payment

According to The Block, new data released by Visa shows that nearly 17% of the transaction volume from stablecoin-linked card transactions in the fiscal year 2026 to date comes from corporate and business projects.Visa currently supports over 160 stablecoin-linked card projects, with related payment transaction volume increasing by nearly 200% year-on-year.

The core provisions of the regulatory framework for payment stablecoins in Florida, USA, will take effect on October 1, 2026.According to the state's Bill 2026 Chapter 176, engaging in the business of qualified payment stablecoin issuers in the state generally requires a license or must meet exemption conditions; qualified issuers must maintain at least a 1:1 identifiable reserve, which includes cash, funds in Federal Reserve accounts, qualified bank deposits, U.S. Treasury securities with a remaining maturity of no more than 93 days, and qualified government money market funds, among others. They must also publicly disclose redemption policies, disclose reserve composition monthly, accept monthly audits by certified public accountants, and be certified by the CEO and CFO.If the total issuance of payment stablecoins by state-level issuers reaches $10 billion, unless a federal exemption is obtained, they must transition to the corresponding federal regulatory framework within 360 days or suspend new issuances until the scale falls below the threshold.

From September 29 to October 1, the stablecoin infrastructure platform Interlace made its debut at the 2026 Korea Blockchain Week (KBW), deeply participating in events such as The Next Onchain Economy and HSC Conference Seoul, engaging with global Web3 partners and financial industry practitioners to discuss stablecoin payments and next-generation financial infrastructure.Cat Lucci, the business leader of Interlace, stated that the key to the implementation of stablecoin payments lies in the deep integration of stablecoin channels with bank cards and local clearing systems. Interlace provides efficient and secure capital flow experiences for exchanges, wallets, and B2B trade scenarios through modular capabilities such as cards, accounts, and clearing.During KBW, Interlace also set up a product experience session where attendees could receive Stablecoin Card gift cards to experience the convenient payment of on-chain assets in real-world consumption scenarios, attracting the attention and engagement of many participants.It is reported that Interlace's next stop will be at TOKEN2049 in Singapore, participating in events such as Stablecoin Happy Hour and AI & Emerging Onchain Assets, continuing to share innovative achievements in on-chain financial infrastructure on the core stage of Web3.

U.S. Senator Steve Daines (Republican from Montana, member of the Senate Finance Committee) has officially introduced a 56-page digital asset tax bill, named the "Aligning Digital Assets with Tax Principles Act" (ADAPT Act). The bill aims to establish clearer tax rules for scenarios such as stablecoin payments, network fees, staking, and lending, and plans to extend existing tax rules like wash sales and constructive sales to apply to digital assets.The core provisions of the bill state that taxpayers generally do not need to recognize gains or losses when using compliant U.S. dollar stablecoins to purchase goods and services, while exempting brokers from information reporting obligations for qualifying consumer transactions; however, this exemption does not apply to traders and market makers. The bill also extends wash sale rules and constructive sale rules to digital assets, with compliant stablecoins excluded from the constructive sale provisions to limit loss harvesting behavior in crypto assets.Additionally, the bill proposes to exempt digital assets used to pay for network, transaction, or gas fees of $10 or less from gain or loss recognition and allows qualifying digital asset traders and dealers to choose to account for them at fair market value. The bill also stipulates rules for income sources from staking and mining, a non-recognition framework for digital asset lending, a safe harbor for foreign investors' transactions, and definitions for digital asset classifications; most provisions will apply to tax years or transactions after December 31, 2026. Previously, the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee passed its own "Digital Asset Tax Certainty Act" on September 16 by a vote of 38 to 5.

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong posted on the X platform that Coinbase is building financial accounts for superintelligence, covering services such as trading, payments, and lending.These accounts can help users accumulate wealth and manage personal finances, and can also provide independent accounts for AI Agent teams, allowing them to handle more tasks on behalf of users.

According to official news, WasabiCard has launched various AI subscription cards, catering to the global AI tool subscription and payment needs of enterprises and teams, supporting subscription payment scenarios for mainstream AI applications such as OpenAI and Claude. Through card-based payment solutions, companies can handle the procurement and expense management of AI services for different teams, projects, or business lines more flexibly.In addition to AI subscription payments, WasabiCard also supports bulk card issuance for enterprises, fund budget management, and multi-currency account setup, as well as various scenarios such as advertising, business travel, payroll, and e-commerce subscriptions. It helps companies configure payment permissions and budget limits by department, employee, or specific purpose, enhancing the management efficiency of AI-related expenditures and the transparency of fund usage.As AI tools gradually enter daily workflows in research and development, content production, customer service, and operations, cross-border subscription payments and expense management are becoming important infrastructure for global operations of enterprises. It is important to note that currently, WasabiCard-related products are not open for application to enterprises and individual users in mainland China.

Recently, the police in Baotou, Inner Mongolia, China, investigated a virtual currency money laundering case. The criminal gang used "free credit card repayment" as bait to attract ordinary users to provide accounts. They received illicit funds from overseas gambling and fraud through false consumption, then contacted currency dealers to exchange for virtual currency and transferred it to designated addresses abroad. Through financial and on-chain data analysis, the police identified nearly a thousand involved accounts, with suspects distributed across Inner Mongolia, Shandong, Jiangsu, Hebei, Chongqing, and other regions.The Digital Currency Research Institute of the People's Bank of China stated that it is currently using large model technology to analyze the flow of funds in virtual currency transactions, restore the gang's trading patterns, and uncover clues related to illegal industries. Upon investigation, it was confirmed that seven members of the gang were illegally engaged in payment settlement business without approval from relevant national authorities, constituting the crime of illegal operation, and were sentenced to imprisonment ranging from one year and two months to two years and six months, along with fines.Using virtual currency for money laundering is a new type of money laundering crime that has emerged in recent years. Lv Wei, the president of the Inner Mongolia branch of the People's Bank of China, stated that enhancing the monitoring and identification capabilities for abnormal fund transactions related to virtual currency trading has helped successfully crack down on a major money laundering case involving virtual currency pyramid schemes, dismantling more than ten money laundering and points-running dens, and confiscating illegal gains of approximately 130 million yuan. In recent years, there have been coordinated efforts to promote the conviction and sentencing of four cases involving money laundering using virtual currency, forming a strong deterrent against illegal activities such as money laundering with virtual currency.

Cryptocurrency payment company MoonPay announced the establishment of MoonPay Korea and is collaborating with South Korea's digital bank KakaoBank, commercial bank Woori Bank, and KB Financial Group to expand stablecoin payments and digital asset services in South Korea. MoonPay Korea will be responsible for local service development and will serve as the company's base for expansion in Asia. MoonPay's Asia-Pacific head Bugeon Lee stated that the stablecoin backed by the Korean won is expected to expand the coverage of South Korean financial institutions and provide new cross-border transaction methods for businesses, as the company hopes to build relevant infrastructure in South Korea with banking partners.The collaboration with KakaoBank focuses on blockchain-based overseas remittances, cross-border payments, and multi-currency stablecoin services. The two parties plan to initially conduct a proof of concept aimed at international students, testing the complete process of initiating transfers from South Korea, transferring via stablecoin, and converting to US dollars for deposit into a US bank account. The collaboration also covers the issuance and distribution of won-pegged stablecoins, payment settlements, as well as trading, custody, and conversion of stablecoins denominated in won, US dollars, yen, and others, with access to MoonPay's global distribution and payment network supported by assets and regions.MoonPay will collaborate with Woori Bank to provide global distribution for future won-pegged stablecoins and validate the cross-border payment settlement model for local businesses based on stablecoins. The partnership with KB Financial Group will explore card payments, global remittances, wallet custody, and stablecoin usage for individuals, institutions, and foreigners in South Korea. Founded in 2019, MoonPay claims to serve over 30 million customers in approximately 180 countries and supports more than 1,700 business clients.

Aztec Network developer Aztec Labs has relaunched the self-custody wallet zk.money, which can hide payment amounts, balances, and recipient information through the Aztec Network, and supports transfers via readable names or links. Users can deposit DAI, USDC, or USDT from Ethereum, where USDC and USDT will be converted to DAI.Deposit records can still be publicly tracked, while subsequent transaction activities remain private. The early Alpha version stipulates that single deposits, payments, and withdrawals are all below $2,500 and screens addresses according to sanction policies. The software has not yet completed a comprehensive audit and carries security risks.

According to Cointelegraph, the European Central Bank (ECB) has announced the launch of a new round of applications for the digital euro innovation platform, inviting fintech companies, payment institutions, and other organizations to explore AI agents participating in digital euro payments.The project will be divided into two parts: practical testing and future application seminars. The practical testing will take place from January to June 2027, where participants will develop prototypes for electronic receipts, multi-party transactions, conditional payments, and more.The seminars will explore AI payments, micropayments, machine-to-machine transactions, and the application of the digital euro in public services. In addition, the ECB has selected 36 banks and payment institutions, including Revolut, Stripe, and Deutsche Bank, to participate in another 12-month digital euro pilot, which is scheduled to launch in the second half of 2027. The final issuance of the digital euro still requires EU legislation and subsequent decisions from the ECB.

The fee-sharing platform Paid announced that its web application portal is now online. Users can claim eligible new fees, and the related assets will be distributed according to the quoted assets corresponding to the fees, which are mostly SOL.Paid stated that other claiming methods will be introduced later, including through private messages or tagging the official account in posts. X Money payments are still suspended, and the recovery time will be notified separately; users' historical balances will be retained independently, and the team is developing a separate claiming plan for this portion of the balance, hoping to restore X Money payments in the future.

Circle has partnered with payment technology company Volante Technologies to integrate USDC-related workflows into Volante's existing payment platform. Financial institutions can incorporate stablecoin payments and settlements into their existing systems without having to build a separate digital asset technology stack.Volante's clients include four of the top five corporate banks globally and seven of the top ten banks in the United States. These institutions will be able to evaluate processes such as USDC minting, redemption, wallet registration, fund injection, and inter-wallet payments, and use them in parallel with existing payment rails.

According to Bitcoin Magazine, Bitcoin software provider Breez announced that applications built on its Breez SDK now support users receiving stablecoin payments from over 30 networks using their Bitcoin balance.Breez stated that after the recipient selects the network and amount of the payer, the SDK generates a deposit address and displays the amount received, while the payer pays from their wallet as usual; Flashnet completes the exchange in the background, and the funds ultimately enter the recipient's non-custodial wallet in the form of Bitcoin, or in the form of USD if the stable balance feature is used.In June of this year, Breez launched the ability to send USDT/USDC, allowing a single Breez-powered balance to transfer stablecoins bi-directionally across almost all networks. This update is the latest in a series of usability upgrades, following the rollout of features such as Passkey login, Cash App instant account opening, and stable balance. Breez also launched a reference application called Glow in August to showcase the capabilities of the SDK.The Breez SDK is a developer toolkit that allows applications to add Bitcoin payments without having to build their own payment infrastructure, covering wallet creation, sending and receiving, and Lightning Network payments. Developers can provide Bitcoin functionality with minimal code, without needing to run nodes or manage liquidity.In July of this year, Breez announced a partnership with Turnkey, allowing developers to add non-custodial Bitcoin support to wallet applications running on their own servers.

A survey by the Democratic Party of the U.S. Senate claims that the stablecoin USDT issued by Tether has become a major payment method for Iran. The survey shows that among over 800 sanctioned cryptocurrency wallets, about 84% primarily or exclusively use USDT.The U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations had previously stated that its review of blockchain records, sanctions lists, and asset seizure notices found that the sanctioned wallets are mainly distributed across the Tron and Ethereum networks and have conducted USDT transactions.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Citigroup has reached a partnership with Coinbase, allowing Citigroup's institutional clients (including large multinational corporations) to accept customer stablecoin payments through Citigroup's merchant acquiring services. Coinbase will provide the stablecoin payment channel and underlying blockchain technology, automatically converting stablecoins into fiat currency, with Citigroup acting as the custodian bank to complete the funds settlement.At the same time, Coinbase's payment clients can leverage Citigroup's banking capabilities to receive, hold, and make payments using tools similar to bank accounts. The cash received will automatically be converted into stablecoins and stored in Coinbase, currently earning an annualized reward of 3.75% in interest-like benefits.

According to CoinDesk, the stablecoin payment company RedotPay, headquartered in Hong Kong, announced on Monday that it has completed financial audits and compliance reviews for anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing, both of which were conducted by one of the Big Four accounting firms. This move is a necessary preparatory step for applying for an initial public offering (IPO) in the United States.

UsePaid posted on X that X Money payments have currently been suspended, and the team is addressing the payment issues. Existing balances remain secure, and related fees will continue to accumulate.UsePaid stated that before restoring full payment services, a web portal will be launched as a temporary fund application channel, and they are committed to resuming payment operations as soon as possible.

Payment company Block announced the integration of the Bitcoin Lightning Network into the x402 payment standard. The x402 protocol can complete verification and unlock data through Lightning Network invoices and payment preimages after the server returns an HTTP 402 payment request.Steve Lee, head of Block's open-source Bitcoin development department Spiral, stated that this integration is aimed at instant, low-cost micropayment scenarios. Block has not yet disclosed the timeline for integrating this standard into Cash App, Square, or Bitkey, and the related Python implementation still needs to be tested through real nodes.