stablecoin

According to Cointelegraph, the Financial Services Agency (FSA) of Japan proposed in its 2026 tax reform request to exempt trust-based stablecoins from mandatory tax reporting obligations starting from the fiscal year 2027. The agency suggested that trust-based stablecoins do not need to submit beneficiary trust reports and calculation statements that include the names and income of beneficiaries.The reason given by the FSA is that trust-based stablecoins circulate among a large number of users, with frequent and numerous transactions, and holding these assets does not generate income. If the proposal receives legislative approval, the relevant tax exemption measures will take effect from April 1, 2027.This move is part of Japan's efforts to incorporate cryptocurrency assets into the regulatory framework for traditional financial assets. In July of this year, the Japanese Diet passed an amendment that classifies cryptocurrency assets as financial assets under the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act, a direction first signaled by Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki in January.

Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino stated that stablecoins are a more trustworthy form of currency than tokenized bank deposits, the former being almost fully backed by U.S. Treasury bonds, while the latter typically only has 10% of liquid assets backing it. Pablo Hernandez de Cos, General Manager of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), mentioned that stablecoins face issues such as redemption capability, supply, interoperability, and facilitating crime, and he referred to tokenized bank deposits as a more direct path to preserving the monetary system's foundation while utilizing tokenization.Ardoino pointed out that the market capitalization of USDT has exceeded $183 billion and is used by some emerging markets for domestic and cross-border commerce. In discussions surrounding the Digital Asset Market Transparency Act (CLARITY Act), banks are concerned that allowing cryptocurrency exchanges to provide incentives for stablecoins could lead to a shift in deposits.

Gate officially launches the idle fund appreciation product for stablecoins, Qianqianbao. After users manually enable the feature, eligible stablecoins such as USDT and USDC in their accounts can automatically earn returns, with the current annualized yield reaching up to 3%.This product does not require locking funds, and eligible funds in both trading accounts and contract accounts can automatically earn returns while remaining flexible for use.

The European digital currency market is forming a pattern of parallel development between the central bank digital euro and private euro stablecoins. Revolut has previously launched phased testing of EURR in Denmark, Poland, and Portugal. This euro stablecoin operates on Ethereum and is issued by Bridge Building, a subsidiary of Stripe.The ECB emphasizes that the digital euro will adopt a highly private design, with offline payment information only held by the transacting parties, and online transactions cannot be directly linked to individuals by the Eurosystem. Europe is advancing its digital payment system through public digital currencies and private stablecoins to reduce reliance on dollar stablecoins and non-European payment infrastructures.

IMF President Georgieva stated at the Jackson Hole annual meeting that stablecoins and tokenization could enhance global financial liquidity, making large cross-border payments cheaper and faster; however, stablecoins could also exacerbate currency substitution, capital flows, and exchange rate volatility, while undermining capital controls and monetary sovereignty. Dollar stablecoins may expand the global network effect of the dollar and marginally reduce U.S. financing costs, but they cannot replace fiscal discipline.This year's Jackson Hole Global Central Bank Annual Meeting has revealed three clear institutional divergences: BIS leans towards "marginalization of stablecoins, centralization of tokenized deposits"; ECB leans towards "central bank currencies on-chain"; while IMF acknowledges the real efficiency of stablecoins in cross-border payments but emphasizes the risks of currency substitution and capital flows in emerging markets. This has more policy implications than simply "supporting or opposing stablecoins."

Zhao Changpeng appeared on the podcast "Meanders" and discussed the pressures, adaptability, and lifelong motivation in the cryptocurrency field. When talking about pressure, Zhao Changpeng stated, "I generally do not set goals; I just do my best. This year the market is not good, so the company's performance may decline, but I have tried my best, I did not slack off, and I did not make any major mistakes. I handle problems in the same way.""No matter how difficult the problem is, I just try my best to deal with it. I also believe in simulation theory; I believe this world is simulated, so it’s like a game. It is simulated, but that does not mean this game is unimportant. However, in this game, I just need to do my best; you try your best to handle it, and after handling it, you can only wait, just lie back and win."Zhao Changpeng mentioned the industry, saying, "As for blockchain itself, I think the improvement in performance is still too slow. But because Bitcoin upgrades slowly, it is particularly stable, which is also an advantage. So there are advantages and disadvantages. Many of the ideas we had in the early days had many implementations, many that were not implemented, and many unexpected things happened."Regarding RWA, he said, "Even a year and a half ago, I would have doubted whether RWA could succeed, but now it is growing very fast. To be honest, I might have had some doubts about stablecoins five years ago, wondering how long they could last; at that time, I did not fully understand them. Stablecoins have their own uses. So these things are all things we did not think of before."

In response to the recent warning from Pablo Hernández de Cos, General Manager of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), regarding the risks that stablecoins may pose to financial stability, Tether CEO Paolo Ardonio took to the X platform to criticize the BIS.He stated that there is a fundamental difference in the underlying risk structure between stablecoins and tokenized bank deposits. Stablecoins are essentially tools that are 100% backed by high-liquidity assets (such as U.S. Treasury bonds); in contrast, tokenized bank deposits still belong to the deposit system of banks, which typically use a fractional reserve model, with only a portion backed by high-liquidity assets.

As the US dollar stablecoin continues to dominate the on-chain payment market, Europe is accelerating the development of a digital currency system that reflects its own regulatory framework, monetary sovereignty, and privacy standards, gradually forming two parallel paths: "digital euro + private euro stablecoin." Among them, the European Central Bank is prioritizing privacy protection as an important design focus for the digital euro. Piero Cipollone, a member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank, stated that the digital euro will provide the highest possible level of privacy under current technological conditions, with offline payments visible only to the payer and payee; in online transactions, the euro system cannot directly identify specific individuals, but banks can still obtain the information required for anti-money laundering.At the same time, private institutions have taken the lead in promoting euro stablecoins. Revolut has begun rolling out EURR to some users in Denmark, Poland, and Portugal, with plans to expand to the entire European Economic Area in the future. EURR operates on Ethereum and is issued by Bridge Building, a subsidiary of Stripe, aiming to maintain a stable value against 1 euro. Forbes points out that the digital euro and EURR are not simply in a substitutive relationship: the former is a public currency issued by the central bank, while the latter is a privately issued on-chain stablecoin. The European digital currency market is developing along these two models simultaneously, with competition focusing on privacy, usability, regulatory clarity, and actual economic value.

According to News.bitcoin, the Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA), which has about 5,000 community banks, opposes the CLARITY Act, emphasizing that there is no room for compromise on the issue of stablecoin rewards. ICBA President and CEO Rebeca Romero Rainey stated that the "loopholes" related to stablecoin rewards must be completely closed, and there is no compromise solution. ICBA claims that stablecoins could lead to $1.3 trillion in deposits leaving the banking system and reduce local lending by $850 billion.Rebeca Romero Rainey indicated that there are no signs that cryptocurrencies will replace these deposits and reinvest them back into local communities. She also criticized the report titled "Impact of the Stablecoin Reward Ban on Bank Lending" released by the White House Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) for downplaying banks' concerns about deposit outflows. The Senate plans to vote on the CLARITY Act on September 15; if it fails to gain the support of at least 60 senators, the bill will not proceed to further consideration and may halt progress for the foreseeable future.

The Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA), representing about 5,000 community banks in the United States, is opposing the Clarity for Digital Assets Act (CLARITY Act). ICBA Chair and CEO Rebeca Romero Rainey stated that the "loopholes" related to stablecoin rewards must be completely closed, with no compromise solutions. The ICBA claims that stablecoins could lead to $1.3 trillion in deposits leaving the banking system and reduce local lending by $850 billion.The association has prompted Republican Senators Josh Hawley and Jerry Moran to oppose the current version of the bill. Rebeca Romero Rainey indicated that there are no signs that cryptocurrencies will replace these deposits and reinvest them into local communities. She also criticized the report titled "Impact of the Stablecoin Yield Ban on Bank Lending" released by the White House Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) for downplaying banks' concerns about deposit outflows. The Senate plans to vote on the CLARITY Act on September 15; if it cannot secure support from at least 60 senators, the bill will not proceed to further consideration and may halt progress for the foreseeable future.

According to Cointelegraph, the market value of tokenized real-world assets (RWA) on the Stellar blockchain is expected to grow by approximately 360% by 2026, rising from $868.8 million at the end of last year to nearly $4 billion. The Dune Analytics dashboard maintained by Stellar shows that as of August 29, the market value of RWA on the network reached $3.996 billion, covering asset classes such as U.S. Treasury bonds, private and public credit, and non-U.S. government debt.The concentration of issuers is relatively high, with Spiko leading at $1.55 billion, followed by Realiz ($559 million), Tradable ($548 million), Franklin Templeton ($546 million), and Ondo ($535 million). Stellar has also made breakthroughs in the non-U.S. government debt sector, with the Stellar Development Foundation citing data from RWA.xyz stating that as of August 20, the network held approximately $490 million in such assets, including tokenized Mexican CETES and Brazilian government bonds issued through Etherfuse.Institutional adoption continues to drive growth. In May, the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) announced plans to integrate its tokenization services with Stellar, with DTC tokenized assets expected to go live in the first half of 2027, potentially supporting tokenized U.S. Treasury bonds, major index ETFs, and Russell 1000 constituents. In July, Tradable announced plans to bring up to $1 billion in private credit assets to Stellar.

According to DefiLlama data, since the end of July and the beginning of August, the total market capitalization of stablecoins has regained upward momentum, currently reported at $30.4564 billion, with a growth of 0.48% over the past week.Among the leading stablecoins, USDC and USD1 are the main contributors to the increase in supply over the past week, with USDC increasing by 0.76% and USD1 increasing by 3.71%. The market share of USDT is currently reported at 60.21%.

Pablo Hernández de Cos, General Manager of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), stated that stablecoins lack credibility in large-scale payment scenarios, making it difficult to use them as everyday currency. He believes that tokenized bank deposits are a better alternative, capable of achieving the advantages of tokenization while retaining the foundation of the monetary system. This statement comes against the backdrop of regulatory agencies in various countries establishing a regulatory framework for stablecoins.Hernández de Cos also acknowledged that stablecoins could lower government borrowing costs but might also increase bank financing costs, which would then be passed on to household and business loan rates. He pointed out that the interoperability between stablecoin platforms is limited, anti-money laundering controls are inconsistently enforced, and the widespread use of dollar-pegged stablecoins overseas could undermine the monetary sovereignty of other countries and the effectiveness of domestic monetary policy.On the same day, the Financial Stability Institute (FSI) under BIS released a research report comparing the stablecoin regulatory rules of the United States, European Union, United Kingdom, Hong Kong, and Singapore, finding significant differences in the qualifications of issuing entities and the scope of business they can conduct across jurisdictions. The United States and Singapore impose stricter restrictions on non-bank issuing entities, while Hong Kong, the United Kingdom, and the European Union allow certain additional businesses under separate authorization or licensing.

The digital euro is issued by the European Central Bank (ECB) and represents public money, and it is still in the development stage; EURR is a stablecoin issued by private institutions aimed at maintaining the value stability of 1 euro. Both are aimed at the demand for instant fund flows in digital platforms. The fintech company Revolut has phased the launch of the euro stablecoin EURR to eligible users in Denmark, Poland, and Portugal, with plans to expand to the European Economic Area in the future.EURR is deployed on the Ethereum network and can be used for on-chain transfers between fiat currencies, crypto assets, external wallets, and supported blockchain networks. EURR is issued by Bridge Building, a company under Stripe, rather than directly by Revolut. Piero Cipollone, a member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank, stated that the digital euro will provide the highest level of privacy supported by current technology, with offline payments visible only to the payer and payee, while participating banks in online transactions can still access the information required for anti-money laundering compliance.

SBI Holdings, a Japanese financial services group, announced an investment of $270 million in the Indonesian multi-asset investment platform Ajaib Group, acquiring approximately 20% minority equity, making the Jakarta-based Ajaib an equity method associate of SBI. Ajaib confirmed this strategic investment in a LinkedIn post on Friday, stating that it is the largest tech financing in Indonesia since 2022, bringing its total funding since 2019 to over $500 million.Ajaib offers investment channels including domestic and international stocks, bonds, mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, crypto assets, stablecoins, commodities, and foreign exchange, while also covering payment and savings services, and providing over-the-counter stablecoin settlement services and liquidity support for Indonesian businesses and institutional investors. SBI stated that this collaboration will promote the adoption of digital assets in Asia and continue to expand its business footprint in the region.The SBI Group operates the Japanese crypto exchange SBI VC Trade, the Singapore exchange Coinhako, and the UK market maker B2C2. Other digital asset projects include the yen stablecoin JPYSC and the Layer 1 blockchain Strium developed for financial applications. SBI Holdings Chairman and President Yoshitaka Kitao stated that in the era of tokenization, the importance of global infrastructure for digital assets is increasingly prominent. SBI is establishing a network of digital asset exchanges in Southeast Asia through the "SBI APAC Digital Economic Zone" initiative, and Ajaib's model of combining traditional financial products with digital assets aligns with this strategy.

According to CoinDesk, Japanese financial giant SBI Holdings plans to acquire a 20% stake in Indonesian online brokerage Ajaib Group for $270 million by the end of this month to expand the circulation of its yen stablecoin JPYSC in Southeast Asia and utilize blockchain technology to build cross-border settlement infrastructure.Ajaib provides a foothold for SBI to enter the Indonesian market. Indonesia is one of the largest retail investment markets in ASEAN, with over 20 million retail investors and an estimated retail market size of $375 billion. Ajaib operates online brokerage, forex margin trading, cryptocurrency, and asset management businesses in Indonesia, and this $270 million deal is also the largest tech financing in Indonesia in years.SBI Chairman and President Yoshitaka Kitao stated that in the era of tokenization, the importance of global digital asset infrastructure is becoming increasingly prominent. This investment is part of SBI's strategy in Southeast Asia, having previously acquired Singapore cryptocurrency exchange Coinhako for about $100 million and invested in Singapore digital securities trading platform DigiFT. The Japanese government has also recently announced plans to build blockchain infrastructure for stocks and government bonds, with the expectation of launching 24/7 on-chain settlement in the early 2030s.

The stablecoin USDC issuer Circle has become the new main shirt sponsor of Premier League club Chelsea, marking the first time a cryptocurrency financial services company's brand appears in the main sponsorship position of a Premier League club. The two parties did not disclose the financial terms, but reports earlier this year indicated that Chelsea set a target price of £65 million (approximately $88.3 million) per year for this sponsorship position.Chelsea will wear the new jerseys featuring the USDC logo for the first time in their home match against Brighton on Sunday. Previously, cryptocurrency exchanges like OKX and Kraken served as sleeve sponsors for Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur, respectively, but the main sponsorship position had never been occupied by a cryptocurrency company before.In June of this year, the UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) warned Premier League clubs that collaborating with unauthorized cryptocurrency companies could violate financial promotion rules. Circle is authorized by the FCA through an electronic money license obtained in 2016, which has facilitated this collaboration.