurance premium payments using USD stablecoins across multiple chains

• A proof-of-concept settled insurance premium payments using USD-backed stablecoins, in collaboration with clients and partners.

• The execution spanned multiple chains, including USDC on Ethereum and PYUSD on Solana.

• Demonstrating stablecoin settlement for regulated, high-value insurance flows is a credibility boost for enterprise stablecoin treasury operations and multi-chain controls.

Wells Fargo’s “WFUSD” trademark filing signals large-bank stablecoin option value

• Wells Fargo filed for a “WFUSD” trademark in categories referencing crypto and stablecoins.

• The filing was interpreted as preparatory positioning for tokenized-dollar products or related services rather than a confirmed launch.

• It adds to the pattern of major banks accumulating branding and regulatory optionality around stablecoin issuance and services.

Mastercard formalizes a Crypto Partner Program with 85+ firms

• Mastercard launched a Crypto Partner Program bringing together 85+ firms to collaborate on digital-asset rails for cross-border money movement, settlement, and commercial payments.

• The roster includes major names across stablecoins, exchanges, and payments infrastructure, which can speed enterprise vendor selection.

• Standardized integration patterns through a global payments network can act as a distribution catalyst for stablecoin payments.

Block shifts from “anti-stablecoin” vibes to “give users what they want” - Stablecoin support is framed as a practical response to demand, signaling that major consumer payment apps increasingly feel forced to add stablecoin rails.

Coinbax joins the Global Dollar Network to support audited, enterprise stablecoin settlement - Coinbax said it joined to expand regulated, programmable USDG settlement across business flows where compliance and reporting matter.

Borderless.xyz joins Mastercard’s program to solve the stablecoin-to-bank “last mile” - Borderless.xyz pitched its network as the missing piece for turning stablecoins into local bank deposits reliably across many countries.

Wizz Financial claims its first stablecoin cross-border transaction from the U.S. into 80 countries using BitGo - Wizz says it completed a near-real-time stablecoin transfer into 80 markets, highlighting where remittances and treasury are moving from pilot to production.

MoonPay plans stablecoin-denominated bonuses for X Games League athletes - MoonPay is using an Exodus-linked product to pay athlete bonuses via card-style balances, pushing stablecoins as “get paid and spend” rails instead of trading tokens.

World Liberty Financial teases USD1 rails for AI-agent payments as scrutiny follows - USD1 is being marketed as rails for “agentic commerce,” which could speed experimentation but also intensify questions about reserves and governance.

RedotPay touts compliance progress in Canada, the U.S., and Argentina to expand stablecoin payments - RedotPay is leaning into licensing and registration as the gating factor for merchant and bank partnerships.

💡Rollouts: Stablecoins enter the chat, LINE’s Unifi ships USDT, and Lido launches EarnUSD

LINE NEXT launches “Unifi,” a messenger-integrated stablecoin wallet platform with USDT support

• Unifi launched globally as a stablecoin-focused wallet accessible from a messenger ecosystem, with initial support for USD₮.

• The product promoted 24/7 deposit and withdrawal features and included deposit/reward mechanics with promotional rates.

• Messenger-integrated wallets can materially reduce onboarding friction and expand day-to-day stablecoin usage if off-ramps and app integrations scale.

USDC and CCTP launch on Morph, an Ethereum L2 pitched for payments and remittances

• USDC and CCTP went live on Morph, with day-one integrators listed and positioning centered on payments/remittances plus DeFi settlement.

• The launch emphasized maintaining canonical issuance alongside cross-chain transfer tooling via CCTP.

• Adding a payments-oriented L2 to native USDC coverage can lower settlement costs while preserving regulated stablecoin rails for institutional access through Circle Mint.

Lido restructures Earn and pushes stablecoin vaults as a new growth lane

• The Earn product was restructured alongside the launch of a stablecoin vault supporting USDT and USDC deposits.

• The shift signals mature DeFi primitives are competing for stablecoin liquidity as a strategic “next act.”

• The move can redirect yield-seeking capital and governance attention toward stablecoin product performance.

Sonic launches USSD, a native USD stablecoin built with Frax infrastructure - USSD is positioned as Sonic’s own dollar token with Treasury-style backing and multi-chain mint/redeem, aiming to keep liquidity on the network.

Native USDC and Circle’s Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol go live on EDGE Chain - Native USDC is launching with Circle’s Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol to reduce reliance on bridged versions and make settlement safer for onchain trading apps.

SquareFi debuts stablecoin infrastructure for cross-border business-to-business payments - SquareFi says it has processed $250M in volume and is selling middleware that plugs stablecoin settlement into accounts, cards, wallets, and compliance workflows.

Lido launches EarnUSD, a stablecoin vault for USDC and USDT with DAO capital alongside users - EarnUSD adds a “cash management” product to Lido’s lineup, with the DAO allocating $5M on loss-absorbing terms to help bootstrap the vault.

💲Money in motion: This week’s hottest stablecoin industry financing moves!

👋 That’s your stablecoin scoop for the week!

Until next time — AllScale Weekly

👉 Learn how AllScale can help your team pay, invoice, and scale globally

Editor - Jackie

The GENIUS Act is a pivotal legislation that came out in July of 2025 and arguably rewrote the U.S. stablecoin landscape. Let us take a deep dive into the full timeline, starting from when the storm first started brewing in March 2025, and examine how the Act shaped and continues to impact the dynamics between the U.S. government and both DeFi and TradFi players.

Jan-Feb, 2025: The seeds for stablecoin regulation are sowed...

On January 24th, U.S. President Donald Trump created a working group on maintaining responsible digital assets market growth by signing an executive order; the group was to be chaired by special AI and crypto advisors as well as major agencies such as the Treasury. On January 27th, Trump made the promise of making the U.S. The “crypto capital of the planet”.

When February rolled around, the White House echoed Trump’s pro-crypto stance and said it wanted to prioritize stablecoin legislation and make sure the U.S. dollar stayed #1 as the world’s reserve currency. Two proposals came out this month; the STABLE Act of 2025 and the GENIUS Act. Both proposals’ number one goal was to establish a clear regulatory framework for Payment Stablecoins (PS).

Looking back, Trump’s 180 degree switch-up was the most telling sign that stable coin regulation was just beyond the horizon.

Mar-Jun, 2025: even MORE pre-legislative momentum

On March 13th, The GENIUS Act passed the Senate Banking Committee in a bipartisan 18-6 vote, signifying another major step toward becoming law. So, what changed?

• First of all, the definition of a payment stablecoin now excludes stables that bear interest or yield and tokenized deposits.

• There would also be more specific and tighter capital and reserve requirements as well as anti-money laundering rules regarding issuers.

• Lastly, stablecoin issuers with balances exceeding $50B would also be required to get an audit.

On May 19th, The United States Senate once again made historic progress by pulling off a 66-32 vote, successfully clearing a significant procedural hurdle. Notably, this vote included support from several Democrats who previously opposed it.

The GENIUS Act bill was on an unstoppable winning streak when June arrived. The Senate passed the bill with a 68-30 vote, meaning that the only hurdles ahead were in the Republican-held House.

On the DeFi side, Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino highlighted his excitement for the GENIUS Act as he claims Tether would be seeking a full audit and how it’s a top priority since “[they] are now living in a landscape where it’s actually feasible”. This positive sentiment was echoed by his peers. Companies such as Shopify and World Liberty Financial have all been making more moves, ranging from rolling out USDC-powered payments or launching their own stablecoin.

Team TradFi was clearly not as hyped for the GENIUS Act getting all this love. The American Bankers Association made a statement highlighting their concern for “an outflow of funds from bank deposits to the reserves backing these stablecoins”. They wanted a framework that offered more protection for community banks. On the flip side, some TradFi players were eager for change; banks like Standard Chartered and Bank of America signaled their willingness to launch their own stablecoins.

It seems like the only way to not get left behind in an industry that was becoming more and more stablecoin-leaning was to join in on the journey.

Jul-Sep, 2025: The GENIUS Act becomes official

History was made on July 17th as lawmakers in the U.S. Officially passed the GENIUS Act, cementing it as the nation’s first major national cryptocurrency legislation.

Quickly following this pivotal moment, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chair Paul S. Atkins unveiled Project Crypto, an initiative focused on examining existing securities rules related to digital assets. This initiative, although only loosely tied to the GENIUS Act, highlights the country’s strategic shift towards putting cryptocurrency at the center stage. The SEC also softened its stance on fully-backed USD-pegged stablecoin by allowing them to qualify as cash equivalents without being treated like securities.

Not everything was sunshine and rainbows though - there was still a tight rein on stablecoin issuers’ ability to pay interest, but firms such as Coinbase and PayPal were able to “sidestep” this rule by offering “rewards” instead.

Nonetheless, the three months following the officiation of the GENIUS Act was undoubtedly a honeymoon phase for DeFi.

A few notable moves that happened during this era for DeFi players can be well-represented by Tether appointing ex-White House Bo Hines to lead its U.S. Market entry push, Gemini eyeing a Wall Street debut, and crypto advocates rallying for more edits to the GENIUS Act.

As for the TradFi players, some were in deep waters while others decided to go with the flow. Trump cracked down on banks such as JPMorgan Chase that were unfairly targeting crypto firm founders. Over 50 U.S. Banking groups pointed out the loophole for stablecoin rewards and was rallying for more restrictions for stablecoin firms. Those who went with the GENIUS Act flow saw more success; big names like Mastercard and Visa were all quick to come out with strategic stablecoin initiatives. Specifically, Visa reported in July that it has processed over $200M stabecoin settlements and was already expanding its stablecoin settlement in Latin America.

Oct-Dec, 2025: “Chaos” ensues as market descends into power struggles

The GENIUS Act tightened rules on stablecoin yield in October by classifying any return that “looks like interest” as such, yet the loophole remains for stablecoin firms. Senators mulled over stablecoin yield for this period. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) also started planning an application framework to support the GENIUS Act with further guidance. Apart from the act itself though, the government showcased its warm stance as U.S. Lawmakers pitched the PARITY Act, which suggests consumer-friendly tax relief such as exempting capital gain taxes on stablecoin transactions under $200 from federally regulated issuers. The FDIC also issued the first ever U.S. Stablecoin rule to assist institutions with stablecoin issuance.

DeFi players rushed to apply for U.S. Bank charters to scale operations. Players doing so include Bridge and Erebor Bank. Binance also made a major move by integrating Trump-linked USD1 into its core trading infrastructure. Stress was low for DeFi players, and this era was framed by deepening ties between them and the government.

More and more TradFi players turned team stables. Companies like BlackRock, Citi and JPMorgan all finalized plans of building GENIUS-compliant services or collaborating with stablecoin companies.

Drama aside, one thing is truer than true; stablecoin dominance is now an undeniable reality.

Jan-Feb 2026: Stablecoin yields becomes the main point of contention

The Senate’s debate regarding the GENIUS Act over the past two months is now mainly centered on whether stablecoin interest or yield should be a thing. The waters are murky: there has been a lot of stalling and banking groups are pushing a blanket “no yield OR reward” stance. There’s still more than one silver lining though; the White House recently signaled its support for keeping limited stablecoin rewards that do not threaten deposits. Trump also spoke at Davos’s World Economic Forum and made it clear the U.S. was to remain the “crypto capital of the world”. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) is still making edits to core GENIUS rules.Stablecoins still remain the hottest center platter at the dinner table.

Both sides have been gearing up to fight for their interests. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong spoke out multiple times on the rewards debate, claiming that they were misunderstood and consumers should be able to earn more on their money. On the other hand, the U.S. bank lobby made “banning stablecoin yield” a top 2026 priority. Similarly, community banks warned this exact loophole could pull trillions of deposits, despite there being limited evidence of outflows.

Not all TradFi players were getting themselves tangled up in this fight. Mastercard joined forces with MetaMask to launch a fully-custodial mUSD payment card in the U.S.. Morgan Stanley has also hired veteran Amy Oldenburg to bolster its digital asset strategy department.

We have no idea what is to come in the next few months, but one thing is sure, with the help of the GENIUS Act, stablecoins have become a grounded reality in the U.S...and to survive in the fintech landscape in this time and age, it is best advised that you don’t miss this train.

Editor - Jackie

🌎 Macro: Illicit crypto hits $154B,Circle’s USDC tops $75B, and the UAE debuts a regulated dirham stablecoin

Illicit crypto hits a 2025 record, with stablecoin rails highlighted in sanctions-linked activity

• Total illicit transaction volume reached a record $154B in 2025, and value received by sanctioned entities jumped more than 690% versus 2024.

• Iran’s IRGC was reported to have sent at least $3B in 2025 to support regional militias, while North Korea was reported to have stolen roughly $2B in 2025.

• Russia’s A7A5 ruble stablecoin was cited as facilitating $93.3B in volume, underscoring stablecoins’ role in sanctions-linked flows.

Circle stock rallies as USDC reaches $75.3B and revenue grows to $770M - Circle shares extended a post-earnings surge as USD Coin (USDC) grew 72% to $75.3B and revenue rose 77% to $770M, with analysts framing it as a bet on stablecoins becoming payments infrastructure.

UAE rolls out dirham stablecoin DDSC on ADI Chain with central bank approval - UAE launched DDSC as a 1:1 dirham-backed token on ADI Chain with central bank licensing, tied to International Holding Company (IHC) and First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) and positioned for payments and remittances.

LATAM crypto adoption accelerates as Pix apps make USDT payments feel “invisible” - Regional Latin America adoption grew about three times faster than the U.S. last year and was driven mostly by stablecoins, with Pix-connected apps using Tether (USDT) for payments and Peru logging 2.9M+ crypto app downloads in 2025 (+50% year over year).

Study finds AI models pick bitcoin for saving and stablecoins for everyday spending - A study testing 36 artificial intelligence models found bitcoin dominated “store of value” choices, while stablecoins led in payment scenarios, supporting a “bitcoin for savings, stablecoins for spending” split.

Angle to wind down EURA and USDA as euro stablecoin supply collapses - Angle plans to shut down EURA and USDA with an orderly redemption window and no haircut after EURA fell from 180M+ peak supply to under $4M in value, citing overhead and shrinking usage.

Tron’s revenue lead widens as stablecoin-heavy usage makes it one of crypto’s few “profitable” chains - Tron generated $624M in revenue with minimal inflationary cost, while Ethereum and Solana had sizable inflation costs, and Tron’s role as a main stablecoin chain is cited as a key driver.

🔍 Policies:

Kraken wins a Fed master account, opening direct access to core payment rails

• Kraken secured approval for a Federal Reserve master account, which allows regulated depository institutions to hold balances at the central bank and connect to core payment systems.

• Kraken’s co-CEO said the approval should improve reliability and efficiency for moving fiat deposits in and out of digital-asset markets.

• A Fed governor described “skinny” accounts as potentially useful for payments-focused innovation, while Custodia pointed to tokenized deposit and stablecoin market collaborations.

Trump presses Congress to pass Clarity Act after GENIUS, as banks warn about uneven rules

• President Trump urged lawmakers to move on market structure “ASAP,” arguing delays could push the industry offshore and positioning GENIUS as the first step with Clarity as the next.

• Jamie Dimon argued that if crypto firms want to operate like banks, they should become banks, warning that mismatched regulation could destabilize the system.

Bank groups blast Kraken’s Fed access as a risky template for “crypto banks” - Kraken drew backlash after being described as the first “crypto bank” with Federal Reserve master-account approval, with trade groups warning the move could raise risks without traditional oversight and lacked transparency.

Revolut applies for a U.S. bank charter as the OCC pipeline expands in the stablecoin era - Revolut Revolut applied for a new U.S. bank charter as it targets global banking expansion, with the piece linking charters to U.S. stablecoin growth and noting a $75B valuation after a share sale.

FATF flags peer-to-peer stablecoin transfers as a major laundering and sanctions risk - FATF said peer-to-peer stablecoin transfers via unhosted wallets are a top money-laundering and sanctions-evasion risk, and urged issuers to be able to freeze or block deny-listed wallets, citing stablecoins as ~84% of 2025 illicit crypto transactions.

Dimon slams stablecoin rewards push and says bank-like products need bank rules - Jamie Dimon warned the public will “pay” if crypto firms can offer stablecoin rewards under lighter rules, as White House talks sought a March 1 compromise that still looked far apart into March.

Bank lobby escalates fight over “skinny” Fed accounts as stablecoin rewards remain the fault line - Banking banking lobbyists opposed approving a pared-down Federal Reserve account before the Fed finalizes policy, while Kraken pitched the approval as connecting crypto to sovereign rails and the story ties the broader fight to stablecoin rewards.

Garlinghouse backs Trump’s Clarity push as USD1 nears $5B and deposit-flight fears resurface - Brad Ripple Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Brad Garlinghouse backed Trump’s push to pass the Clarity Act, while the piece says World Liberty Financial’s USD1 is near $5B and cites a Standard Chartered warning of up to $500B in deposit flight by 2028 if the bill passes.

US prosecutors seek forfeiture of $327,829 in USDT tied to an alleged romance scam - U.S. prosecutors are seeking civil forfeiture of $327,829 in Tether (USDT) tied to an alleged romance scam, saying the victim’s funds were converted to USDT and wallets were seized in August 2025.

Offline digital euro raises anti-money-laundering worries as Europe moves toward a €10,000 cash cap - A Bank for International Settlements (BIS) authors warned offline digital euro payments could raise anti-money-laundering risk, as the European Union plans a €10,000 cash cap in 2027 and debates how a central bank digital currency differs from private stablecoins.

Reform Party’s crypto donations boost fundraising and keep it Britain’s only crypto-accepting party - Reform reportedly received major crypto-linked donations that helped it raise £5.5M in the fourth quarter, beating the Conservatives and Labour, while being described as the only UK party that accepts crypto donations.

Cardano’s ADA goes live at 137 Swiss Spar stores with merchants paid in francs - Cardano’s ADA payments are now available at 137 Spar stores via QR code, but merchants still receive Swiss francs, and the same rails also support stablecoins like USD Coin (USDC) and Tether (USDT).

Russia drafts a standalone stablecoin bill as officials call the opportunity “colossal” - Russia officials signaled a separate stablecoin law may follow broader crypto exchange rules, saying stablecoins have no legal status today and highlighting A7A5’s approval for overseas trade.

Japan launches a three-month anti-money-laundering pilot that explicitly covers stablecoins - Japan’s Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA) is backing a three-month pilot to improve information sharing on suspicious wallet addresses across exchanges and stablecoin businesses, with participants including GMO Coin, Bitbank, Chainalysis, Rakuten, Nomura, and Hitachi.

Coinbase urges UK lawmakers to drop Bank of England stablecoin holding caps - Coinbase argued proposed caps would stop sterling stablecoins from scaling as settlement tools for tokenized government bonds, and said full reserves should make “runs” less likely than in traditional banking.

🔥 Biz Beats: Stablecoins plug into legacy giants with Visa cards planned for 175M merchants and Western Union building Solana rails for 200 plus countries

Visa and Stripe-owned Bridge plan stablecoin-linked card rollout across 100+ countries

• The rollout aims to bring stablecoin-linked Visa cards to more than 100 countries by the end of 2026.

• The cards are positioned to let users spend stablecoin balances across Visa’s 175 million merchants worldwide.

• Onchain settlement was described as possible via a pilot involving Lead Bank, as Visa emphasized meeting businesses where they increasingly operate: onchain.

Western Union partners with Crossmint to launch USDPT stablecoin on Solana with cash-out reach

• Western Union and Crossmint are launching USDPT, a U.S. dollar stablecoin on Solana, emphasizing speed and low costs.

• The plan includes conversion through more than 360,000 collection points worldwide and cash pick-up in more than 200 countries.

• Western Union framed the partnership as connecting global wallets and digital platforms to its payments infrastructure.

Ark buys Robinhood and Coinbase shares as Circle remains a top holding - Ark bought about $12M of Robinhood and $4M of Coinbase, and it highlighted Circle as a top-six holding around $370M alongside large existing positions in both brokers.

SoFi and Mastercard plan to use SoFiUSD for settlement across a global payments network - SoFi said SoFiUSD (issued by SoFi Bank on Ethereum) will be used as a settlement currency on Mastercard’s network for use cases like cross-border remittances and business-to-business transfers.

ADI Foundation partners with Chainlink to expand cross-chain stablecoin and tokenization infrastructure - ADI said it will integrate Chainlink tools, including Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP), to support interoperability and add price and reserve transparency features for stablecoins on ADI Chain, including the planned dirham-backed DDSC.

💡Rollouts: Regulated stables accelerate with 12 European banks planning a euro token, USAT attested at $17.6M reserves, and ZeroHash going for OCC oversight

Twelve European banks target a 2026 launch for a regulated euro stablecoin

• A consortium of 12 major European banks is targeting a commercial launch in the second half of 2026 for a euro-backed stablecoin.

• The stablecoin is described as 1:1 euro-pegged, with at least 40% of reserves held in bank deposits and the remainder in high-quality, short-term eurozone sovereign bonds.

• The group said it wants a regulated domestic alternative to U.S. dollar stablecoins and is in discussions so it can be listed and tradable from day one.

Deloitte issues first USAT reserve attestation, showing a ~$100K buffer over supply

• Deloitte produced USAT’s first attestation on behalf of issuer Anchorage Digital, with figures as of Jan. 31 showing $17.6M in reserves versus $17.5M circulating supply.

• The reserves were described as cash and U.S. Treasuries held at U.S.-based financial institutions, leaving a cushion of about $100,000 at the snapshot date.

• The write-up noted the limits of the attestation, including that it did not assess day-to-day reserve management or determine legal/regulatory compliance.

Usual adds virtual IBANs for simpler SEPA euro transfers and direct EUR0 conversion - Usual rolled out virtual International Bank Account Numbers (IBANs) to help users move euros via SEPA and SEPA Instant and convert EUR0 directly into euros, while citing about $114M in total value locked (TVL).

ZeroHash seeks an OCC trust charter for stablecoin management and settlement, not retail banking - ZeroHash applied for a national trust bank charter focused on stablecoin management plus services like settlement and custody, while explicitly excluding retail deposits, lending, and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) insurance.

💲Money in motion: This week’s hottest stablecoin industry financing moves!

👋 That’s your stablecoin scoop for the week!

Until next time — AllScale Weekly

👉 Learn how AllScale can help your team pay, invoice, and scale globally

Editor - Jackie

🌎 Macro: Stables scale up fast with $127B monthly inflows to the U.S., Stripe at $159B, and reserves facing a bill-shortfall test

B2B stablecoin payments jumped 730% in 2025 as SMBs chased faster settlement

• Artemis and Stablecon said B2B stablecoin payments grew over 730% year over year in 2025.

• The report mapped large monthly inflows, with the U.S. receiving nearly $127B per month, China nearly $71B per month, and Hong Kong almost $51B.

• It estimated total annual stablecoin payments reached $390B, with B2B making up about 60%, and said card-linked stablecoin transactions rose 840% YoY as SMBs looked to reduce payment times.

Stripe’s $159B tender offer spotlights “stablecoin summer” as Bridge volume surges - Stripe valued itself at $159B and said Bridge volume more than quadrupled last year, while its annual letter cited $1.9T in business volume and 5M+ businesses.

StanChart sticks with $2T stablecoins by 2028 and warns T-bill supply could lag reserve demand - Standard Chartered reiterated a $2T end-2028 forecast and modeled a potential ~$0.9T T-bill shortfall unless issuance rises, citing Treasury’s QRA monitoring of SOMA bill purchases and private-sector bill demand.

🔍 Policies: Policy week turns "messy" as White House backs limited perks, SEC gives stables a 98% capital boost, and Terraform sues Jane Street

We are so back? White House signals support for limited stablecoin rewards and tells banks to compromise

• The White House favored keeping limited stablecoin rewards that do not threaten deposits, while drawing a line against rewards for idle stablecoin holdings that resemble deposit accounts.

• Bank representatives actively worked on draft language during the meeting and an updated draft would be circulated, with Section 404 of the Clarity Act draft as the key battleground.

• The White House team, led by Patrick Witt, pressed for a quick resolution to keep the legislation moving.

OCC rolls out GENIUS rule proposals as Senate grilling spotlights stablecoin guardrails and charters - The OCC proposed core GENIUS rules (reserves, custody, redemptions, issuer registration) as Warren pressed regulators on crypto-linked charter approvals. The OCC has also flagged that AML/sanctions coordination is still needed with Treasury.

SEC FAQ tweak lets broker-dealers count stablecoins as regulatory capital with a 2% haircut - The SEC now allows broker-dealers to recognize 98% of stablecoin value as capital, with Peirce and Carbone saying the change reduces uncertainty and makes more tokenized-securities activity feasible.

Terraform’s administrator sues Jane Street over alleged Terra-era manipulation tied to Curve pool moves - Todd Snyder sued Jane Street and named employees, alleging trading was rigged around a May 7, 2022 event where Terraform pulled 150M UST from Curve3pool. A wallet allegedly linked to Jane Street withdrew 85M UST within 10 minutes.

FT-linked “Board of Peace” explores a USD stablecoin concept for Gaza in early-stage talks - The effort is described as preliminary and framed as a way for Gazans to transact digitally (not a “Gaza Coin”), with leadership and rollout details still unclear.

🔥 Biz Beats: Circle jumps 40% on earnings, MetaMask launches a self-custody Mastercard, and Meta explores a stablecoin return

Bouncebackkk!! Circle shares jump 40% on Q4 results as USDC metrics accelerate despite a 2025 net loss

• Circle’s CRCL stock rose 40% over the last two trading days following Q4 earnings.

• It cited YoY increases of 64% in revenue and 104% in earnings, alongside an 82% increase in total USDC minted and a 59% rise in “meaningful wallets” holding more than 10 USDC.

• Despite this huge growth, Circle still posted a $70M net loss in 2025, driven largely by $424M in stock-based compensation.

That’s not it from Circle....They are also hinting at a native Arc token coming later this year

• Jeremy Allaire said Circle is learning how a token could support incentives, governance, security, and utility on Arc, but the article said no launch timeline was provided.

• Arc’s public testnet went live in October 2025 and a full mainnet release is expected later this year.

• The piece framed Arc as purpose-built for issuing and transacting stablecoins with faster settlement and lower transaction costs.

Partnering-up: MetaMask and Mastercard launch a self-custodial U.S. payment card with cashback paid in mUSD

• MetaMask is launching a Mastercard payment card in the U.S. that is described as fully self-custodial, with users controlling assets until the moment they pay.

• The card would be able to work where Mastercard is accepted, supports Apple Pay and Google Pay, and is powered by Baanx (Monavate).

• Users can earn cashback paid in MetaMask’s mUSD stablecoin at 1% standard and up to 3% on the first $10,000 spent per year for premium users, with nationwide U.S. availability.

Meta explores a stablecoin comeback and issues an RFP as Stripe is floated as a possible partner

• Meta issued an RFP to third-party firms for stablecoin-based payments, citing CoinDesk.

• A Stripe partnership is allegedly being discussed but it is emphasized that there is no official confirmation.

• It positioned the move as a potential re-entry after Libra/Diem was shut down under regulatory scrutiny and cited stablecoin market cap above $308B versus $206B in January 2025.

Telegram’s Wallet adds onchain yield vaults for BTC, ETH, and USDT, touting up to 18% blended APY - TON Wallet is rolling out vault-based yield with Morpho, TAC, and Re7, citing 150M+ registered users and positioning the product as a bridge from self-custody into third-party DeFi strategies.

Safe enables EURCV yield in-wallet via a Morpho vault curated by Steakhouse Financial - Safe{Labs} added euro-denominated earning for Societe Generale’s MiCA-compliant EURCV, with yield paid into Safe wallets as Steakhouse sets risk parameters and collateral standards.

TruStage pilots TSDA stablecoin for credit unions with 1:1 cash reserves and GENIUS-era tailwinds - TruStage (working with ~93% of U.S. credit unions) is recruiting pilots through H1 2026 for loan funding/settlement and payments use cases, with reserves managed by a TruStage affiliate and ops support from Block Time Financial.

Tether-backed Oobit adds wallet-to-bank transfers worldwide with stablecoin support and local-rail settlement - Oobit now supports fast bank payouts via rails like SEPA/ACH/SPEI with transparent pricing, initially covering USD/EUR/MXN/PHP and crypto options including USDT, USDC, XAUT, and EURC.

SEC and FINRA clear WisdomTree’s tokenized treasury fund for 24/7 trading with stablecoin settlement - WTGXX can trade and settle 24/7 with stablecoins facilitating settlement, while WisdomTree Securities gained FINRA approval for principal trading of registered fund shares and WisdomTree’s conversion service supports USDC and PYUSD.

Armstrong hits proposed UK stablecoin caps as Coinbase posts $1.35B stablecoin revenue in 2025 - The UK proposed limits and reserve rules that Armstrong warned could curb innovation, while reporting Coinbase made $1.35B in stablecoin revenue in 2025 (including $364M in Q4) and Bloomberg Intelligence projected GENIUS could expand it 2–7x.

💡Rollouts: IPO season? RedotPay eyes $1B plus at $4B plus while Payoneer seeks an OCC trust bank for PAYO USD

RedotPay explores a $1B+ U.S. IPO at $4B+ valuation as its stablecoin payments user base passes 6M

• RedotPay is exploring raising more than $1B in a U.S. IPO at a valuation above $4B, potentially listing in New York as soon as this year.

• RedotPay is working with JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, and Jefferies, and noted it raised $194M in 2025, with a December Series B that made it a unicorn.

• Backers including Accel, Blockchain Capital, Goodwater, HSG, Pantera, Vertex and said the firm had over 6M registered users as of November, framing the move against Hong Kong’s regulated push and stablecoin adoption nearing $300B supply.

MoonPay launches “MoonPay Agents” to let AI agents transact via a non-custodial layer with verified users

• MoonPay launched MoonPay Agents, a non-custodial software layer built on MoonPay CLI that enables AI agents to transact after a user completes identity verification and funds a wallet.

• The feature set includes recurring buys, cross-chain swaps, and compatibility with x402.

IQMM’s $17B debut fuels Circle speculation as analysts point to ETF-to-ETF reshuffles - ProShares’ GENIUS-aligned IQMM logged $17B in first-day volume, sparking issuer-tie chatter that Morningstar attributed largely to $6B moving from QTTT while Circle’s reserve fund showed no major change.

Better and Framework tie up on a $500M Sky stablecoin credit plan to cut mortgage funding costs - Better will integrate into Sky as a “Star” to access up to $500M of credit as Framework takes a reported $45M (~10%) stake, with Better claiming tokenized capital could cut costs by 100+ bps and support a push toward $1B+ monthly originations by 2026.

Payoneer seeks an OCC trust bank to issue PAYO-USD stablecoin and unify custody under GENIUS-era supervision - Payoneer applied to form PAYO Digital Bank, N.A. to issue a dollar-backed token and provide stablecoin transmission/custody, framing a national trust charter as a way around state-by-state licensing.

💲Money in motion: This week’s hottest stablecoin industry financing moves!

👋 That’s your stablecoin scoop for the week!

Until next time — AllScale Weekly

👉 Learn how AllScale can help your team pay, invoice, and scale globally

Editor - Jackie

🌎 Macro: Coinbase V.S. banks heats up, Ethereum hits $175B in stables, and TRM tallies $141B in illicit stablecoin receipts

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong says “we’re misunderstood” as stablecoin rewards become the next policy war

• CEO Brian Armstrong argued Coinbase has never been in a stronger position and that investors misread it as pure “levered crypto beta” even as its business becomes more diversified and durable.

• The article said Armstrong framed crypto as disrupting Wall Street, and it cited examples of Coinbase’s institutional integration including a JPMorgan linking deal and custody relationships for large asset managers, plus custody work for the U.S. government.

• A key policy fight is whether stablecoin rewards should be banned, with banking executives pushing for restrictions and Coinbase advocating for yield-bearing stablecoin products to remain allowed.

Ethereum’s tokenized RWAs clear $17B as stablecoins top $175B on mainnet - Ethereum mainnet RWAs passed $17B (+~315% YoY to ~34% of onchain RWAs) as stablecoins exceeded $175B, with examples like BlackRock’s BUIDL and JPMorgan’s $100M tokenized money-market seed and a Wintermute view that tokenized commodities could hit $15B in 2026.

TRM flags $141B in illicit stablecoin receipts in 2025, led by sanctions-linked flows - TRM said illicit entities received $141B in stablecoins in 2025 with 86% tied to sanctions activity, including $72B linked to the A7A5 ruble-pegged token, while A7A5’s Oleg Ogienko disputed the framing and cited Kyrgyzstan compliance and FATF-aligned controls.

🔍 Policies: All eyes on Washington! Fed's Kashkari roasts stables, yield clause still blocks the bill, and the Senate stalls

Yield showdown in Washington: banks push a blanket ban while crypto offers a narrower “transaction rewards” carveout

• The Senate’s crypto market structure bill is stalled over whether stablecoins can offer yield, even though the dispute is described as separate from market-structure policy.

• Banking groups are pushing a blanket “no yield or reward” standard in a memo titled “Yield and Interest Prohibition Principles,” arguing rewards threaten the depository business at the core of U.S. banking.

• The Digital Chamber’s Cody Carbone said crypto’s counterproposal would give up anything that resembles interest on idle stablecoin balances while preserving rewards tied to transactions, as the White House urged a quick compromise.

Fed’s Kashkari fires shots at stablecoins and questions what they do better than Venmo for Americans

• Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari called crypto “utterly useless” and argued AI has far more credible long-run economic potential.

• He mocked stablecoins as “buzzword salad” and challenged their consumer value by asking what a stablecoin enables that a U.S. user cannot already do with Venmo today.

• CoinDesk said Kashkari argued the real friction is cashing out to local currency for everyday spending, which can be costly, and that many touted benefits are not primarily aimed at U.S. consumers.

TD Cowen says SEC/CFTC vacancies could shift market-structure talks as stablecoin yield remains stuck - TD Cowen said Democrats’ conflict-of-interest push is the main hurdle (not SEC-vs-CFTC scope), noting no Democratic commissioners at either agency, Trump crypto-income estimates (~$1.4B) and a 20% American Bitcoin stake, while stablecoin yield is still unresolved and passage odds were pegged at ~60% for 2026.

Bessent says Clarity Act deadlock fuels volatility as stablecoin rewards become the flashpoint - Bessent argued legislative clarity would steady markets during selloffs, blamed a subset of crypto firms for blocking progress, and said stablecoin rewards are the key pressure point with banks pushing bans, Coinbase defending yield products, and a March 1 negotiating deadline.

OKX lands a Malta payments license to scale EU stablecoin payments and its crypto card under MiCA/PSD2 - OKX secured a Malta payment institution license ahead of March 2026 requirements, enabling stablecoin payment services across the EU (EMT treatment under MiCA plus PSD2 permissions) and supporting products like OKX Pay and the Mastercard-linked OKX Card.

Stripe-owned Bridge gets conditional OCC trust charter approval to run stablecoin issuance under a bank framework - Bridge received conditional OCC approval for a national trust charter aimed at custody/reserves and issuing stablecoins under a clearer federal structure, as similar approvals pick up and banking lobbies urge strict safety-and-soundness standards.

🔥 Biz Beats: Apex pilots USD1 across a $3.5T platform, PYUSD clears $4B, and TON targets Telegram scale

Apex pilots WLFI’s stablecoin across a $3.5T fund-servicing platform for tokenized flows

• Apex Group, which services over $3.5 trillion in assets, will pilot WLFI’s USD1 as a payment rail for subscriptions, redemptions, and distributions within its tokenized fund ecosystem.

• Apex aims to speed up settlement and reduce operational overhead for institutional clients, while WLFI’s Zach Witkoff positioned USD1 as infrastructure for a future financial services stack.

• Apex has expanded tokenization capabilities via acquisitions of Tokeny and Globacap and may explore listing WLFI tokenized assets on LSEG Digital Market Infrastructure pending approvals, while WLFI plans a mobile app connecting bank accounts with digital-asset wallets.

TON Foundation partners with Banxa to expand APAC stablecoin merchant payments, citing sub-cent fees and Telegram reach

• TON Foundation partnered with Banxa to roll out stablecoin payment processing for SMEs across Asia-Pacific, using TON for settlement and cross-border movement.

• It said the integration combines Banxa’s licensed fiat on/off-ramp network with TON infrastructure for B2B, C2B, and cross-border transactions, with TON Foundation framing the goal as durable commercial utility.

• The article said TON Pay targets Telegram’s 1.1 billion monthly active users, with average fees below $0.01 and sub-second settlement, and noted OSL completed a $200 million equity financing round in January 2026 after a $300 million raise in 2025.

tarkWare brings EY’s Nightfall privacy layer to Starknet to make enterprise stablecoin payments viable on public chains - StarkWare is integrating EY’s open-source Nightfall to enable confidential institutional transactions with selective disclosure and certificate-linked identities, citing $10T+ in 2025 adjusted stablecoin/tokenized payment settlement volume and framing privacy as the missing piece for enterprise-scale onchain payments.

Sanctioned A7A5 claims Kyrgyzstan compliance while aiming to capture 20%+ of Russia’s trade settlement - Ogienko said A7A5 follows KYC/AML in Kyrgyzstan even as the U.S. Treasury sanctions its issuing/affiliated entities and reserve bank, with Artemis data cited for ~$90B supply added last year and the token facing thin liquidity and CEX avoidance due to secondary-sanctions risk.

Animoca wins a Dubai VASP license and tees up 2026 expansion into stablecoins and RWA tokenization - Animoca received a VARA VASP license for broker-dealer and investment management services (excluding DIFC), cited a 600+ company portfolio, and pointed to a 2026 Nasdaq reverse-merger plan plus stablecoin/RWA initiatives including a Hong Kong JV targeting a stablecoin issuer license.

PYUSD passes $4B as PayPal-linked incentives boost Arbitrum balances and USDai integration - PYUSD supply crossed $4B with Arbitrum balances cited at ~$220M–$256.6M, following a PayPal–Permian Labs tie-up making PYUSD a reserve/settlement asset for USDai’s USDAI and offering 4.5% APY on up to $1B in PYUSD deposits for one year.

💡Rollouts: Nexus previews USDX rewards stables, XRPL build institution-ready rails, and Anchorage drops new features

Meet USDX! Nexus previews a treasury-backed stablecoin that shares protocol revenue with apps and users

• Nexus plans to launch USDX, a treasury-backed “native rewards stablecoin” built with M0 and designed to distribute rewards through a Global Yield Distribution System.

• Apps holding USDX would earn a share of protocol revenue based on user USDX balances, and CEO Daniel Marin described yield distribution as tied to contributions such as TVL and volume as set by monetary policy.

• Nexus raised $27.2 million across two rounds from December 2022 through June 2024, with the seed led by Dragonfly and the Series A led by Pantera and Lightspeed.

Compliance-first DeFi: XRPL turns on a permissioned DEX mode with KYC/AML gating for regulated institutions

• XRPL activated XLS-81 “Permissioned DEX,” enabling controlled versions of its built-in DEX where administrators can restrict who participates.

• It said participation can be tied to compliance requirements such as KYC and AML checks, targeting institutions that want onchain settlement and liquidity but need counterparty controls.

• The piece also pointed to prior XRPL work (XLS-85 Token Escrow) that expanded escrow to trustline-based tokens and multi-purpose tokens, including stablecoins and tokenized real-world assets.

Anchorage pitches a stablecoin “correspondent banking” bundle for non-U.S. banks - Anchorage is rolling out “Stablecoin Solutions” combining mint/redeem, custody, fiat treasury management, and settlement so banks can move dollars globally under an OCC-chartered structure, with support for minting/redeeming multiple tokens (e.g., USA₮, USDtb, USDGO, and potential USDPT).

Ether.fi migrates its non-custodial card stack to Optimism while keeping stablecoin spend and borrow-against-collateral - ether.fi Cash will move from Scroll to Optimism over coming months with ~70,000 active cards and ~300,000 accounts, preserving stablecoin spending, borrowing against assets like eETH while earning yield and cashback, as OP Stack processed 3.6B transactions in 2H 2025 (~13% of all crypto transactions).

ProShares launches a GENIUS-ready money market ETF built around the 93-day T-bill reserve limit - ProShares rolled out NYSE Arca: IQMM to hold assets that qualify as dollar-stablecoin reserves under the GENIUS Act’s 93-days-or-less T-bill rule, positioning it to help issuers meet redemptions without forced losses as the stablecoin market sits just under $300B and could grow up to 10x in 4–5 years.

Soil rolls out RLUSD yield vaults on XRPL and says the first $1M pools filled in under 72 hours - Soil launched XRPL vaults for RLUSD offering fixed returns backed by private credit, tokenized Treasuries, and market-neutral hedging, while citing ORQO’s ~$300M management, EU licenses, an Abu Dhabi HQ buildout, and an RWA market projection of $2T by 2028.

💲Money in motion:Dragonfly raises another $650M as it doubles down on stablecoins, DeFi, and prediction markets

• Dragonfly closed Fund IV at $650 million with a focus that includes stablecoins, DeFi, and prediction markets.

• Managing partner Haseeb Qureshi said the fund is a major bet that crypto’s growth curve is still early, pointing to themes like agentic payments, on-chain privacy, and tokenization expanding crypto’s surface area.

• The Defiant listed prior fund sizes of roughly $100M (Fund I), $225M (Fund II), and $650M (Fund III), and cited recent bets that include Polymarket, Ethena, Rain, and Mesh.

👋 That’s your stablecoin scoop for the week!

Until next time — AllScale Weekly

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Editor - Jackie

🌍 Macro: Asia’s $2.3T institutional crypto flows lift stablecoin rails, while Gate and Coinbase frame the next growth cycle

Asia’s institutions flirt with stablecoin rails totaling $2.3T regional crypto flows, but keep the risk dial low

• Institutional crypto transactions in Asia rose 70% year over year to $2.3 trillion by mid-2025, alongside growing interest in stablecoin rails.

• Speakers described institutional demand as real but cautious, with a preference for market-neutral and yield strategies rather than directional risk.

• Japanese mega banks are working on stablecoin solutions, while some participants noted internal treasury stablecoin adoption is still waiting on clearer standards.

Gate CEO says stablecoins already won, and banks are adjusting - Lin Han said stablecoins are crypto’s clearest success, banks should use them to speed services, and Gate will stay neutral by integrating existing stablecoins rather than issuing its own.

Bernstein keeps $440 Coinbase target, citing $5.2T 2025 trading volume and stablecoin focus - Bernstein reiterated “outperform” and a $440 target (212% upside), pointing to $5.2T 2025 volume and management priorities that include scaling stablecoin utility and payments infrastructure despite a $667M net loss.

🔍 Policies: Banking lobby urges OCC to slow crypto charters, Brazil targets USDe-style models, and China narrows RMB stablecoin paths

Slow the charters! Bank lobby warns OCC crypto approvals could confuse consumers and shake deposits

• The American Bankers Association asked the OCC to slow approvals of national bank charters for digital-asset firms until oversight expectations are clearer.

• The ABA said GENIUS Act implementation could take years and require coordinated rulemaking across five agencies, and it criticized conditional approvals that rely on future GENIUS compliance via “conform, cease, or divest” requirements.

• The letter also argued firms not engaged in banking should not use “bank” in their name, warning mislabeling could trigger a consumer-confidence crisis, and the article noted ongoing debate over stablecoin yield and a cited claim that up to $6T in deposits could shift if yield is not restricted.

Europe doubles down on a digital euro, aiming to block “U.S. stablecoin” dominance with online + offline cash

• This was the first time the European Parliament backed a digital euro with both “online and offline functionality.”

• A Parliament summary warned that digital payments, if left to “private and non-EU actors,” risk “new forms of exclusion,” and lawmakers want the ECB to intensify monitoring of crypto-assets.

• Piero Cipollone said a properly designed digital euro would counter the surge in U.S. stablecoins so EU citizens wouldn’t need anything beyond an electronic euro.

Brazil moves to ban USDe-style stablecoins and force fully segregated reserves - Brazil advanced Bill 4.308/2024 to prohibit issuing/trading stablecoins like USDe and Frax, ban derivatives as backing, and impose up to eight years’ prison in a market where stablecoins reportedly drive 90% of crypto volume.

Asia’s onchain retail use speeds up as stablecoin rules mature, but merchants still want local currency - Panelists said Asia’s strong digital-payments baseline is accelerating onchain adoption (e.g., Lotte’s 5M+ Aptos vouchers), while HKD and other local-currency preferences still constrain USDT/USDC usage.

China tightens yuan-stablecoin and RWA tokenization rules, leaving only narrow carveouts - China is described as cutting off RMB-stablecoin issuance channels and broadly banning domestic stablecoin circulation and most RWA tokenization, while leaving limited room for government-approved pilots and possible sandbox debate.

Ripple’s Alderoty urges action on the Clarity Act as stablecoin yield fights drag on - Alderoty said “compromise is in the air” after White House talks and pushed negotiators to move “while the window is still open,” as banks warn rewards could drain deposits and lawmakers set a March 1 deadline.

Fintechs back a “skinny” Fed payment account as banks warn it could boost stablecoin models - Goldfeder argued a capped, non-interest Fed settlement account could expand competition without new risk, while bank groups flagged stablecoin issuance and crypto-adjacent firms as likely beneficiaries of direct rails access.

US banks ask OCC to slow crypto-linked trust charters as stablecoin rules lag - ABA urged the OCC to “pump the brakes” on charter decisions, arguing GENIUS-linked conditional approvals could outpace rulemaking and intensify the political fight over stablecoin yield language.

Russia pitches a digital ruble for BRICS trade as stablecoins stay limited to cross-border use - Russia is framed as targeting a Sept. 1 rollout and positioning the CBDC as a BRICS trade tool, while officials signal no domestic stablecoin use even if cross-border stablecoins face less opposition.

Thailand opens the door to crypto-linked derivatives under its regulated markets framework - Thailand approved changes letting crypto serve as underlying instruments for regulated derivatives, with follow-on rules and TFEX coordination planned alongside a broader tokenization and crypto ETF roadmap.

🔥 Biz Beats: Binance custodies 89% of USD1 as the Trump-linked stablecoin reaches $5.4B in circulation

Binance becomes USD1’s mega-custodian, holding 89% as the Trump-linked stablecoin hits $5.4B

• Arkham data shows Binance custodies 89% of USD1, and notes “no other major stablecoin has such a high proportion” on a single third-party exchange.

• USD1 has $5.4 billion in circulation and “jumped over 50% in the past month,” making it the fifth largest stablecoin by circulation.

• USD1 is backed by U.S. government bonds, dollar deposits and cash equivalents, and Zak Folkman said the goal is to make USD1 “the preferred stablecoin for major institutions.”

Tempo recruits Farcaster founders and points to a $500M raise at a $5B valuation - Tempo added Dan Romero and Varun Srinivasan to push mainstream stablecoin payments, as Merkle planned to return ~$180M post-acquisition and Tempo cited a $500M raise, December testnet, and major design partners.

CZ says a Trump pardon clears the path for Binance’s U.S. return as USD1 claims swirl - Zhao said he “didn’t do anything” to get the pardon and argued it’s key for U.S. re-entry, while critics alleged an MGX deal linked to Binance was conducted in USD1 and the article noted custody concentration claims.

Blockchain.com wins FCA registration to offer UK crypto services, expanding its Europe footprint - Blockchain.com received FCA registration to provide brokerage, custody, and institutional services, citing $1.2T+ processed and 90M wallets, with plans to seek full authorization later this year.

Bithumb’s $43B bitcoin ledger error sparks compensation plan and tougher oversight talk - Bithumb said 99.7% was recovered and the remaining 0.3% (~$123.4M) repaid, while affected users get set compensation terms and regulators cited systemic ledger-control weaknesses.

Robinhood crypto revenue drops 38% as CEO pushes tokenization and a broader onchain strategy - Tenev said not to be distracted by short-term fluctuations as crypto trading revenue fell to $221M, while the company leaned into tokenization and referenced launching its own stablecoin.

Lawmakers hit SEC chair over case pullbacks as markets slide and WLFI ties draw scrutiny - Lynch warned “people are losing trust” as lawmakers questioned dropped/paused enforcement actions amid claims of political ties, with Atkins declining to comment on specific cases.

💡Rollouts: New stablecoin infra ships across regions, from UAE’s AED token to SoFiUSD plans on Ethereum

Sui gets its first synthetic dollar: suiUSDe launches with a $10M seeded vault and $25M capacity

• The article said Ethena-backed eSui Dollar (suiUSDe) is live on Sui mainnet as the network’s first synthetic dollar.

• SUI Group Holdings seeded a suiUSDe vault with $10M, described as one of the largest initial stablecoin deployments on Sui, with a permissionless vault run by Ember Protocol and an initial capacity of $25M.

• SuiUSDe is the first synthetic dollar supported by DeepBook Margin.

Agant gets FCA registration ahead of GBPA debut for institutional settlement use cases - Agant secured UK registration to launch a fully backed 1:1 GBP stablecoin aimed at institutional payments, settlement, and tokenized assets, in a market where existing GBP tokens remain tiny.

WLFI plans “World Swap” remittance and FX product to drive USD1 adoption - WLFI is reported to be building an FX/remittance platform pitched to cut cross-border costs and connect to debit cards and bank accounts, while also citing $320M in lending activity and ongoing probe scrutiny.

MoonPay and Deel target stablecoin payroll-to-wallet payouts for 40,000 UK/EU businesses - MoonPay said Deel’s payroll scale ($22B processed in 2025) could help route stablecoin deposits directly into employee wallets via MoonPay’s Iron, with U.S. expansion planned later.

UAE launches dirham stablecoin DDSC on ADI Chain with central bank licensing - DDSC is described as a 1:1 AED-backed token live on ADI Chain with FAB custodying reserves, backed by sponsors including IHC and FAB, and paired with claims about payment/remittance market size and major MOUs.

SoFi plans to issue SoFiUSD on Ethereum for trading, remittances, and payments - SoFiUSD is described as fully cash-backed with immediate redemption, with SoFi suggesting it could share yield while keeping reserves at the Fed and positioning it as plumbing for its crypto and payments stack.

Farcaster founders move to Stripe-backed Tempo as it gears up for a stablecoin payments chain - Dan Romero and Varun Srinivasan joined Tempo after Neynar acquired Farcaster (with Romero saying he’ll return $180M raised), as Tempo stacks hires, cites Stripe/Paradigm backing, names major partners, and targets a full launch later this year.

👋 That’s your stablecoin scoop for the week!

Until next time — AllScale Weekly

👉 Learn how AllScale can help your team pay, invoice, and scale globally

Editor - Jackie

🌍 Macro: Euro rails accelerate toward $1.3T, Traders rotate to stables, and Base fees fall via EIP-4844 spillover

Euro rails at scale: S&P sketches a $1.3T stablecoin future

• S&P’s upper-bound scenario projects euro stablecoins could grow from about €650 million at year-end 2025 to roughly €1.1 trillion ($1.3T) by 2030.

• In its baseline case, S&P pegs the market at around €570 billion ($672B) by 2030, assuming about €500B tied to tokenized investments and roughly €100B tied to tokenized payments.

• The report frames stablecoin real-world use as supporting very high growth multiples, while warning outcomes can vary widely even with MiCA in force for stablecoins from Jan. 1, 2025.

Standard Chartered flags Solana DEX activity shifting to SOL-stablecoin pairs - Kendrick said Solana DEX flows are tilting toward SOL-stablecoin pairs with 2–3x faster stablecoin turnover than Ethereum, alongside $0.06 AI micropayments activity and lower median gas ($0.0007 vs Base’s $0.015) that he’ll track via stablecoin volume and velocity.

Aave’s GHO tops $500M as sGHO spreads and holder counts jump - GHO crossed $500M market cap (+245% since early 2025) with holders near 23,000 (+~300% since Jan 2025) as sGHO expanded to Arbitrum, Base, and Gnosis and offered 5.52% APY versus 3.7% for USDC and 2.65% for USDT lending on Aave.

As BTC slides toward $75K, traders rotate into stablecoins to cut risk - Thielen argued stablecoins let investors shift defensively fast, but BTC’s 50%+ market-share keeps diversification hard, with DeFi names like AAVE down 26% even as HYPE held up (+20% after a pullback).

🔍 Policies: GENIUS under fire over recourse, banks fight rewards, and HKMA targets March approvals

NY AG Letitia James v.s. GENIUS stablecoin law over recourse and enforcement gaps

• Letitia James and four New York district attorneys argued the GENIUS Act leaves victims with limited avenues to recover losses and gives stablecoins legitimacy while still letting issuers avoid major regulatory requirements.

• Chainalysis estimates that 84% of illicit crypto transaction volume in 2025 involved stablecoins, framing consumer protection and illicit finance as linked issues.

• Prosecutors criticized Circle’s policy of only freezing funds after receiving a signed judicial order or warrant, while Tether said it is not U.S.-domiciled and does not have a blanket obligation to comply with state-level civil or criminal processes.

White House meeting spotlights the fight over who can offer stablecoin rewards

• Industry leaders framed the White House meeting as constructive, with Summer Mersinger calling it an important step forward.

• The dispute centers on whether third parties like Coinbase should be allowed to offer rewards, since the law bars issuers from paying direct interest but does not prohibit third-party platforms from offering rewards.

• Cody Carbone said no solution was finalized, but participants left with an identified path forward targeting resolution by the end of February, while a source described banks as rigid in their approach.

Hong Kong greenlights stablecoin licenses for March with only a small first batch

• HKMA chief Eddie Yue said the first stablecoin issuer licenses are expected in March, with only a very small number approved initially.

• Yue said evaluations will focus on risk management, anti-money laundering measures, and backing assets, and that licensed issuers must follow local rules for cross-border activity.

• The article described stablecoins as a roughly $300B asset class and said Citi projects the market could grow to $1.9T–$4T.

China formalizes restrictions on yuan stablecoins and RWA tokenization - China explicitly extended enforcement to offshore RMB-pegged stablecoins and RWA tokenization, saying unapproved issuance is prohibited and tokenization must run on approved infrastructure under “same business, same risk, same rules.”

Brazil advances bill to restrict stablecoins like USDe and ban derivatives as backing - Brazil advanced Bill 4.308/2024 to bar issuance/trading of stablecoins like USDe and Frax, require fully segregated reserves (no derivatives as backing), and impose penalties up to eight years in prison as officials cite stablecoins driving ~90% of local crypto volume.

Lummis warns stablecoin yield fights are stalling market structure progress - Lummis said banks should embrace stablecoins and custody, but yield language is delaying market-structure legislation as the draft effectively blocks platforms from paying interest on idle stablecoin deposits, with dollar-stablecoin market cap cited at $290B and Bessent projecting $2T+ by 2028 with legislative support.

Ro Khanna launches probe into $500M UAE deal and flags USD1 being used for settlement - Khanna said his investigation centers on trust, transparency, and national security, citing reported flows ($187M to Trump family entities; $31M to Steve Witkoff-linked entities) and alleging MGX’s reported $2B Binance investment used WLFI’s USD1 for settlement while demanding 16 record categories by March 1.

🔥 Biz Beats: Tether hits record Q4 results, SGB lights multi-chain settlement, and Polymarket volume tops $100M daily

Tether’s record Q4 USDT growth adds 35.2M users and cops $187.3B market cap

• Tether’s market report said USDT reached a $187.3 billion market cap, up $12.4 billion in Q4 2025.

• The same report said USDT added 35.2 million new estimated users to reach 534.5 million total, while on-chain holders rose 14.7 million to 139.1 million and USDT wallets represent 70.7% of all stablecoin wallets.

• Tether reported reserves rising $11.7 billion to $192.9 billion, including 96,184 BTC, 127.5 metric tons of gold, and $141.6 billion in U.S. Treasuries, and claimed USDT grew 3.5% since Oct. 10, 2025 while the next-largest stablecoins declined 2.6% and 57%.

Singapore Gulf Bank flips the switch! USDC/USDT settlement goes live on its Net

• SGB said it upgraded SGB Net to support stablecoins alongside fiat so institutional clients can manage both within a single banking platform.

• The bank said corporate clients can trade, mint, convert, hold, and transfer USDC and USDT across Ethereum, Arbitrum, and Solana, and it said the service includes KYC, KYB, and AML controls.

• SGB said SGB Net processes about $2B in monthly fiat transaction volume and that custody/security are provided via Fireblocks, with access expected to roll out sometime in Q1 2026.

Trump meme coin and WLFI drop after a probe highlights USD1-linked Binance settlement - TRUMP fell 14.6% and WLFI fell 10.8% in 24 hours after news of a Ro Khanna probe that seeks details on MGX’s reported $2B Binance investment the article says was made in WLFI’s USD1.

Hyperliquid proposes prediction-market “outcome trading” denominated in USDH - Hyperliquid floated HIP-4 for fully collateralized outcome trading with contracts in USDH, citing strong user demand as prediction markets hit $12.4B in volume last month (Dune) and HYPE rose 11%+ over 24 hours (CoinGecko).

Coinbase loan liquidations spike as borrowers tap USDC to manage stress - Coinbase said borrowers saw $170M in liquidations over a week (about 2,000 users lost $90.7M on Thursday alone) as BTC and ETH fell 17% and 26%, with some users paying down debts using Circle’s USDC.

Polymarket switches to native USDC with Circle as primary collateral and settlement - Circle said USDC will become Polymarket’s main collateral as it migrates from Polygon Bridged USDC (USDC.e), citing USDC supply at $70.77B and Polymarket volume of $113M in the past 24 hours with $337.5M TVL (DefiLlama).

Ripple plugs Hyperliquid into its prime brokerage stack and points to RLUSD - Ripple added Hyperliquid access through its institutional prime brokerage platform to let clients tap on-chain derivatives and cross-margin DeFi positions, while noting RLUSD launched in 2024 and market context of HYPE up ~33% monthly as XRP fell ~20% weekly.

BBVA joins Qivalis to build a MiCA-regulated euro stablecoin to counter ‘digital dollars’ - BBVA joined the Qivalis bank consortium to develop a regulated euro stablecoin, with Qivalis seeking Dutch central bank authorization under MiCA and aiming to launch in H2 2026 as the euro segment is cited around ~$860M within a ~$300B stablecoin market.

💡Rollouts: Fidelity's FIDD launches and Bybit preps IBAN on-ramps

Fidelity plants its flag with FIDD launch, $1 redemption and Ethereum mainnet transfers included!

• Fidelity launched Fidelity Digital Dollar (FIDD) for retail and institutional investors, issued by Fidelity Digital Assets, National Association on Ethereum.

• The article said FIDD can be purchased or redeemed for $1 and transferred to any Ethereum mainnet address.

• Mike O’Reilly said passage of the GENIUS Act provided regulatory guardrails, and added Fidelity sees stablecoins as part of the digital assets ecosystem’s long-term potential.

Demo Day...Y Combinator to let startups take USDC funding starting Spring ‘26

• YC will allow startups to receive funding in USDC beginning in Spring 2026, while keeping funding amounts and terms unchanged.

• YC’s pitch is speed and cost, with Nemil Dalal saying stablecoin transfers typically cost under one cent and settle in under one second, including cross-border.

• The program will support USDC funding across Ethereum, Base, and Solana, and YC said it expects more startup financial needs to be enabled by blockchains.

Bitrue broadens RLUSD trading with new spot pairs and a 3% earn offer - Bitrue added 10 RLUSD spot pairs (e.g., BTC, ETH, XRP, SOL, DOGE) and promoted up to 3% APR plus contests featuring a 200,000 XRP prize pool and 50,000 RLUSD distribution.

KBank trademarks stablecoin wallets ahead of a fresh March 5 KOSPI IPO bid - KBank filed 13 stablecoin-wallet trademarks and is targeting a March 5, 2026 listing after scrapped 2023–2024 IPO attempts, with users up 500% to ~15M since its 2020 Upbit partnership.

STABLE jumps into v1.2.0 as the chain switches its gas token to USDT0 - STABLE hit ~$0.03 and rose 43% on the week ahead of the upgrade that swaps gas from wrapped gUSDT to USDT0, lifting FDV above $3B and market cap to ~$540M.

Cap drops $12M in cUSD in what it calls crypto’s first stablecoin airdrop - Cap distributed 12M cUSD as a fixed-value “stabledrop,” citing cUSD market cap $282M+ and Cap TVL ~$315M, with its Homestead program running Jan. 29–July 23, 2026.

MegaETH ties MEGA buybacks to USDM revenue, with KPIs that trigger the token launch - MegaETH said it will use USDM revenue (yielding on USDtb reserves backed by BlackRock’s BUIDL fund) to buy MEGA, with TGE set seven days after KPIs like $500M+ 30-day USDM supply or app-fee thresholds are hit.

Polymarket moves to swap Polygon’s bridged USDC.e for native USDC with Circle - Polymarket will replace USDC.e with native USDC for trading and settlement, as Circle frames the migration as improving UX and deepening native network support.

💲Money in motion: This week’s hottest stablecoin industry financing moves!

👋 That’s your stablecoin scoop for the week!

Until next time — AllScale Weekly

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Editor - Jackie

🌍 Macro: $1.4B January VC funding, Base drives ~$3T Q4 stablecoin volume, and SoFi hits $1B revenue

January VC crypto funding hits $1.4B as investors crowd into U.S. stables and payments plays

• VCs put $1.4B into crypto companies in January, based on DefiLlama data.

• It described a “bigger bets, fewer deals” dynamic, with funding events dropping to 60 from 85 while total funding was 14% higher than January 2025.

• The piece said clearer U.S. regulation is pulling capital stateside, with notable investment activity in stablecoin companies, cards/payments, and infrastructure, and it highlighted rounds including Rain ($250M), BitGo ($212.8M), and LMAX Group ($150M).

Ark Invest: Stablecoin growth stalls after October shock as Base leads transaction volume

• ARK said stablecoin supply crossed $300B but has largely flatlined since October’s “flash crash,” with USDe down about 58% from its $14.3B peak.

• Coinbase’s Base led in Q4 stablecoin transaction volume at roughly $3T, up 121% quarter-over-quarter, surpassing Ethereum and Tron.

• USDC accounted for over 60% of adjusted transaction volume despite about 25% of supply, implying ~$88 volume-to-supply versus PYUSD at ~$22 (with PYUSD also showing 2.5x velocity growth).

SoFi posts first $1 billion revenue quarter as profit reaches $174 million in Q4 amid crypto expansion

• SoFi reported a GAAP net revenue milestone of $1.0B (+40% YoY) and net income of $173.5M, adding 1.027M new members to reach 13.7M total.

• The company said it became the first nationally chartered bank to launch consumer crypto trading and issue its SoFiUSD stablecoin.

• It also expanded blockchain remittances to 30+ countries via Lightning/UMA by converting USD → BTC → local currency, and guided to 2026 membership growth of at least 30% with adjusted revenue of about $4.66B and adjusted net income around $825M.

Stablecoin outflows point to capital exiting as bitcoin chops sideways - A ~$2.24B drop in top stablecoin market cap suggests investors cashing outflows to fiat as BTC slid to ~$88.4K and OI stayed rangebound.

Crypto crime hit a new high in 2025, with one Russian stablecoin dominating illicit flows - TRM says illicit crypto hit $158B in 2025 (+145% YoY), with stablecoins driving 95% of sanctioned flows and A7A5 tied to 77% (>$72B) of illicit stablecoin activity.

River token’s 1,900% surge spotlights a chain-agnostic stablecoin pitch - River surged ~1,900% to ~$82 on a stablecoin “abstraction” pitch to avoid bridging, alongside cited $8M Justin Sun/Tron integration.

Standard Chartered warns stablecoins could siphon deposits from U.S. banks - Standard Chartered warns ~$500B could shift into stablecoins by 2028, with yield potentially speeding bank deposits flight and compressing NIM.

🔍 Policies: UAE greenlights USDU, Trump taps crypo-friendly Kevin Warsh for fed chair, and HK targets Q1 ’26 licenses

UAE’s central bank has approved a USD-backed stablecoin

• The UAE central bank (CBUAE) approved the USDU stablecoin under its Payment Token Services Regulation, with issuance by Universal Digital (regulated by FSRA/ADGM).

• The structure states reserves are held 1:1 in safeguarded onshore accounts at Emirates NBD and Mashreq, with Mbank also involved.

• Aquanow was appointed as global distribution partner for institutional access outside the UAE where permitted, and the announcement framed the UAE as ahead of the U.S., EU, and much of Asia for a central-bank-regulated USD stablecoin.

Wall Street firms meet the SEC crypto task force for DeFi and tokenized trading discussions

• SEC records cited in the article said representatives from JPMorgan, Citadel, and SIFMA met with the SEC’s crypto task force.

• SIFMA argued regulation should hinge on economic characteristics rather than the technology label (including “DeFi”).

• SIFMA warned broad exemptions for tokenized trading could weaken investor protection and cause market disruptions, and the article referenced October’s crypto “flash crash” and an ongoing fight over stablecoin rewards in a market structure bill.

Trump names crypto-friendly Kevin Warsh as pick for Fed chair

• President Trump nominated Kevin Warsh to be Fed Chair, and prediction markets reportedly moved to ~95%–96% odds ahead of the announcement.

• Warsh has said Bitcoin “doesn’t trouble” him and called it an “important asset,” while also arguing it is not a substitute for the dollar.

• He has crypto ties through an early investment in Basis (an algorithmic stablecoin) and advisory/investor roles with Bitwise, alongside a policy profile as a hawk critical of QE.

Laser Digital pursues a U.S. trust charter as crypto firms move onshore - Backed by Nomura, Laser Digital applied for a national trust bank Office of the Comptroller of the Currency charter to operate nationwide as issuers/custodians seek a single structure for issuance, settlement, and safeguarding.

Russia bans WhiteBIT and flags stablecoins in sanctions enforcement - Russia branded WhiteBIT “undesirable,” alleging illicit “gray scheme” activity and citing billions in stablecoin flows tied to suspected sanctions evasion despite the exchange’s stated AML restrictions.

India faces pressure to soften crypto taxes as trading shifts offshore - A report cited ~three-quarters of Indian crypto volume moving offshore (~$6.1B), fueling calls to cut TDS, allow loss set-offs, and modernize rules ahead of the Union Budget.

U.S. sentencing spotlights stablecoin laundering path in a $37M scam - A Chinese national was sentenced to 46 months and ordered to pay $26.8M+ restitution after prosecutors said scam proceeds were converted into stablecoins, amid claims last year’s scam losses topped $17B and impersonation surged with AI.

JPMorgan Chase hit with a reported $5B debanking suit tied to stablecoin-era politics - The suit alleges debanking for political reasons, with Donald Trump Jr. linking the family’s crypto move to being cut off while World Liberty pitched crypto rails and JPMorgan called it meritless.

Senate Agriculture advances a market-structure bill as Michael Bennet conflict push fails - The committee advanced the bill 12–11 on party lines, expanding Commodity Futures Trading Commission oversight with DeFi-friendly provisions, while a conflicts amendment failed and the 60-vote path remains unclear.

Japan opens consultation on which bonds can back stablecoin reserves - Japan’s Financial Services Agency proposed tight eligibility for reserve-qualifying bonds and tougher disclosures, including constraints for foreign stablecoin applicants operating in Japan.

Hong Kong plans first stablecoin license batch in Q1 under strict rules - Finance chief Paul Chan said the first issuer licenses will arrive in Q1 under a 2025 regime with strict reserve/redemption standards as Hong Kong builds a broader tokenized-asset ecosystem.

South Korea moves to cap exchange ownership as won-stablecoin rules take shape - Regulators proposed a 15%–20% shareholder cap to curb conflicts at exchanges framed as “public infrastructure,” alongside a draft law focused on won-denominated stablecoin issuance.

United Kingdom targets 2027 for major crypto laws as Bank of England consults on stablecoins - Minister Lucy Rigby set an Oct. 25, 2027 deadline for a broad regime under the Financial Conduct Authority while the Bank of England consults on stablecoin rules aimed for completion by year-end.

🔥 Biz Beats: Mizuho ups Circle to $77 target, Laser Digital pursues OCC charter, and Polymarket settlement could add “billions” to supply

Morgan Stanley taps veteran Amy Oldenburg to lead digital asset strategy amid crypto push

• Morgan Stanley appointed Amy Oldenburg to lead digital asset strategy as it prepares for wider stablecoin adoption and potential new U.S. legislation.

• The bank has filed to list spot bitcoin and Solana ETFs and is planning a proprietary digital wallet this year.

• It is also hiring across digital assets, including roles focused on portfolio enablement/governance and advisory compliance.

Mizuho upgrades Circle shares outlook citing Polymarket’s use of USDC for settlement

• Mizuho upgraded Circle (CRCL) to neutral and raised its price target to $77, arguing Polymarket’s USDC-based settlement can act as a direct USDC demand engine.

• The note highlighted that USDC supply doubled from about $30B in early 2024 to over $60B by March 2025, and was around $75B toward end-2025.

• With U.S. access restored, the analysts suggested Polymarket could drive “billions” of incremental USDC market cap over the next 1–2 years.

Gold hits highs as Tether’s XAUT grows faster than USDT - Tether said XAUT supply rose 38% to 375,000 tokens by Dec. 31 and cited ~$882M of Q4 sales, positioning XAUT as a hedge as monetary confidence weakens while noting attestations aren’t full audits.

Card networks shrug off stablecoins as a default way to pay - Visa and Mastercard CEOs say stablecoins lack U.S. everyday PMF versus bank-linked digital dollars, even as Glassnode estimates 2025 BTC settlement topped $25T and SoFi pushes a faster crypto-bank blend.

PayPal survey says big merchants are leading crypto payments uptake - PayPal found ~40% of merchants already accept crypto and adoption skews to $500M+ revenue firms, with interest high but understanding still a key blocker.

Binance to rotate $1B SAFU reserves into BTC during the selloff - Binance will convert $1B of SAFU stablecoin reserves into bitcoin over 30 days and top back up to $1B if it falls below $800M, as BTC slid to ~$82K and liquidations hit ~$1.7B.

Laser Digital moves toward an OCC trust bank as institutions chase regulated rails - Laser Digital filed to form a national trust bank with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to offer custody and spot trading, framing charters as more attractive in a GENIUS Act backdrop.

USD1 tops $5B as World Liberty seeks a trust charter and scrutiny rises - USD1 crossed $5B in market cap (per CoinGecko) as World Liberty Financial reportedly pursued an OCC trust charter, while TRUMP fell ~93% and Elizabeth Warren scrutiny referenced PancakeSwap activity.

💡Rollouts: Fidelity preps an Ethereum stablecoin and Tether launches USAT under Anchorage oversight

Fidelity readies an Ethereum-based “digital dollar” stablecoin

• Fidelity’s “Fidelity Digital Dollar” (FIDD) is planned to run on Ethereum.

• The release said it will be available to retail and institutional investors in the coming weeks.

• Fidelity said it will be fully backed by U.S. dollars and high-quality cash equivalents, and the article cited stablecoin market cap growth to about $311B.

Tether launches USAT, a U.S.-regulated stablecoin issued by Anchorage Digital

• Tether said USAT is now available for trading and will be issued by Anchorage Digital.

• The article stated Anchorage’s setup places USAT under OCC oversight and referenced reserve expectations that issuers back stablecoins primarily with cash and U.S. Treasuries.

• Tether positioned USAT as meeting institutional needs while its larger stablecoin is progressing toward GENIUS Act compliance, and Anchorage framed the product as stablecoin issuance inside the U.S. banking system under real supervision.

USAT signals Tether’s US push against Circle - USAT formally enters the U.S. as a federally aligned dollar token, positioning it as a direct competitor to USDC amid expectations of rapid stablecoin growth.

Paolo Ardoino says issuer adds 1–2 tons of gold weekly - Vault holdings are described at ~140 tons (~$24B) stored in a former nuclear bunker, with precious metals around ~$12.9B (~7%) of reserves.

Bitwise launches a Morpho vault aiming ~6% on USDC - Strategy targets up to ~6% by allocating into over-collateralized lending, with vault AUM having surged in 2025 before cooling after October volatility.

WisdomTree brings tokenized fund lineup to Solana - Expansion adds stablecoin conversion rails and cites ~$772M deployed across chains versus ~$1.3B of onchain RWAs on Solana.

Amboss launches Lightning-native RailsX for BTC-stablecoin swaps - RailsX enables peer-to-peer atomic swaps via payment channels and highlights Lightning USD capacity topping $500M with BTC capacity around 5,770 BTC.

OKX rolls out a Mastercard-linked crypto card in Europe - Card lets users spend stablecoins from self-custody with conversion at checkout (0.4% spread), no added fees, and limited-time rewards.

Fairshake reports a $193M midterm war chest - Funds total $193M cash on hand, after prior cycle spending of ~$40M on key races, as stablecoin policy talks continue in Washington.

Coinbase expands Kalshi markets nationwide with USDC rails - Rollout opens prediction markets to users in all 50 states, allowing trades in USD or USDC with near-24/7 availability aside from a weekly two-hour maintenance window.

Bybit teases “My Bank” with IBAN accounts for faster on-ramps - MyBank is slated for February and would give users an IBAN for fiat deposits from accounts in their own name, targeting smoother fiat-to-crypto transfers.

MegaETH targets Feb. 9 launch with USDm from Ethena backed by BlackRock fund - Launch claims ~100,000 TPS and millisecond responsiveness, following an oversubscribed token sale where 11,534 wallets pledged $300M for $50M of supply.

💲Money in motion: This week’s hottest stablecoin industry financing moves!

👋 That’s your stablecoin scoop for the week!

Until next time — AllScale Weekly

👉 Learn how AllScale can help your team pay, invoice, and scale globally

Editor - Jackie

🌍 Macro: Stablecoins hit $311B, Larry Fink pushes “one chain”, and USD1 doubles on Ethereum to ~$1.3B.

Stablecoin market cap hits a new peak near $311B as traders rotate into “shelter”

• Stablecoin market cap peaked at $311.332B on Jan 18, with USDT over $187B and USDC around $74B.

• There was $592.4M in liquidations in 24 hours (ETH $230M, BTC $204M) as traders moved into stablecoins during broader market weakness.

• Growth in USD1 supply on Ethereum from $660M to about $1.3B over the past month was a notable driver, while Trump said he hopes to sign a market structure bill “very soon.”

Larry Fink pitches “one common blockchain” as tokenization grows and stablecoin funding hits public markets

• Larry Fink said a single shared blockchain could reduce fees and expand “democratisation” across finance.

• The NYSE announced a tokenized securities platform featuring stablecoin-based funding and 24/7 trading, and Fink said emerging markets like Brazil and India are leading on tokenization and digitization.

Dan Tapiero says stablecoin rails are going mainstream after $33T in 2025 volume - Dan Tapiero said stablecoin rails are rapidly going mainstream as transaction volume jumped to $33 trillion in 2025, reinforcing his bullish macro view despite a near-term correction and a long-term bitcoin thesis.

Ethereum usage hits new highs as stablecoin transfers drive activity and fees fall - Ethereum activity hit record highs as stablecoin payments drove transaction growth while fees fell sharply due to EIP-4844 upgrades, with USDT transfers leading and developers cautioning against excessive protocol changes.

Ark sees a $28T crypto market by 2030 as stablecoins absorb roles once expected of BTC - Ark Invest forecast a $28 trillion crypto market by 2030, trimming its bitcoin bull case as stablecoins increasingly absorb payment and settlement roles once expected to drive BTC adoption.

Ripple CEO says regulatory wins set up a potential 2026 all-time high as RLUSD reaches $1.4B - Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse said U.S. regulatory wins, especially the GENIUS Act, position the market for a potential new all-time high as RLUSD grows to $1.4 billion and policy clarity beats regulatory chaos.

🔍 Policies: Bill clock ticks while Trump touts GENIUS! HK to issue first stablecoin licenses and Korea probes ~$102M laundering

Coinbase denies White House rift as stablecoin yield ban divides banks and the industry

• Brian Armstrong said White House officials have been constructive and asked Coinbase to figure out a deal with the banks, per DL News.

• The Clarity Act draft bans passive yield on stablecoin holdings, and Armstrong argued consumers should be able to earn more on their money.

• Banks have countered that stablecoin yields could reduce their ability to provide loans, and experts warned more players may expand their wish lists and increase friction.

Trump talks crypto legislation at Davos and points to Genius Act as the stablecoin framework

• President Trump said he wants the U.S. to remain the “crypto capital of the world,” per DL News.

• Trump said Congress is working hard on market structure legislation and referenced signing the Genius Act to establish a framework for regulating stablecoins.

• The SEC dropped a number of lawsuits against digital-asset firms and took a friendlier posture in 2025, alongside reports of the first family’s deeper crypto involvement amid “debanking” claims.

Hong Kong signals first stablecoin licenses in Q1 2026 after regime went live Aug. 1, 2025

• Paul Chan said the HKMA will issue the first stablecoin licenses in Q1 2026, according to Decrypt.

• The licensing regime took effect Aug. 1, 2025 and that 36 companies had applied by September 2025.

• Issuers must meet reserve, par redemption, segregation, and AML requirements to market to retail, under what Chan called a “proactive yet prudent” approach.

White House Crypto Council warns “no rules” is fantasy as stablecoin rewards stay a core fault line - The White House Crypto Council warned that rejecting imperfect crypto rules now risks harsher legislation later as stablecoin rewards, scope disputes, and enforcement capacity remain central points of contention.

Bank lobby makes stablecoin yield ban a top 2026 priority and targets open banking rules - The U.S. bank lobby made banning stablecoin yield a top 2026 priority, arguing it protects consumers and deposits while also pushing to revise open banking rules under Section 1033.

Trump says he hopes to sign a market structure bill “very soon” as stablecoin rewards become the core fault line - President Trump said he hopes to sign a crypto market structure bill very soon even as stablecoin rewards remain the main sticking point delaying bipartisan agreement.

Senate market structure bill may slip to late Feb/March as lawmakers pivot to housing priorities - The Senate market structure bill may be delayed until late February or March as lawmakers shift focus to housing policy after Coinbase withdrew support over stablecoin yield limits.

Senate Agriculture Committee publishes its crypto bill text as Banking and Ag versions head for reconciliation - The Senate Agriculture Committee released its crypto bill text, expanding CFTC authority and setting up reconciliation talks as banks continue to dispute stablecoin yield treatment.

DOJ alleges $1B laundering operation relied on USDT on Tron, with claims of $700M monthly throughput - The DOJ alleged a $1 billion crypto laundering scheme relied heavily on USDT on Tron, with prosecutors claiming the suspect could move hundreds of millions monthly through fast, complex transactions.

Thailand moves toward crypto ETF and futures rules while the central bank watches USDT “grey money” flows - Thailand advanced plans for crypto ETFs and futures rules while its central bank continues monitoring USDT-linked “grey money” and cross-border flow risks.

Russia’s Constitutional Court recognizes crypto property rights in ruling tied to a 1,000 USDT loan - Russia’s Constitutional Court affirmed crypto holders’ property rights, setting a precedent after overturning lower-court rulings tied to a 1,000 USDT loan dispute.

South Korea probes a ~$102M cross-border crypto laundering case as USDT shows up in prior FX probes - South Korean authorities are probing a roughly $102 million crypto laundering case involving cross-border flows, with USDT repeatedly appearing in prior foreign-exchange investigations.

Elliptic says Iran’s central bank acquired $507M in USDT as Tether highlights $3.8B in freezes - Elliptic reported Iran’s central bank accumulated at least $507 million in USDT, while Tether emphasized it has frozen over $3.8 billion tied to illicit activity.

🔥 Biz Beats: Binance PayID comeback in Australia, $5M stablecoin pool Makina fiasco, and TRON lands in MetaMask

Bermuda pitches a “fully on-chain national economy” with help from Coinbase and Circle

• Early steps of this plan include government stablecoin payment pilots and tokenization efforts by financial institutions.

• Premier E. David Burt said the goal is the world’s first fully on-chain national economy to cut costs and expand access, while Brian Armstrong said clear rules plus public-private collaboration can empower local businesses and consumers.

• Decrypt said Bermuda previously enabled tax payments in USDC (2019), tested a local stablecoin (2020), and passed DABA in 2018, with context of ~73,000 population and about $6.8B real GDP in 2024.

Binance reopens PayID and bank transfers in Australia, restoring key fiat rails

• Binance Australia restored PayID and bank transfers after more than two years of disruption.

• The change brings Binance closer to competitors that retained PayID access, and an exec argued access to traditional rails shapes participation, confidence, and trust.

• Bolt Financial Group is supporting the rails, with a phased rollout to meet banking and regulatory expectations.

NYSE plans tokenized securities platform with stablecoin funding, 24/7 trading, and instant settlement - The NYSE plans to launch a tokenized securities trading platform with stablecoin funding, instant settlement, and 24/7 access, as partners work on tokenized deposits and the industry eyes massive long-term growth despite liquidity and fragmentation challenges.

Interactive Brokers adds 24/7 USDC funding and plans RLUSD and PYUSD support next - Interactive Brokers enabled 24/7 USDC funding with near-instant trading access via multi-chain deposits and said support for RLUSD and PYUSD could follow as soon as next week.

Armstrong heads to Davos to negotiate “win-win” terms with banks after Coinbase pulled support - Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong traveled to Davos to seek a “win-win” compromise with banks after withdrawing support for a Senate draft that would ban interest on idle stablecoin balances.

WalletConnect adds TRON connectivity to expand stablecoin payments reach across wallets and apps - WalletConnect expanded stablecoin payment reach by integrating TRON connectivity, linking hundreds of wallets and thousands of apps to a network that processed trillions in USDT transfers.

Makina Finance hit by ~$5M stablecoin pool exploit after a 280M USDC flash loan - Makina Finance suffered a roughly $5 million stablecoin pool exploit after attackers used a 280M USDC flash loan to manipulate pricing, prompting warnings for affected liquidity providers.

Venezuela’s USDT premium spike fades as P2P prices fall 40% from January highs - Venezuela’s USDT P2P prices fell about 40% from January highs after extreme premiums driven by shallow liquidity eased and temporary exchange controls cooled volatility.

💡Rollouts: RLUSD goes prime time on Binance while Noble pivots to a stablecoin/FX chain to court institutional flows

Binance lists Ripple’s RLUSD with USDT and XRP pairs, with XRP Ledger support coming next

• Binance listed RLUSD on Jan 22 at 08:00 UTC with Ethereum support, and XRP Ledger support is expected later.

• Trading include RLUSD/USDT and XRP/RLUSD, and Binance expects RLUSD to be eligible for portfolio margin and later added to Binance Earn.

Noble to sunset its Cosmos appchain and launch an EVM-based Layer 1 aimed at stablecoin and FX infrastructure - Noble will sunset its Cosmos appchain and launch an EVM-based Layer 1 network.

💲Money in motion: Justin Sun invests $8M in River Protocol as leverage signals spike during a token rally

• Justin Sun invested $8M in River Protocol, which is building cross-chain stablecoin infrastructure including satUSD.

• River will use funds to support stablecoin pools with USDT/USDD on SUN, lending on JustLend, and WinkLink price feeds, while planning Smart Vault and Prime Vault yield strategies.

• RIVER rose 24% to $48.74 with about a $900M market cap and 19.6M circulating supply, while CoinGlass said futures volume exceeded spot by more than 80x and flagged funding-driven liquidation dynamics.

👋 That’s your stablecoin scoop for the week!

Until next time — AllScale Weekly

👉 Learn how AllScale can help your team pay, invoice, and scale globally

Editor - Jackie

🌍 Macro: Vitalik’s three stablecoin gaps, $18B card spend, and DeFi slippage nukes $3.84M to $112K

Vitalik flags three unsolved problems for decentralized stablecoins

• Vitalik Buterin listed three gaps: a stable target better than a USD index, capture-resistant oracles, and staking yield as direct competition.

• He argued USD tracking is fine short term, but questioned what happens over a 20-year horizon if the dollar hyperinflates.

• He warned oracle capture can be bad for users unless the cost of capture exceeds the protocol token’s market cap, and said his “solutions” are not endorsements.

Crypto card spending reaches an $18B annualized run-rate as stablecoins show up in everyday payments

• Artemis data showing crypto card volumes grew from about $100M per month in early 2023 to more than $1.5B by late 2025.

• Spending now exceeds $18B annualized, nearly matching peer-to-peer stablecoin transfers at $19B.

• Cards remain the dominant bridge because they require no new merchant integrations, and noted USDC outliers in India (47.4%) and Argentina (46.6%).

DeFi slippage bug turns a $3.84M swap into $112K - A YO Protocol user received just $112,000 after a $3.84 million swap due to insufficient slippage protections, an issue the protocol said should have blocked despite $61.8 million currently locked.

Galaxy warns a U.S. crypto bill could expand transaction-freeze powers - Galaxy warned a draft U.S. crypto bill could significantly expand Treasury’s ability to freeze stablecoin and crypto transactions for up to 30 days, marking a major surveillance-state expansion ahead of a Senate vote.

Standard Chartered doubles down on Ethereum’s stablecoin and tokenization edge - Standard Chartered said Ethereum’s dominance in stablecoins and over $10 billion in tokenized assets underpins its bullish outlook, with ETH potentially reaching $40,000 by 2030 as throughput scales higher.

🔍 Policies: Senate draft kills passive yield, Dubai bans privacy tokens, and ABA warns up to $6.6T at risk

Senate draft moves to bar passive stablecoin yield while allowing activity-based rewards

• Decrypt said the draft would prohibit any interest or yield paid solely for holding a payment stablecoin.

• The American Bankers Association warned up to $6.6 trillion in deposits could be at risk.

• The prohibition would not apply to activity-based rewards tied to actions like transactions, remittances, or liquidity, and three senators criticized having less than 48 hours to review before markup.

Brian Armstrong pulls support, saying the Senate crypto bill is getting worse

• Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said he would rather have no bill than a bad bill, according to DL News.

• Armstrong cited erosion of CFTC authority, a de facto ban on tokenized equities, and tighter limits on rewards tied to stablecoin holdings.

• The Digital Chamber still strongly supports advancing the bill, while Ripple’s Brad Garlinghouse called it a massive step forward.

Industry pushes back on stablecoin yield limits and highlights new developer protections - Crypto industry groups criticized a Senate framework that would ban passive stablecoin yield while expanding SEC oversight and disclosures, warning the changes could weaken dollar stablecoins and advantage foreign CBDCs under the proposed bill.

Bitcoin advocates ask lawmakers to expand stablecoin tax relief and set new thresholds - A coalition urged lawmakers to extend de minimis tax relief beyond stablecoins to Bitcoin and major tokens, proposing new thresholds and cash-like treatment for compliant stablecoins as merchant adoption expands nationwide.

Pakistan signs MOU to explore stablecoin remittances tied to USD1 integration - Pakistan signed an MOU to explore regulated stablecoin remittances via USD1 integration with its central bank, targeting efficiency gains across a $36 billion annual remittance market.

Tether wins a Russian trademark for tokenization brand Hadron - Russia approved Tether’s Hadron tokenization trademark through 2035, covering blockchain financial services amid a $13 billion domestic tokenization market and heightened sanctions-related scrutiny.

Robinhood reaffirms support for market structure bill even as markup gets pulled - Robinhood reiterated support for the Senate market structure bill despite a delayed markup, citing user demand for staking and tokenized stocks constrained by regulatory uncertainty.

Novogratz urges lawmakers to advance crypto legislation even if stablecoin rewards aren’t perfect - Galaxy CEO Mike Novogratz urged lawmakers to advance crypto legislation despite imperfect stablecoin reward provisions, arguing compromises can be fixed later as the markup process was postponed.

Bank of America CEO warns yield-bearing stablecoins could pull up to $6T in deposits from banks - Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan warned that allowing yield-bearing stablecoins could shift up to $6 trillion from bank deposits, likening them to money market funds amid intense amendment-driven debate.

Thailand orders tighter monitoring of USDT “grey money” trades as daily volume hits 2.8B baht - Thailand ordered tighter monitoring of USDT trades after daily volumes hit 2.8 billion baht, citing foreign participation and links between stablecoins and illicit transaction activity.

Coinbase publicly reverses course on Senate crypto bill as stablecoin yield becomes a flashpoint - Coinbase withdrew support for the Senate crypto bill, saying restrictions on stablecoin yield driven by banking pressure made the draft worse than the status quo despite its $116 million political war chest.

PNC CEO says stablecoins must decide whether they’re payments or money market funds - PNC CEO Bill Demchak said stablecoins paying interest resemble money market funds and should follow the same rules, framing the debate over whether rewards violate the GENIUS Act’s payments-focused design.

Dubai bans privacy tokens on DIFC exchanges and tightens stablecoin definitions - Dubai’s DFSA banned privacy tokens on DIFC exchanges and narrowed stablecoin definitions to fully backed fiat tokens, requiring firms to document token suitability under updated rules.

🔥 Biz Beats: Visa + BVNK wire payouts via stables, Goldman scales tokenization pilots, and MetaMask adds Tron’s $21B daily stablecoin rail

Visa teams with BVNK to enable stablecoin-funded payouts on Visa Direct

• BVNK will power stablecoin-funded payouts across Visa Direct.

• Businesses will be able to send funds directly to recipients’ stablecoin wallets, according to Decrypt.

• Visa’s Mark Nelsen said stablecoins can operate when banks are closed, and Decrypt reported wider access is expected in H2 2026 after USDC wallet payout pilots.

MetaMask adds native Tron support to move USDT and stake TRX

• MetaMask rolled out native support for the Tron network across its mobile app and browser extension.

• The update lets users send USDT on Tron, stake TRX, and manage Tron assets inside MetaMask.

• Tron DAO said Tron handles more than $21 billion in daily stablecoin transfer volume, and The Block noted this follows MetaMask adding Solana and Bitcoin support.

Goldman Sachs ramps up tokenization and stablecoin experimentation under shifting U.S. rules - Goldman Sachs is increasing investment in tokenization and stablecoins as it selectively tests use cases while closely tracking evolving U.S. regulation that David Solomon says will shape the pace of real-world adoption.

Franklin Templeton refits a money market fund to qualify as a stablecoin reserve under GENIUS - Franklin Templeton restructured its LUIXX money market fund to meet GENIUS Act reserve standards by holding only short-term Treasuries and launching an onchain share class to expand institutional access.

Safe and Ethena partner to cut gas costs for USDe and boost rewards 10x - Safe and Ethena partnered to enable gas-free USDe transactions and 10x rewards for Safe multisigs, aiming to deepen DeFi adoption of USDe, which uses a delta-neutral model rather than fiat reserves, across billions in secured stablecoin holdings.

Interactive Brokers adds 24/7 USDC funding and says RLUSD and PYUSD are next - Interactive Brokers enabled 24/7 USDC funding with near-instant trading access and plans to add RLUSD and PYUSD next, using multi-chain deposits automatically converted to dollars via a streamlined process.

Gusto partners with Zerohash to offer stablecoin payouts for non-U.S. workers - Gusto partnered with Zerohash to enable stablecoin payouts for non-U.S. workers, cutting settlement times to minutes for global contractors using custodial or self-custodial digital wallets.

Korea’s KB files patent for a stablecoin-linked credit card flow - KB Card filed a patent for a system that lets users spend stablecoins through existing credit cards while preserving rewards and protections, aligning with South Korea’s evolving stablecoin policy debate.

ClearBank selects Taurus to power MiCAR-compliant stablecoin services and Circle connectivity - ClearBank selected Taurus to provide wallet infrastructure supporting MiCAR-compliant USDC and EURC, including mint-and-redeem access via Circle Mint and future participation in the Circle Payment Network.

Societe Generale and Swift test tokenized bond settlement using cash and stablecoins - Societe Generale and Swift tested tokenized bond settlement using cash and the EURCV stablecoin, leveraging Swift orchestration and ISO 20022 standards to enable faster, end-to-end on-chain settlement.

💡Rollouts: WLFI lending launches with ~$20M supplied, 27% USD1 incentives, and Citrea debuts Treasury-backed ctUSD

World Liberty Financial launches a crypto lending platform with USD1 and major stables

• WLFI launched World Liberty Markets for lending and borrowing.

• Users can now supply and borrow USD1, USDC, USDT, ETH, cbBTC, and WLFI, with the platform powered by Dolomite.

• Decrypt said the protocol has around $20 million in supplied assets and offers a 27% incentive rate on USD1, with WLFI calling it the first of many products over the next 18 months.

Citrea launches ctUSD, a Treasury-backed stablecoin for its Bitcoin ecosystem - Citrea launched ctUSD, a 1:1 Treasury-backed stablecoin with a single canonical asset, broad geographic availability, and built-in compliance controls for lawful freezing and blacklisting.

USD1 launches prediction market pools on Myriad with MoonPay rails - USD1 went live on Myriad as the first WLFI-linked prediction market integration, enabling users to fund markets via crypto or fiat through MoonPay-powered rails.

Cysic and Fluxe launch a compliant privacy protocol for stablecoin payments - Cysic and Fluxe launched a zero-knowledge privacy protocol for stablecoin payments that preserves regulatory compliance while dramatically reducing proof times using custom hardware and a large distributed network.

World Liberty Financial launches a crypto lending platform with USD1 and major stables - World Liberty Financial launched its lending platform allowing users to supply and borrow USD1 and major crypto assets, debuting with roughly $20 million supplied and aggressive USD1 incentives as part of a broader product roadmap.

💲Money in motion: This week’s hottest stablecoin industry financing moves!

👋 That’s your stablecoin scoop for the week!

Until next time — AllScale Weekly

👉 Learn how AllScale can help your team pay, invoice, and scale globally

Editor - Jackie

🌍 Macro: M&A hits $37B across 356 deals, PwC leans in post-GENIUS, and PYUSD rockets 600% to $3.6B

Finance giants double down on stablecoins and “super-app” ambitions for 2026

• Revolut’s Leonid Bashlykov said 2026 is going to be massive, as major finance firms position for a bigger crypto footprint.

• PayPal CEO Alex Chriss argued that if you rebuilt payments from scratch today, you would start with blockchain rails that look a lot like stablecoins.

• DL News reported PYUSD supply jumped 600% to $3.6 billion, which it pegged at about 1.6% of the stablecoin market, while Coinbase’s Brian Armstrong reiterated a super-app goal for becoming a primary financial account.

Crypto M&A is expected to stay hot in 2026 as buyers chase stablecoins and payments

• DL News said crypto M&A surged more than sevenfold in 2025 to $37 billion across 356 transactions, including 39 deals above $100 million and 17 above $500 million.

• Areta told DL News that traditional buyers are most interested in the stablecoins and payments segment.

• The report argued that even in a risk-off environment, scaled players have meaningful M&A ammunition, keeping deal activity elevated.

Fintech heavyweights ramp crypto hiring as Tempo and KlarnaUSD advance - Major fintechs are accelerating crypto hiring as Stripe-linked Tempo advances toward production with major partners and Klarna rethinks its crypto stance ahead of a 2026 KlarnaUSD launch.

PwC leans into stablecoins as U.S. rules turn clearer - PwC said clearer U.S. crypto regulation is driving the firm to push stablecoin-based payment solutions, with leadership citing the GENIUS Act as a key confidence catalyst.

Chainalysis says stablecoins dominated illicit crypto flows in 2025 - Chainalysis reported that illicit crypto activity surged to $154 billion in 2025, with stablecoins accounting for 84% of transaction volume tied largely to state-backed actors.

🔍 Policies: FCA sets Sept ’26 gateway, Senate bill at do-or-die, and Korea stalls on reserves/51% issuer rule

UK FCA targets September 2026 for a new crypto licensing gateway

• The FCA said it expects to open a formal licensing gateway in September 2026, with the regime slated to take effect in October 2027.

• Existing registrations will not automatically carry over, meaning currently registered firms will need to reapply.

• The FCA said it will prioritize stablecoin payments and market integrity, and firms that miss the window enter a transitional provision that blocks new regulated crypto offerings.

Senate crypto bill hits a do-or-die window as yield and Trump ethics loom

• A source said a deal either comes together in the next two to 14 days or it will not.

• Sen. Angela Alsobrooks proposed allowing exchanges to offer yield only if customers take certain actions, not for funds just sitting in accounts.

• Sen. Ruben Gallego warned about backsliding on ethics tied to President Trump’s crypto ventures, and the bill needs 60 votes to survive without strong bipartisan support.

Senate crypto bill hits a do-or-die window as yield and Trump ethics loom - The Senate crypto bill faces a narrow window to secure 60 votes amid disputes over stablecoin yield limits and renewed ethics concerns tied to President Trump’s crypto activities.

Senate market structure negotiations hit DeFi developer and stablecoin-yield sticking points - Senate market structure talks are stalled over protections for DeFi developers, self-custody, and disagreements on stablecoin yield as a vote is scheduled for next week.

Community banks warn GENIUS stablecoin yield loophole could drain deposits - Community banks warned a GENIUS Act yield loophole could pull trillions from deposits and local lending, a claim disputed by crypto groups citing limited evidence of outflows.

Colombia orders crypto platforms to report detailed user and transaction data starting 2026 tax year - Colombia will require crypto platforms to submit extensive user and transaction reports starting in the 2026 tax year, with penalties of up to 1% of unreported transaction value.

TRM report alleges IRGC moved $1B through UK-registered exchanges mostly in USDT on Tron - A TRM Labs report alleges IRGC-linked actors moved about $1 billion mainly in USDT on Tron through two closely linked UK-registered exchanges.

South Korea stablecoin rules remain stuck on reserves, liability, and a 51% issuer threshold - South Korea’s stablecoin framework remains deadlocked over reserve custody, strict liability, and a proposed 51% bank-ownership threshold, delaying progress into 2026.

🔥 Biz Beats: Ripple stays private after $500M round and Kontigo reimburses 1,005 users post-hack

Ripple secures FCA approvals to expand UK payments footprint

• The FCA granted Ripple both an Electronic Money Institution license and a crypto asset registration, covering digital money issuance, payment services, and AML/KYC compliance.

• The Block noted the UK plans to regulate crypto assets as financial products by 2027, and the FCA is prioritizing stablecoin payments as part of that roadmap.

• Ripple President Monica Long framed the licensing as a way to unlock dormant capital by enabling value to move instantly.

Ripple says it’s staying private and points to strong funding terms and balance sheet - Ripple reaffirmed it will remain private, citing favorable funding terms from a $500 million round and a strong balance sheet that supports growth while positioning its products as connective infrastructure for traditional finance and stablecoin adoption.

Ruble stablecoin A7A5 posts outsized supply growth despite sanctions and no CEX listings - The ruble-backed stablecoin A7A5 saw outsized on-chain growth, adding $89.5 billion in supply despite sanctions, no centralized exchange listings, and usage largely confined to Uniswap-linked cross-border flows.

Kontigo reimburses 1,005 users after hack as it touts scale - Kontigo fully reimbursed 1,005 users after a hack while emphasizing its $20 million seed raise and over $1 billion in processed volume, disputing reports of banking disruptions and highlighting its operational scale.

💡Rollouts: Binance lists USDT-settled gold/silver perp, Jupiter’s JupUSD debuts, and JPM Coin joins Canton

Binance launches USDT-settled TradFi perps for gold and silver under ADGM regulation

• Binance introduced a new product category, TradFi Perpetual Contracts, starting with gold- and silver-tracking contracts settled in USDT.

• The Block said the contracts are offered via a Binance entity regulated by the Abu Dhabi Global Market and mirror crypto perps with no expiry dates.

• Binance said the goal is to bring traditional assets into crypto markets through USDT-settled exposure.

Jupiter launches JupUSD with reserves largely tied to BlackRock-linked USDtb

• Jupiter launched JupUSD with 90% of reserves held in USDtb, which is backed by BlackRock’s BUIDL.

• JupUSD will be immediately composable across the Jupiter product suite.

• Jupiter said around $500 million of USDC in its Perps LP will swap into JupUSD, and it will offer 24/7 minting for onboarded institutions with published limits.

Wyoming issues FRNT, described as the first state-backed stable token

• FRNT is described as the first blockchain-based asset backed by a U.S. state and is launching on Solana with availability on six EVM chains.

• Reserves will be held in a Wyoming trust and invested in U.S. dollars and short-duration U.S. Treasuries.

• The state said interest will fund Wyoming’s school program, while the token targets seconds-level settlement and fees under $0.01.

Polygon unveils the Open Money Stack for cross-border stablecoin payments

• Polygon introduced a modular framework intended to support stablecoin payments and cross-border transfers.

• The stack combines liquidity, orchestration, and regulatory controls with fiat access and compliance tooling.

• Polygon said the system is interoperable across chains and customizable to reduce provider sprawl, aiming to move money onchain seamlessly.

Vince Trust launches stablecoin-based and tokenized ETF products with insured contracts - Vince Trust launched compliant stablecoin-based and tokenized ETF products backed by regulated custodians, insured contracts, and portfolios including USDT-linked strategies with gold and dynamic sector exposure.

Brazil’s BRD stablecoin offers yield sharing tied to local rates - Former central bank official Tony Volpon unveiled BRD, a real-pegged stablecoin that shares Brazil’s roughly 15% interest rate with holders, positioning it as a yield-bearing alternative to existing local stablecoins.

JPMorgan plans to bring JPM Coin natively to the privacy-focused Canton Network - JPMorgan will issue JPM Coin directly on the Canton Network as regulated digital cash, enabling near-real-time transactions with a phased rollout through 2026.

Sei warns USDC.n holders to swap ahead of March upgrade - Sei warned USDC.n holders to swap into native USDC before its March upgrade, as the network moves to EVM-only and deprecates Cosmos-native assets.

BNY Mellon activates tokenized deposits for payments and collateral - BNY Mellon activated a tokenized deposit service for select clients, positioning interest-bearing bank liabilities as a regulated alternative to stablecoins with automated settlement capabilities.

💲Money in motion: This week’s hottest stablecoin industry financing moves!

👋 That’s your stablecoin scoop for the week!

Until next time — AllScale Weekly

👉 Learn how AllScale can help your team pay, invoice, and scale globally

Editor - Jackie

🌍 Macro: New Year, New Predictions for the stablecoin landscape

VC forecasts: Payments infrastructure takes center stage in 2026 crypto outlook

• Dragonfly managing partner Haseeb Qureshi said his strongest conviction for 2026 is payments infrastructure, with stablecoin supply expected to expand sharply.

• Qureshi expects real-world usage and durable distribution to dominate, especially in payments and settlement rails. Specifically, Ethereum and Solana were highlighted as potential outperformers.

• This view of institutions deploying stablecoins at scale is echoed by Galaxy Ventures.

Industry leaders speak up: Privacy infrastructure moves from experimentation to production

• Industry leaders predict private stablecoins will emerge as a core onchain payments layer with configurable privacy and policy controls.

• Experts also forecast the industrialization of privacy tech, moving from testnets to production deployments.

• Threat-resistant, conditional privacy models are expected to become default as stablecoin payments scale.

Crypto ETFs head into 2026 with regulatory momentum

• U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs recorded about $22 billion in net inflows in 2025 despite late-year outflows.

• Ether ETFs attracted $9.3 billion in mid-2025 as regulatory clarity around stablecoins improved.

• At least 126 new crypto ETP filings are pending, with SEC approval timelines shortened to as little as 75 days.

🔍 Policies: SEC rulemaking rises in importance, South Korea officials stall over framework, and Coinbase warns stablecoin ban interest aiding China

Crypto industry shifts focus to SEC action as legislation slows

• Industry leaders said passage of a comprehensive market structure bill may slip past 2026, increasing reliance on SEC rulemaking.

• Regulators are signaling a deregulatory posture, with the SEC indicating many tokens may not be securities.

• Notably, stablecoin rules are advancing faster than broader market structure legislation.

South Korea’s stablecoin framework stalls over issuer control

• Draft rules would require stablecoin reserves to be held entirely in bank deposits or government bonds with full custodial control.

• The Bank of Korea wants banks to hold at least 51% ownership in stablecoin issuers, while regulators warn this could limit competition.

• The deadlock could delay full implementation of the law until at least 2026.

Coinbase warns stablecoin interest ban could aid China

• Coinbase warned that banning yield on U.S. stablecoins could give China a strategic edge as it allows interest on the digital yuan.

• China’s central bank will permit banks to pay interest on e-CNY starting January 2026.

• The GENIUS Act currently bars interest-bearing dollar stablecoins, with enforcement details still under debate.

🔥 Biz Beats: BlackRock’s BUIDL proves institutional demand for onchain cash yield

• BlackRock’s BUIDL distributed roughly $100 million in dividends and surpassed $2 billion in assets since launching in 2024.

• The tokenized money-market product is used as collateral and backs stablecoins such as Ethena’s USDtb.

• BUIDL provides regulated, onchain dollar yield for institutional investors, distinct from payment-focused stablecoins.

👋 That’s your stablecoin scoop for the week!

Until next time — AllScale Weekly

👉 Learn how AllScale can help your team pay, invoice, and scale globally

Editor - Jackie

🌍 Macro: From going mainstream to hitting record M&A deals, 2025 was a big year for stables

Stablecoins cemented as crypto’s first mainstream use case

• Total stablecoin supply climbed to nearly $310 billion in 2025, up more than 50% from about $205 billion at the start of the year.

• USDT held over 60% market share, while USDC fell below 26% after briefly approaching 37% earlier in the year.

• The number of stablecoins with over $10 million in supply rose from 75 to 142, supported by enterprise payment rails such as PYUSD, Visa, and Mastercard integrations.

Privacy tech gains traction as USDC pilots and shielded assets grow

• Zcash’s shielded supply rose to nearly 25% in 2025, making it one of the strongest-performing tokens in the second half of the year.

• Aztec launched its Ignition Chain mainnet after raising roughly $61 million worth of ETH from more than 16,700 participants.

• Circle began piloting a privacy-preserving wrapped version of USDC, called USDCx, using the Aleo testnet.

Big bucks! Crypto M&A hits record as stablecoin regulation unlocks deals

• Crypto mergers and acquisitions reached a record $8.6 billion in 2025 across 267 deals, up from $2.17 billion in 2024.

• Coinbase’s $2.9 billion acquisition of Deribit was the largest transaction of the year.

• Analysts said regulatory clarity from the GENIUS Act accelerated tokenized settlement and deal-making activity.

🔍 Policies: PARITY Act eases micro-tx taxes, HK remains tight on stables, and Ghana greenlights cryto trading

U.S. lawmakers propose tax relief for stablecoin usage

• The PARITY Act would exempt capital gains taxes on stablecoin transactions under $200 from federally regulated issuers.

• The bill also introduces optional tax deferral for staking and mining rewards.

• Sponsors framed the proposal as consumer-friendly relief aimed at everyday payments and small businesses.

Hong Kong weighs differentiated capital rules for stablecoins

• Hong Kong’s insurance regulator proposed a 100% risk charge for crypto asset exposure held by insurers.

• Regulated stablecoins would instead carry risk charges aligned with their underlying fiat currency.

• The consultation runs from February to April as part of Hong Kong’s broader stablecoin licensing strategy.

South Korea and Japan race toward institution-led stablecoin frameworks

• Japan’s yen stablecoin issuance is projected to grow fivefold by end-2026, with transaction volumes expected to exceed $50 million.

• Interbank settlement and corporate payments-focused institutional issuance models are favored over retail use by policymakers.

• South Korea’s central bank warns of risks while lawmakers push for regulated won-denominated stablecoins, showcasing internal debate.

UK regulator approves Sling Money as stablecoin payments expand - Sling Money, an app that supports USDP and EURC on Solana with instant local currency withdrawals across 80 countries, received approval from the UK Financial Conduct Authority to operate as a crypto services provider.

Russia proposes controlled crypto access for retail investors - Russia’s central bank proposed allowing non-qualified investors to buy crypto with an annual cap of 300,000 rubles. Crypto and stablecoins would be classified as foreign currency assets that can be traded but not used for payments domestically.

Ghana legalizes crypto trading and explores gold-backed stablecoins - Ghana passed a Virtual Asset Service Providers bill requiring registration with the central bank or securities regulator. This allows crypto trading to operate under legal protections without enforcement uncertainty.

🔥 Biz Beats: Coinbase tagged as top '26 fintech, PayPal bets on stable rails, and JPM eyes crypto expansions

Coinbase named top 2026 fintech pick as stablecoin revenue grows - Clear Street named Coinbase a top three fintech stock for 2026, assigning a $415 price target implying roughly 70% upside. Analysts highlighted growing revenue from subscriptions, stablecoin activity, and onchain financial services.

Wall Street prepares to replace legacy rails with stablecoins - PayPal’s CEO said future payment infrastructure is likely to resemble stablecoin-based blockchains rather than traditional rails. Analysts expect 2026 to mark a transition from experimentation to large-scale institutional deployment.

JPMorgan evaluates institutional crypto trading expansiona - JPMorgan is reportedly considering offering spot and derivatives crypto trading to institutional clients.

Aave founder pushes back on governance proposal amid GHO growth - Aave founder Stani Kulechov criticized a proposed token alignment change as harmful to the protocol and DAO. He argued the proposal was too complex for a binary governance vote and could slow development.

💡Rollouts: Kyrgyzstan’s KGST debuts on BNB Chain and Shift4 goes live on multiple chains

Kyrgyzstan launches first CIS stablecoin on Binance

• Kyrgyzstan’s som-backed stablecoin KGST went live on Binance, marking the first CIS stablecoin listed on a global exchange.

• The token runs on BNB Chain and targets cross-border payments and regional crypto adoption.

• The country also launched a gold-backed USD stablecoin with a 50 million initial issuance.

Shift4 adds multi-chain stablecoin settlement for merchants

• Shift4 launched stablecoin settlement for merchants processing over $200 billion annually across 200,000 businesses.

• Merchants can accept USDC, USDT, EURC, and DAI across networks including Solana, Ethereum, Polygon, TON, and Base.

Hyperliquid rolls out portfolio margin and USDC borrowing - Hyperliquid introduced portfolio margin to unify spot and perpetual positions for capital efficiency. New earn vaults allow users to earn yield on stablecoins or borrow against native collateral.

👋 That’s your stablecoin scoop for the week - Thank you to all of the readers this year and we will see you in 2026!

Until next time — AllScale Weekly

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