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On October 16, SBI Holdings and Startale Group announced their participation in Open Standard to explore the interoperability of the dollar-pegged stablecoin OUSD and the yen-denominated trust-based stablecoin JPYSC. The article states that Open Standard will launch in June 2026, and the alliance already includes over 140 global companies, including Visa, Stripe, Mastercard, BlackRock, and Coinbase, with OUSD already publicly launched on-chain. The announcement clarified that this only involves exploring a pilot project and does not represent the launch of new commercial services or the initiation of production environment settlements or trading activities.Yoshitaka Kitao, Representative Director, Chairman, President, and CEO of SBI Holdings, stated that cross-border transactions will become more common, and seamless conversion between yen and dollar stablecoins is crucial. Joining Open Standard and exploring related proof of concepts is an important step. He also mentioned that the SBI Group has been the first in Japan to offer dollar stablecoins USDC and RLUSD. Startale Group CEO Sota Watanabe stated that joining Open Standard reflects both parties' belief that the future of finance is on-chain, borderless, and interoperable, and that the pilot interoperability of JPYSC and OUSD is of significant importance.JPYSC is issued by SBI Shinsei Trust Bank and is positioned as an on-chain yen settlement infrastructure compliant with Japan's Payment Services Act and trust law framework. In July 2026, SBI Global Asset Management, DigiFT, and Startale announced a proof of concept for tokenized securities settlement and distribution payments, considering the future use of JPYSC. Open Standard claims it was established in 2026, with founding partners including Coinbase, Mastercard, Shopify, Stripe, and Visa, and over 200 institutions have signed up to add OUSD to the platform.

Bitcoin News posted on platform X that the White House is exploring acquiring Bitcoin through existing federal government funding to expand the United States' strategic Bitcoin reserves. Patrick Witt, the Executive Director of the President's Advisory Council on Digital Assets, told Lark Davis that purchasing Bitcoin on the open market requires congressional authorization, and the government is currently researching ways to receive or convert existing federal funds into Bitcoin.The plan aims to follow President Trump's executive order to expand the United States' strategic Bitcoin reserves without increasing taxpayer spending.

On October 9, the decentralized stablecoin USDD sponsored and attended the Cointelegraph CONNECT event held in Singapore. USDD's Head of Communication Yvonne Chia will participate in a thematic discussion alongside executives from projects such as ether.fi, Mercuryo, and FinHarbor. This discussion focuses on how stablecoins can truly enter daily consumption scenarios through payment infrastructures like cards and wallets.USDD is a multi-chain decentralized over-collateralized stablecoin, currently issued simultaneously on the TRON network, Ethereum Chain, and BNB Chain. Leveraging its seamless compatibility with major DeFi protocols and multi-chain layout advantages, USDD is committed to building a secure, transparent, and efficient decentralized stablecoin product, while continuously exploring the greater value of stablecoins in the real economy.

The cryptocurrency trading platform Robinhood's Robinhood Crypto posted on X that it is exploring the launch of a stock token linked to an actively managed ETF on the Robinhood Chain, in partnership with T. Rowe Price Digital Assets.Robinhood Crypto stated that T. Rowe Price is one of the largest asset management companies in the world, managing $1.9 trillion in assets. If this exploration is successful, the related product will become the first stock token of its kind. The company also mentioned that institutions are entering, and its underlying channel is ready.

According to a report by OpenMarkets under CME Group, Vietnam signed Decision No. 1413/QD-TTg in July 2026, proposing to explore an independent regulatory framework for digital assets as part of the modernization of the financial system and reforms to integrate with global markets.Vietnam is also advancing the construction of international financial centers in Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang, developing financial technology and capital markets.

Korean KakaoPay's securities and tokenization platform Dinari and Ondo Finance have reached separate collaborations to explore the on-chain integration of Korean listed stocks and distribution to overseas market investors. KakaoPay announced these two independent agreements on Tuesday, covering the acquisition of target Korean stocks, tokenization infrastructure, and potential distribution arrangements outside of Korea.The collaboration with Dinari will rely on its dShares model for a proof of concept, which aims to retain shareholder rights, including dividends and voting. Dinari currently offers 724 tokenized U.S. stocks and ETFs through dShares, and this collaboration explores extending that model to stocks of Korean listed companies. Dinari CEO Gabe Otte stated that the proof of concept has not yet selected specific Korean listed companies and has not set a commercialization timeline; the proposed model will use locally listed stocks in Korea as the underlying assets, rather than tokens that only track their prices.The initial focus of the agreement with Ondo is to establish a framework for the acquisition and custody of Korean listed stocks, preparing for subsequent tokenization. KakaoPay will operate a comprehensive account for foreign investors to hold and manage the underlying stocks, and both parties will also study the issuance and redemption mechanisms for tokens. This collaboration comes as Korea advances its token securities regulatory framework: the Korean National Assembly passed an amendment in January this year, recognizing distributed ledgers as legitimate securities registries; the Financial Services Commission included it in capital market reforms in June; and the framework is set to take effect in February 2027.

The Chicago Board Options Exchange (Cboe) and index provider S&P Dow Jones Indices announced that they have extended their exclusive licensing agreement for 25 years, which will keep their long-term collaboration going until 2051.According to the extension agreement, Cboe will continue to hold exclusive trading rights for its flagship S&P 500 Index (SPX) options. Cboe and S&P Dow Jones Industrial Average (S&P DJI) may also collaborate beyond traditional index derivatives to explore innovations, including new products such as tokenized options contracts.

ENS Labs, the developer of the Ethereum Name Service, is exploring with the Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation (GLEIF) how institutions can associate their ENS names with verifiable Legal Entity Identifiers (vLEI), thereby creating a continuous and verifiable identity on the blockchain.ENS is the domain and identity system of the Ethereum ecosystem, allowing users to replace long addresses with human-readable names. GLEIF is responsible for managing the global Legal Entity Identifier (LEI) system, and vLEI is its verifiable version used to confirm the legal entity identity of organizations. The direction of this collaboration is to connect on-chain names with regulated legal identity credentials, but the specific product form and launch time have not been disclosed in public posts.

According to official news, Tether, corporate and institutional bank Pave Bank, and the Singapore non-profit organization GFTN (Global Financial and Technology Network) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on September 24, 2026, to jointly explore the launch of the "Georgia-Singapore FinTech Scholar Program."The program aims to select outstanding STEM undergraduates from Tbilisi State University to study for one semester at Singapore Management University starting in 2027. The content will cover academic courses, industry exchanges, mentorship, and a graduation project focusing on the Georgia-Southeast Asia FinTech corridor. Participants will also have the opportunity for internships with partner organizations and access to GFTN's global knowledge network resources.Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino stated that this collaboration aims to open global opportunities for young talent and help build a more inclusive financial future.

According to PR Newswire, Blockchain.com and the New York Stock Exchange Group (NYSE Group) announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU), planning to provide Blockchain.com’s global users with trading access to tokenized U.S. listed stocks and ETFs through the digital ATS platform previously announced by NYSE, with the implementation still pending regulatory approval.The cooperation includes two-way market data distribution: ICE Data Services, a subsidiary of NYSE, plans to distribute Blockchain.com’s cryptocurrency market data and analysis to its subscription clients; Blockchain.com will integrate data sources from ICE and NYSE to provide real-time stock quotes for over 44 million registered accounts.Citi Institute predicts that the market size of tokenized assets will reach $5.5 trillion in the baseline scenario by 2030. Tokenized stocks offer advantages such as fragmented ownership, round-the-clock trading, access for global investors, and faster on-chain settlement.

Korean fintech company Kakao Pay and internet bank KakaoBank have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with cryptocurrency infrastructure provider Fireblocks to jointly explore digital asset opportunities, including stablecoins. According to the agreement, both parties will conduct proof-of-concept testing for digital asset infrastructure that meets South Korean regulatory, security, and service requirements, aiming to build a secure on-chain infrastructure for the country's emerging digital asset market. The announcement did not disclose specific timelines for launch, investment, or implementation.Kakao Pay primarily focuses on mobile payments and financial services, while KakaoBank is one of the largest internet banks in South Korea, both belonging to the Kakao ecosystem. Fireblocks stated that it provides digital asset infrastructure for over 2,500 institutions, including more than 100 banks. This collaboration follows another partnership between Kakao Group and stablecoin issuer Circle, where the two signed an MoU in July this year to explore blockchain-based payment infrastructure and digital asset technology, and to study opportunities surrounding the Korean won stablecoin and related services.As South Korea gradually improves its digital asset regulatory framework, Kakao Pay and KakaoBank are among many Korean financial and tech companies exploring stablecoin opportunities. In May this year, KB Financial Group completed a pilot for a Korean won stablecoin covering issuance, offline merchant payments, and cross-border remittances; in July, fintech company Toss collaborated with Optimism and Sunnyside Labs to conduct a proof of concept for Korean won-based stablecoin payment infrastructure.

Commissioner Hester M. Peirce of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) made a statement regarding the committee's approval of the "innovation exemption."This exemption is a temporary, conditional arrangement that allows "tokenized securities venues" (TSV) to trade NMS "National Market System" stocks on-chain: TSV provides automated market maker liquidity pools and sets participant admission standards, and is exempt from the definition of "exchange" under the Securities Exchange Act; specific suppliers providing liquidity to TSV are exempt from the definition of "dealer." If issuers do not wish for their stocks to trade on TSV, they can choose to opt-out. The exemption is aimed at U.S. entities, and both existing institutions and new entrants can participate.Peirce emphasized that the committee does not presuppose that parties relying on this exemption necessarily fall under the definitions of "exchange" or "dealer," but rather hopes to first observe who is using it and how it is being used before making regulatory judgments.Peirce clearly delineated the boundaries of this order: it is not about decentralized finance. Systems that are driven by automated software and are truly decentralized do not raise fundamental concerns of securities regulation, namely that intermediaries trusted by investors may be foolish, careless, or compromised; investors using permissionless smart contracts for peer-to-peer transactions do not fundamentally require an exemption. TSV is merely one model of on-chain securities trading, and the committee is open to other models, as on-chain trading models that can comply with existing Securities Exchange Act requirements may not require an exemption at all.

Etherscan announced the launch of the Arc blockchain explorer ArcScan, where users can query data such as transactions, addresses, and blocks on the Arc chain.ArcScan also provides API support, and the Arc network chain ID is 5042.

Fidelity Digital Assets released the Q4 Crypto Market Outlook, noting that at the end of August, Bitcoin and the crypto market surged significantly, with major tokens like BTC and ETH recording their largest monthly gains since the end of 2025. Some investors are focusing on whether a bear market bottom will form in November (based on the 4-year cycle theory), but Fidelity warns that this pattern may not repeat— the bottom may have already occurred in July, or it could reach new lows in November or later.Fidelity pointed out that historically, the end of a bear market is usually accompanied by a low volatility period followed by price expansion. At the end of August, BTC rose over 25% in a single week, while ETH and SOL increased by 34.1% and 28%, respectively. Recent security incidents involving hardware wallets and the stagnation of the CLARITY Act have not suppressed prices, which may further reinforce the judgment that crypto assets are nearing a bottom. The trading volume of stablecoins has reached 2.3 times that of Visa, and the RWA market is expected to grow faster in 2026 than in previous years, with on-chain adoption continuing to increase. The CLARITY Act is still under review in the Senate, and the SEC proposed the Regulation Crypto Assets last week. Fidelity advises investors to maintain a long-term perspective.

According to a report by the Korea Herald, South Korea's Shinhan Financial Group announced that it has signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Visa. The two parties will collaborate on digital assets and future financial services.Shinhan Financial plans to utilize Visa's stablecoin platform to verify core functions such as stablecoin issuance, transfer, and redemption, and to jointly design business models in conjunction with South Korea's local financial regulations and market environment. The two sides will also explore the application of stablecoins in financial services such as credit card bill settlements, promote AI-driven new payment models, and expand B2B and B2C payment businesses.

Tencent Interactive Entertainment Group (IEG) is integrating ARC Lab and the Game AI Engine Department to establish a new AI gaming department (tentatively named ARC Lab), led by Chen Dong, the head of Tencent Games Public Technology. The aim is to explore AI-native games. The department currently has about 100 people, with plans to expand to 400 to 500, and is actively recruiting on a large scale for top multimodal generation teams, covering areas such as audio and video foundational models, video world models, Agents, etc.According to informed sources, the early formation model of the department references the talent and data supply chain paths of Seedance and Keling, focusing on exploring the possibility of directly generating games from video models. Tencent IEG has a cash flow of 130.1 billion yuan in game revenue for the first half of the year and approximately 10,000 H card computing power reserves, as well as exclusive game data that cannot be accessed by the mixed Yuan large model. Currently, Tencent's AI game development is showing a parallel multi-system situation: TEG provides basic capabilities, the IEG middle platform integrates tools, and the four major studios are advancing independently, with no unified standards yet. The specific organizational structure is still being refined, and the final plan will be subject to official announcement.