TON Foundation and Banxa have partnered to enable stablecoin payments for APAC merchants using TON infrastructure.
Regulatory delays risk blunting Britain’s digital asset push, said Andrew MacKenzie, head of the pound-pegged stablecoin developer.
Stablecoin use in everyday spending, cross-border work, and savings allocation is growing rapidly among crypto-savvy consumers.
With a strong regulatory environment, proactive institutional participation, and a growing appetite for blockchain-powered financial solutions, Japan is positioning itself at the forefront of next-generation finance, and XRPL is increasingly becoming central to that vision. Japan is placing a huge bet on the XRP Ledger identity and leading protocol. Crypto analyst Stellar Rippler revealed on X that a senior banker from the Bank of Japan (BoJ), Kazuo Ueda, reportedly stated that SBI holdings has invested in XRP, XRP Ledger-native identity protocols, compliance, and lending projects. Meanwhile, that backdrop became even more significant when SBI Holdings CEO Yoshitaka Kitao said the firm holds hidden assets worth more than its officially disclosed 9% stake, which is valued at over $10 billion. Why Japan Is Looking Beyond Payments To XRPL Infrastructure Interestingly, the strategic direction becomes clearer when viewed through the lens of identity. Ripple’s president, Monica Long, has described decentralized identity on XRPL as a way to turn personal information into a secure, portable digital token that users can carry globally and selectively share, replacing reliance on centralized platforms. Related Reading: XRP Ledger DEX Metrics Flash Strong Growth As Activity Touches New Key Levels This vision is already taking shape at the infrastructure level. DNAOnChain’s XDNA applies this model with zero-knowledge proofs to transform identity and compliance data into verifiable zk-credentials. Also, these allow institutions to confirm eligibility and regulatory status without exposing sensitive information. However, the SBI’s hidden asset has extended beyond XRP, and it’s pointing toward the XRPL’s identity and zero-knowledge credential layer, where XDNA fits in as the infrastructure institutions needed. XRP is actively used as a bridge currency for liquidity on the XRP Ledger, alongside stablecoins, which are complementary. An analyst known as Vet on X has noted that recent activity on the XRPL DEX shows that RLUSD is being exchanged for EUROP, a euro-denominated stablecoin, with XRP acting as the bridge asset. By serving as an intermediary layer, XRP increases the liquidity of issued assets across the network. Furthermore, this design results in a proven, robust financial infrastructure that maximizes capital efficiency for everyday users and institutions. At the same time, market makers can make markets between the respective XRP pairs; they can hold the token because it is counterparty-free, which makes it the most efficient way to make markets. The Role Of The XRP In A Tokenized FX Future According to RippleBullWinkle, founder of Lux Lions NFT, the global foreign exchange market is moving roughly $9.6 trillion in daily volume. Related Reading: XRP Price Falls Below $1.6: You Won’t Believe What Institutions Are Doing Amid The Crash In the meantime, industry insiders are projecting an on-chain FX system for local currency stablecoins from countries around the world, in which they can settle directly on-chain against the dollar stablecoins. This is where XRP’s original design becomes relevant, because XRP was literally built to function as a bridge asset between currencies. Featured image from Adobe Stock, chart from Tradingview.com
Oleg Ogienko, the public face of A7A5, pitched the ruble-pegged stablecoin as a fast-growing trade rail built to move money across borders despite sanctions pressure.
From bank-led stablecoins to tokenized T-bills and AI-powered wallets, digital assets will move from pilot projects to financial plumbing this year.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC that Congress should move fast on the Clarity Act to give investors and companies a firmer sense of what counts as allowed activity in crypto markets. He argued that clearer rules would calm the recent swings traders have seen and help restore confidence. Related Reading: XRP Set To Dethrone Bitcoin Within 6 Years, Entrepreneur Says Senators Hit A Wall Over Stablecoin Rules Based on reports, the bill has split committee leaders. The Senate Agriculture Committee advanced part of the market-structure plan, while the Senate Banking Committee stopped its planned markup after intense pushback over language that would limit yields on stablecoins. That split helped prompt major industry players to pull back support, reshaping the path forward. A Push For Passage Before Spring Reports say some lawmakers want the measure ready for a presidential signature this spring. Supporters say speed matters; critics say rushing could lock in rules that harm legitimate services. US President Donald Trump’s approval is being discussed as a near-term finish line by some backers, and Republican and Democratic senators alike have been urged to find common ground. White House Tried To Broker A Deal Reports note that the White House convened meetings with bank and crypto executives in an effort to bridge gaps, but the discussions ended without an agreement. White House advisers, including Patrick Witt, have been central to those talks. The big sticking point remains whether stablecoin interest and reward programs should be restricted, and how strict any limits would be. Market Reaction And What It Means Based on market notes, Bitcoin and other digital assets have shown fresh volatility in recent days, and some traders welcomed talk of a clear US framework as a stabilizing signal while others feared the specifics could cut into revenues for exchanges and lenders. Coinbase’s public withdrawal of support altered the political math and sent a ripple through equities and crypto prices. Related Reading: Calm Down: Ethereum Has Survived 8 Major 50% Falls, Lee Reminds Investors Who Wins And Who Loses In The Deal Reports say banks favor strict limits on stablecoin yields to avoid a flight of deposits into crypto platforms. Exchanges, in contrast, argue that rewards help users and that cutting them would reduce competition and innovation. Lawmakers will have to balance consumer protection, systemic risk, and commercial freedom. The final version could look very different from what’s now on the table. Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView
Gold back over $5,000 is a market tell: fear is back. Tether just paid $150 million for the last mile. By taking ~12% of Gold.com and integrating XAU₮, Tether is buying distribution, so a USDT holder can reach for gold without leaving the crypto payment loop Gold is trading above $5,000 an ounce again, and […]
The post Tether quietly stacked 27 tons of gold, now it’s wiring $150M to sell it to crypto users appeared first on CryptoSlate.
The firm's asset-management chief says the recent crypto selloff reflects healthy deleveraging, while infrastructure growth and institutional adoption support a bullish outlook.
Dreamcash said Tether made a strategic investment in the project in the wake of its 10 RWA perps deployments.
Over two years after stealing $200 million from Mixin Network, an onchain hacker has deposited illict funds on Tornado Cash and sold ETH.
Crypto industry views diverge on the likelihood that Washington will pass legislation in 2026, with estimates ranging from 25% to 60%.
The crypto exchange finalized a 30-day plan to convert its stablecoin-backed user protection fund into 15,000 BTC, reinforcing bitcoin as its long-term reserve asset.
The issuer cleared a key regulatory hurdle as it prepares to roll out GBPA, a fully backed sterling stablecoin targeting institutional use.
The companies are joining forces to introduce an RWA-backed stablecoin on OKX’s Ethereum-compatible layer-2 blockchain, X Layer.
Zerohash has added support for the Monad blockchain and USDC on Monad to its crypto infrastructure platform.
Hines' projections are based on the increasing demand for Tether’s flagship USDT token and its recently launched USAT stablecoin.
Washington’s stablecoin stalemate is hardening into a fight that banks recognize immediately as a deposit issue. The dispute is no longer centered on whether dollar-linked tokens should exist. It centers on whether they should be treated as deposits, especially if consumers can earn interest-like rewards simply for holding them. A recent White House meeting aimed […]
The post If crypto rewards survive CLARITY Act banks are likely to rapidly build their own branded digital dollars appeared first on CryptoSlate.
Rival stablecoin issuer Circle also tapped Aleo to pilot a privacy-preserving version of its flagship USDC token, called USDCx.
The synthetic dollar debuts on Sui Mainnet alongside a permissionless vault seeded by SUI Group and integration with DeepBook’s new margin system.
The European Commission's 20th sanctions package proposes a comprehensive ban on all cryptocurrency transactions involving Russia, an escalation from targeting specific bad actors to attempting to sanitize the rails themselves. The question is whether the EU can raise the cost of evasion sufficiently by controlling chokepoints: regulated exchanges, stablecoin issuers, and third-country financial intermediaries. The […]
The post Blanket crypto ban targets Russia rails but one chokepoint decides whether flows die or just relocate offshore appeared first on CryptoSlate.
Malaysia's central bank plans three initiatives involving stablecoins and tokenized deposits for wholesale payment use cases.
Stripe launched x402-based USDC agent payments on Base as CoinGecko enabled $0.01 pay-per-request crypto data access.
Banks remain adamant about restricting stablecoin yield, demanding tighter controls than what was stated in the bill's last draft text.
Stablecoin rewards programs were the primary business of a work session at the White House between crypto executives and banking representatives.
Powered by MoonPay subsidiary Iron's tech, Deel will be able to pay workers' salaries directly into employees' wallets.
LayerZero's interoperability protocol has been used to create the omnichain version of Tether's stablecoin USDT.
Circle Ventures has invested an undisclosed sum in decentralized trading platform edgeX ahead of the project’s planned token launch.
LMAX has launched Omnia, a cross-asset exchange enabling 24/7 FX, crypto, and blockchain-based settlement through a single API interface.
The following article is adapted from The Block’s newsletter, The Daily, which comes out on weekday afternoons.