stablecoin

According to Bits.media, the final version of the Russian government's cryptocurrency regulation bill includes new restrictions, proposing to prohibit non-professional investors from purchasing foreign stablecoins, a group that encompasses the vast majority of residents in the country. The bill introduces two new concepts: "foreign digital tools" and "non-deliverable foreign digital tools," with collateral-backed stablecoins categorized under the latter.Qualified investors can purchase foreign digital tools, while non-qualified investors can only buy specific assets from a special list provided by the central bank. At the end of June, the Central Bank of Russia proposed a draft regulatory framework for stablecoins, requiring all transactions to be conducted under national control and completed through exchanges or legal exchange points. Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina previously expressed a "cautious attitude" towards foreign stablecoins, as their issuers can freeze assets in users' wallets.

Cryptocurrency payment company BitPay announced that it has obtained approval from the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets to acquire a cryptocurrency asset service provider license, allowing it to operate in EU member states under the regulatory framework for cryptocurrency markets. BitPay stated that this license will support the company's expansion of cryptocurrency payment and stablecoin payment services in Europe.According to relevant requirements, starting from July 1, all entities providing cryptocurrency-related services must be regulated. BitPay's European head, Jonathan Arler, stated that Europe is one of the most important regions for the future development of payments. Previously, Ripple announced that it had obtained a cryptocurrency asset service provider license issued by the Luxembourg financial regulator.

The FATF released a report stating that criminals are increasingly using stablecoins for illegal financial activities, calling on countries to accelerate the implementation of cryptocurrency anti-money laundering standards.

According to Fortune, global payment giant Visa is accelerating its layout of stablecoin infrastructure by launching the Visa Stablecoin Platform, which helps banks and fintech companies integrate stablecoin payment capabilities into existing payment and fund management systems.It is reported that the platform aims to provide stablecoin service support for approximately 15,000 financial institutions and over 200 million merchants globally, allowing businesses to use USD stablecoins for settlement, fund circulation, and financial management within traditional payment networks.Visa currently processes about $150 trillion in payment transactions annually and has handled stablecoin settlement business worth billions of dollars. The company hopes to further expand the application of stablecoins through the new platform. The Visa Stablecoin Platform will initially support the new stablecoin OUSD launched by the Open Standard Alliance, while continuing to be compatible with existing stablecoins supported by Visa, including USDC issued by Circle and USDG issued by Paxos.Visa believes that stablecoins are becoming an important component of future financial infrastructure, with advantages including: instant settlement, transactions that do not rely on traditional bank clearing cycles; low-cost transfers, reducing payment costs based on blockchain networks; and transparency and traceability, with on-chain transaction records providing higher verifiability. Visa has been continuously laying out its strategy in the stablecoin field. In 2020, Visa became the first global payment network to support USDC settlements; in 2025, the company launched a stablecoin settlement program to further promote stablecoins into the mainstream payment system.Meanwhile, Visa's competitors are also accelerating their entry into the stablecoin market. Mastercard recently launched a stablecoin settlement solution and collaborated with companies such as MoonPay and Paxos; American Express is also participating in the ecosystem development related to Open Standard. As traditional payment giants increasingly adopt stablecoins, stablecoins are gradually transforming from payment tools in the crypto industry to an important component of global financial infrastructure.

According to CoinDesk, Galaxy Digital has launched an institutional-grade vault curation business, Galaxy Curator, on the decentralized lending protocol Morpho, and opened it to institutional clients through Fireblocks Earn. The product is designed to allow institutions to allocate idle stablecoins to selected on-chain yield strategies without the need to build and manage DeFi infrastructure themselves.Galaxy stated that the initial products include two types of strategies: one focuses on capital preservation, allocating only to markets supported by high-quality collateral; the other, while taking on higher risks, allocates to liquid staking re-staked tokens, Pendle principal tokens, and Ethena products to achieve higher yields. The company noted that the related vaults adhere to the collateral standards, risk exposure limits, and market monitoring framework used in its institutional lending and trading business.

CoinGecko officially released the "Q2 2026 Cryptocurrency Industry Report." The report shows that the global cryptocurrency market has declined for the third consecutive quarter, with the total cryptocurrency market capitalization dropping 12.6% (approximately $304.8 billion) in Q2, falling to $2.1 trillion, the lowest level since September 2024. During this period, major assets Bitcoin and Ethereum fell 14.2% and 25.4% respectively, underperforming the US stock market, while Hyperliquid (HYPE) managed to break into the top ten by market capitalization against the trend.In terms of capital flow and trading platform performance, the total market capitalization of stablecoins decreased by 1.6% to $30.51 billion, marking the first contraction since Q3 2023, with USDT's market share slightly rising to 60%. The spot trading volume of centralized exchanges (CEX) plummeted by 27.9% to $1.95 trillion in Q2, with Binance maintaining its dominance at 38.7% market share; in contrast, perpetual contract (Perps) trading showed stronger resilience, only declining 10.0% to $12.7 trillion.Compared to the overall market's weakness, specific niche segments experienced explosive growth in Q2. Driven by major sporting events, the trading volume of prediction markets significantly increased by 48.7%, reaching $113.8 billion, with Kalshi expanding its lead over Polymarket with a 58.9% quarterly market share. Additionally, in the tokenized collectibles sector, Collector Crypt performed impressively, capturing 62.8% of the trading volume share in June, surpassing Courtyard to become the absolute leader in this field.

The global stablecoin payment infrastructure platform WasabiCard, in collaboration with WIDTH, held the CCO Leadership Edition compliance high-end exchange event in Hong Kong. WasabiCard CMO Jack Derong gathered with executives and experts from the fields of digital assets, payments, fintech, and regulatory compliance in Hong Kong to engage in in-depth discussions on topics such as the evolution of global regulations, the development of stablecoin payments, and corporate compliance practices.As Hong Kong's Web3 ecosystem continues to develop and the digital asset regulatory framework becomes increasingly refined, stablecoin payments are ushering in new development opportunities. With the continuous improvement of compliance requirements surrounding the HKMA stablecoin licensing system, Travel Rule, AML, KYT, and others, companies are increasingly focused on how to build payment infrastructure that combines global payment capabilities, risk management capabilities, and compliance capabilities to achieve the scalable implementation of stablecoin payments.WasabiCard believes that the future competition in stablecoin payments will hinge on whether companies possess the infrastructure capabilities to cover global compliance, risk management, and cross-border payment networks, rather than just payment efficiency.In the future, WasabiCard will continue to enhance global payment infrastructure based on the highest standards of compliance systems and risk management capabilities, helping clients confidently respond to the evolving global regulatory requirements and expand their international business more securely.

According to official data from Bitget, the platform-level yield product Cash Plus has been online for 5 days, and the assets under management (AUM) have exceeded 50 million USD.Cash Plus provides users with a brand new stablecoin savings service, balancing yield, liquidity, and capital efficiency, allowing users to enjoy daily compound interest during the holding period. The first phase supports USDT / USDC, allowing for 1:1 redemption at any time, with funds credited in real-time and zero fees with no wear and tear. The initial annualized yield rate referenced at the product launch is 4% APR, and the actual yield will be dynamically adjusted based on market conditions.

The Governor of the Bank of Tanzania, Emmanuel Tutuba, stated that the bank is completing the formulation of regulatory laws and regulations for digital assets, covering virtual assets, cryptocurrencies, and stablecoins, to enhance regulation and supervision.Emmanuel Tutuba mentioned that many young people are investing in related fields, and the central bank has received complaints from individuals who have incurred losses in cryptocurrency-related transactions. The relevant rules will be used to protect Tanzanian investors. He stated that the new regulations will also address the risks of money laundering, terrorist financing, and other illegal activities related to virtual assets, ensuring that entities involved in related activities operate according to the guidelines that will be released soon.

According to BBX data, the integration of traditional financial infrastructure and cryptocurrency settlement layers accelerated simultaneously in two distinctly different tracks yesterday, with the following core dynamics:PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: $PYPL) reported by CoinDesk today as the headline news, the world's largest independent payment technology company Stripe (privately held) has teamed up with private equity firm Advent International to propose an acquisition offer of approximately $53 billion to PayPal; PayPal is currently reluctant to engage actively, but the offer has sparked widespread discussion on Wall Street about the "largest payment merger in the world." Stripe acquired the stablecoin infrastructure company Bridge.xyz for $1.1 billion in 2024 (which has served cross-border stablecoin settlements for institutions such as Visa and Coinbase), while PayPal has its own stablecoin PYUSD (with a circulation size of about $700 million) and independent cryptocurrency trading capabilities, covering over 400 million active accounts. If the acquisition is completed, the combination of Stripe + PayPal will control the largest single payment network globally, while integrating Stripe's stablecoin settlement (Bridge.xyz) with PayPal's native stablecoin (PYUSD)------the combination will create the largest-scale "traditional payment + stablecoin" dual-track infrastructure to date, directly threatening Visa and Mastercard's positions in cross-border settlement scenarios and posing competitive pressure on Circle's USDC in retail payments.HSBC Holdings plc (NYSE: $HSBC) reported by CoinDesk today, the UK government plans to issue the world's first digital sovereign bond for G7 countries, with the issuance scheduled for early 2027; this bond will be issued and circulated on HSBC's blockchain bond platform Orion, operating within the Digital Securities Sandbox framework of the Bank of England (BoE) and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), aimed at testing the feasibility of reducing settlement time (transitioning from T+2 to T+0) and lowering back-office costs. HSBC Orion has completed multiple batches of tokenized gold, green bonds, and Hong Kong government bonds on-chain issuance from 2023 to 2025, and this UK sovereign bond is the first instance of G7 countries introducing blockchain settlement at the sovereign debt issuance level------this milestone will elevate the compliance of tokenized government bonds from "emerging market experiment" to "highest sovereign endorsement," signaling significant implications for institutional adoption of tokenized government bond products like BlackRock BUIDL and Securitize.

The Linux Foundation, in collaboration with Visa, Mastercard, and 40 other institutions, has launched the x402 payment standard. In the past 30 days, approximately 75 million stablecoin transactions have been processed, totaling 24 million USD.

Binance is transforming from a cryptocurrency exchange into a payment-oriented super app, with stablecoins becoming its new growth engine and emerging market users as the core driving force.

Kraken Institutional announced a partnership with the on-chain yield platform Upshift, allowing qualified institutional clients to earn yields directly on idle Bitcoin, Ethereum, stablecoins, and other crypto assets within Kraken's compliant custody framework.Unlike traditional pooled vaults, Upshift will build a dedicated customized vault for each client, tailored entirely to the client's investment strategy, risk parameters, liquidity needs, and asset portfolio. Assets will be allocated to these non-custodial vaults and subsequently deployed to selected on-chain contracts, with the client's isolated Kraken custody account receiving a receipt token.

Digital asset management company CoinShares stated that Open USD directly challenges Circle by generating revenue from the distribution of stablecoin reserves to partners, undermining the distribution economic model of USDC.Open USD consists of over 140 companies, including BlackRock, Coinbase, Mastercard, Stripe, and Visa. The stablecoin is expected to launch in the second half of 2026. CoinShares noted that despite the competitive pressure posed by Open USD, the existing liquidity and integration foundation of USDC may be difficult for new entrants to replicate.

ADI Chain announced the completion of a $50 million financing round, with participation from IHC.The main business of this project is stablecoin settlement and financial infrastructure development, with ecological cooperation covering compliant stablecoins, tokenized securities, institutional payments, Chainlink, ZKsync, and mainstream cryptocurrency wallets.

According to The Block, the Linux Foundation has officially established the x402 Foundation, governed by a structure of 40 member companies, with Coinbase having completed its contribution to the protocol. Founding members include Ripple, Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Stripe, Adyen, Fiserv, Shopify, Google, AWS, Cloudflare, as well as Circle, MoonPay, the Solana Foundation, and the Stellar Foundation.The protocol allows servers to respond to requests with a 402 response and pricing, while clients sign stablecoin transfers (usually USDC) and resend requests for data, without the need for accounts, credit cards, or prior relationships between the parties, making it inherently adaptable for AI agent applications. Previously in April, it was reported that the neutral internet payment protocol x402, incubated by Coinbase, would migrate under the Linux Foundation and operate in the form of an independent foundation called the "x402 Foundation."

According to The Block, the United States and the United Kingdom are deepening their cooperation on digital assets, releasing a joint statement from the Transatlantic Future Markets Working Group, stating that regulated stablecoins have the potential to enhance the efficiency and competitiveness of the financial system. This working group was established last year to deepen cooperation between the two countries and reduce market fragmentation.The joint statement calls for the Bank of England, the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), and the US CFTC and SEC to develop a framework for the treatment of tokenized assets, and instructs the FCA and SEC to "explore options to facilitate cross-border financing." The statement also proposes support for competition and innovation in assets such as stablecoins and tokenized deposits, emphasizing standards for custody, reserve isolation, and consumer protection, and providing clear priority legal claims for stablecoin holders in the event of bankruptcy. This statement comes on the one-year anniversary of the passage of the US GENIUS Act, with Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh stating at a House Financial Services Committee hearing that "relevant rules are being introduced just ahead of the July 18 deadline."

Interactive Brokers announced on Tuesday the expansion of its digital asset business, adding trading tokens such as Aave, Aptos, Canton, Lido DAO, Monad, NEAR Protocol, Plasma, Pax Gold, and Uniswap, and supporting 24/7 stablecoin wallet transfers via USDC, PYUSD, and RLUSD.As of mid-2026, Interactive Brokers manages approximately $930.3 billion in client assets, with cryptocurrency trading commissions starting at 0.12% to 0.18% of the total transaction amount, with a minimum order fee of $1.75, and no additional spreads, markups, or custody fees. The company stated that accounts in the UK and Ireland cannot use stablecoin two-way deposits, and clients of the Irish affiliate cannot access the newly launched crypto assets.

According to Cryptonomist, banking groups such as the American Bankers Association and the Independent Community Bankers of America are urging the Senate to further tighten the provisions related to stablecoin yields in the CLARITY Act. Previously, the Senate Banking Committee passed the bill on May 14, 2026, with a vote of 15 to 9, incorporating some amendments pushed by Senators Thom Tillis and Angela Alsobrooks. However, the banking sector believes that the existing text still does not completely close the incentive space for "class yields" related to stablecoins.The Independent Community Bankers of America previously estimated that if the bill does not further strengthen yield restrictions, stablecoins could lead to a loss of approximately $1.3 trillion in deposits from the banking system and reduce the lending capacity of community banks by about $850 billion, thereby affecting credit access for small businesses, agriculture, and families in underdeveloped areas.