stablecoin

A report released by the blockchain intelligence company TRM Labs shows that most of the transaction volume on the x402 payment protocol launched by Coinbase does not come from AI agents. The report analyzed 198.9 million settlements processed by known x402 facilitators on Base, Solana, and Polygon since May 2025, involving an amount of approximately $52.7 million.After excluding self-payments and other anomalous fund flows, about $25.62 million was identified as potential commercial transactions, of which only 0.6% to 7.5% by amount came from AI agents. TRM pointed out that ordinary scripts, scheduled tasks, and self-trading can also generate the same on-chain records, so the total transaction volume of the protocol is insufficient to measure agent commerce; their model identifies addresses that repeatedly pay for the same service as scripts, which may underestimate the actual scale of single-use agents. During the reporting period, USDC accounted for 99.6% of the settlement value, approximately $52.47 million.Meanwhile, Binance's Agent OS launched in August has integrated the x402 payment layer, Coinbase's Base supports agents and payment startups through a $1 million accelerator, and Amazon also launched AgentCore Payments in May in collaboration with Coinbase and Stripe. TRM recommends improving the on-chain agent registration mechanism, establishing a verifiable counterparty reputation system for agents, and building a monitoring framework suitable for small, high-frequency payments, stating that "agent commerce requires agent compliance."

According to Cryptoslate, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of Thailand has proposed a new regulation draft for stablecoins, allowing licensed crypto platforms to only permit customers to deposit or withdraw stablecoins from/to their verified accounts or wallets, prohibiting transfers to others' wallets.At the same time, a limit of 5 million Thai Baht (approximately 150,000 USD) per person per platform per day has been set. The proposal is currently in the public consultation stage, with comments due by September 25, and has not yet come into effect.

The head of research at digital asset management company Grayscale, Zach Pandl, stated in an analysis that even if Congress fails to pass the CLARITY Act this year, U.S. crypto regulation can still advance in areas such as stablecoins, token issuance, tokenized securities, and perpetual futures.U.S. President Donald Trump signed the GENIUS Act on July 18, 2025, establishing a regulatory framework for the issuance of payment stablecoins. The act requires issuers to provide sufficient reserves and publicly disclose the composition of reserves monthly, prohibiting misleading claims that tokens are federally insured, backed by the U.S. government, or considered legal tender. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposed Regulation Crypto Assets, which aims to allow eligible projects to raise no more than $5 million over four years, or no more than $75 million every 12 months. Relevant exemptions and investment contract safe harbors are still in the proposal stage, with the public comment submission deadline set for October 20.The recent procedural milestone for the CLARITY Act was the termination debate vote on the motion to advance held on September 15, which requires 60 votes to pass and is not the final vote. Grayscale stated that the act would still help clarify the division of regulatory authority between the SEC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), but its failure to pass would not halt the regulatory measures already in progress.

Jack McDonald, Senior Vice President of Ripple Stablecoin, stated in an interview with CoinDesk that corporate treasuries represent a significant growth opportunity for the RLUSD stablecoin, with Ripple Treasury clients processing approximately $13 trillion in transactions annually. This business is built on Ripple's acquisition of financial management software provider GTreasury for $1 billion last year, providing Ripple with a vast customer pool of around 1,200 corporate treasurers and CFOs who transfer funds across borders, between subsidiaries, and domestically.McDonald pointed out that the circulating supply of RLUSD has increased by over 50% in the past month, reaching $2.4 billion, with about $1 billion on the XRP Ledger and $1.4 billion on Ethereum. However, he emphasized that he values the token's utility and daily activity more than its market capitalization, noting that RLUSD's daily active volume has more than doubled since the beginning of the year, rising from about $200 million last month to approximately $750 million. Payments and capital markets are currently the two main application areas, and Ripple has collaborated with institutions such as Franklin Templeton and DBS in tokenized money market funds and lending.In the European market, Ripple plans to introduce RLUSD locally through a dual issuance structure compliant with the EU MiCA framework and has already obtained regulatory authorization in Luxembourg.

Circle's euro stablecoin EURC compliant with MiCA is now live on the South Korean exchange Upbit, covering KRW, BTC, and other markets, providing Korean users with a more convenient access channel.Circle is the issuer of the US dollar stablecoin USDC, and EURC is its euro stablecoin. Upbit is one of the major cryptocurrency exchanges in South Korea.

According to Bloomberg, citing informed sources, Italy's second-largest bank, UniCredit, is considering expanding its digital asset services, including cryptocurrency custody. Headquartered in Milan, UniCredit is selecting technology providers to build the infrastructure needed to hold digital assets and support their buying and selling.The report states that tokenized investment products, fixed-income securities, the use of stablecoins, and exposure to cryptocurrencies are all under consideration. Meanwhile, other banks in Europe are also expanding their crypto services: Spain's BBVA has launched Bitcoin trading and custody for all customers through its app, and Santander's Openbank has also introduced trading services; Germany's Deutsche Bank is collaborating with Bitpanda's technology department to build a custody business.The EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) provides a legal definition, regulatory bodies, and a familiar obligation framework for banks to launch crypto services. Additionally, UniCredit is one of 37 banks from 15 European countries that are jointly creating a company called Qivalis, aimed at issuing a euro stablecoin. Last year, the bank also offered structured products linked to the BlackRock iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF to professional clients, providing full loss protection.

Anchorage Digital, a federally chartered crypto bank in the United States, has partnered with the stablecoin protocol Frgmnt to provide institutional clients access to fUSD and sfUSD tokens through its custody platform. Institutional clients can hold, mint, redeem, stake, and unstake fUSD without setting up separate custody arrangements.Frgmnt is a stablecoin protocol built on the Base network, issuing fUSD collateralized by USDC, with collateral assets deployed in on-chain lending markets. Users can stake fUSD for sfUSD to earn yields generated by the underlying strategies of the protocol. According to DeFiLlama data, the protocol has approximately $100,000 locked and is currently in a capped invitation-only testing phase, with plans to open public access and increase deposit limits on September 15. As of September 4, the annualized yield for sfUSD is approximately 13.32%.Anchorage Digital Bank is regulated by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and its parent company, Anchorage Digital, reached a valuation of $4.2 billion after receiving a $100 million investment from Tether in February. Previously, Tether had commissioned Anchorage to issue the stablecoin USAt for the U.S. market in January, and Anchorage has also collaborated with Grupo Salinas, Marinade Finance, and others to expand stablecoin payment and staking services.

Grayscale's research director Zach Pandl stated that the U.S. CLARITY Act, aimed at establishing comprehensive rules for the cryptocurrency market, will face a procedural vote in the Senate on September 15, requiring 60 votes in support. With the Republican Party currently holding 53 seats, the advancement of this bill still requires Democratic support, and market predictions indicate a low probability of its passage by 2026.However, Grayscale believes that even if the CLARITY Act fails to pass within the year, progress in U.S. cryptocurrency regulation will not stagnate. Regulatory frameworks in areas such as stablecoins, token issuance, tokenized securities, and perpetual futures have gradually become clearer. Among them, the GENIUS Act has established a federal framework for payment stablecoins, the proposed rules by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission may provide a clearer path for token financing, and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission has also opened regulated channels for perpetual futures through Kalshi and Coinbase.

The Danish central bank, Danmarks Nationalbank, stated that the current usage rate of stablecoins in Denmark is very low and does not pose an immediate threat to domestic financial stability. However, the rapid growth of dollar-pegged stablecoins globally may expose Denmark to indirect financial market volatility and liquidity risks. Currently, there are no stablecoins denominated in Danish kroner in circulation, and the use of stablecoins by consumers and businesses is quite limited.As commercial banks, financial institutions, and payment applications connect to stablecoin infrastructure, the scale of related usage may change. USDT and USDC dominate the global stablecoin market, and turmoil in the overseas stablecoin market could transmit to Denmark through global liquidity channels and the U.S. financial system. Danmarks Nationalbank is collaborating with the European Central Bank (ECB) to ensure that central bank money continues to serve as the primary settlement asset for interbank transactions.

According to BBX data, yesterday and in recent days, major global stock exchanges and cross-border payment giants disclosed the latest business developments in the tokenized stock ecosystem and stablecoin retail settlement, with the core dynamics as follows:Nasdaq Ventures plans to invest $100 million in Kraken's parent company, with stock tokens set to launch in 2027: Cryptocurrency exchange giant Kraken's parent company Payward announced an expansion of its strategic cooperation with Nasdaq. Nasdaq's strategic investment division, Nasdaq Ventures, has reached an agreement with Payward to inject $100 million into it. The two parties will jointly promote the operational system and commercial infrastructure of Nasdaq Equity Tokens (NETs), which are expected to officially hit the market in the second quarter of 2027, and deeply connect Payward's xStocks tokenized equity ecosystem through the established cooperation framework.MoneyGram launches stablecoin debit card, initially supporting USDC for Visa network spending: Global traditional cross-border remittance giant MoneyGram announced the launch of a payment card supported by stablecoins. This card allows users to make purchases directly within the global merchant network that accepts Visa, with the initial market set in Colombia, gradually expanding to other countries and regions over the following months. Users can register through the MoneyGram App and link the electronic card to their mobile wallet for online and offline spending, as well as transfer funds to themselves and redeem local fiat currency cash at global offline locations. Initially, the card will support USDC issued by Circle, with plans to further integrate MoneyGram's proprietary stablecoin MGUSD in the future.

Payment company PayPal, stablecoin infrastructure project M0, and cryptocurrency payment platform MoonPay have launched PYUSDx, enabling businesses to create stablecoin-based products within days. The platform has processed transaction volumes exceeding 100 million dollars, with Saturn, Concrete, and Cap utilizing the related technology to launch products.Luca Prosperi, co-founder and CEO of M0, stated that PYUSDx allows developers to build on the product layer, enabling different businesses to develop various products based on the same technology. USD.AI and Fairblock are also listed as related projects. May Zabaneh, Senior Vice President and General Manager of PayPal's cryptocurrency business, mentioned that the stablecoin market is rapidly maturing. The total market capitalization of stablecoins is approximately 30.525 billion dollars, with USDT accounting for 60.07%; PYUSD has a market cap of about 2.814 billion dollars, ranking eighth. Businesses can issue brand digital dollars backed by PYUSD and set corresponding rules to redeem back to PYUSD when necessary.

According to The Block, Uniswap Labs announced the launch of a new tool, StablePair Hook, designed specifically for stablecoin trading pairs such as USDC/USDT and USDC/USDG.Uniswap Labs stated that StablePair Hook can provide traders with consistent and predictable quotes, allowing liquidity providers to retain more of the value they create. Data shows that in the second quarter, the trading volume of exchanges between stablecoins on Uniswap reached $43.4 billion, surpassing the total of the other three major on-chain trading venues.StablePair Hook replaces fixed rates with dynamic rates, which adjust based on the degree of price deviation from the reference price within the pool. When the price is close to the reference price, the Hook adjusts the transaction fee for each trade to maintain a fixed bid-ask spread; when the price deviates from the reference range, trades that push the price away incur no fees, while trades that pull the price back to the reference price use a Dutch auction mechanism, with fees decreasing block by block from high to low until accepted by the trader. Uniswap Labs stated that this allows liquidity providers to retain more value from price returns.The first batch of StablePair Hook pools will go live on Ethereum, supporting USDC/USDG and USDC/USDT trading pairs. This Hook can be upgraded through Uniswap governance, and the fee system and other parameters can be adjusted without migrating liquidity.

According to The Block, global payment company MoneyGram has launched its first stablecoin Visa card in Colombia, developed with the assistance of stablecoin payment infrastructure company Rain.The card is currently available in digital form, allowing users to hold a USD stablecoin balance within the MoneyGram app and make online and offline payments through the Visa network. Users can also exchange their balance for local cash and withdraw it at MoneyGram locations.Initially, the card supports USDC, and MoneyGram plans to add its own stablecoin MGUSD in the near future. The company also plans to launch a physical card by the end of 2026 and will first expand its business to other markets in Latin America.

Aave founder Stani Kulechov stated that he has submitted comments to the UK HM Revenue and Customs, suggesting improvements to the tax positioning of cryptocurrency collateralized loans and stablecoins.At the same time, he advocates for allowing stablecoins to be included in UK Individual Savings Accounts (ISA) in the future, giving stablecoin lending users the opportunity to enjoy relevant tax benefits.

According to Cointelegraph, cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has partnered with financial platform Moov to provide stablecoin infrastructure for over 1,000 community banks and credit unions within Moov's customer base. The two parties will combine Coinbase's regulated digital asset infrastructure with Moov's payment platform to offer stablecoin payment acceptance, settlement, and real-time funding services.This infrastructure will support use cases such as consumer stablecoin payments, merchant settlements, and payments, and will provide businesses and merchants access to Coinbase's custodial accounts. U.S. community banks typically have total assets of less than $10 billion, including state-chartered institutions and savings and loan holding companies.This collaboration comes as major U.S. banks are experimenting with stablecoin infrastructure. On Wednesday, U.S. Bank, the fifth-largest commercial bank in the U.S., completed a real-time cross-border payment using its proprietary stablecoin USBDC on the Stellar blockchain. Earlier this month, 21 financial institutions, including Bank of America, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank, and UBS, announced plans to form a company to issue stablecoins. Additionally, Western Union also partnered with stablecoin infrastructure provider Rain in August to launch a digital wallet and Visa-branded card.

ARK Invest crypto analyst Lorenzo Valente stated that stablecoins have a significant network effect. Although there are thousands of stablecoins in the market, as the market capitalization threshold increases, the number of tiers is rapidly leveling off. Currently, the stablecoins that are truly worth paying attention to are those with a market capitalization exceeding 10 billion dollars, gradually moving towards the 100 billion and 500 billion dollar levels.Data shows that the number of stablecoins with a market capitalization exceeding 1 billion dollars has only increased from single digits to the current 12 since 2021, while the number of stablecoins with a market capitalization exceeding 10 billion dollars has actually decreased from its peak in 2022, with only Tether and Circle's stablecoins remaining. Valente believes that entering the 10 billion dollar market capitalization club has become very difficult, and in the future, the 100 billion dollar level stablecoins may only have two competitors for a long time, while it may take more than two years for only one to reach the 500 billion dollar level.

U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis stated that the recent lawsuit against Tether for freezing $42.4 million in USDT highlights the regulatory gaps in the current crackdown on illegal financial activities in the cryptocurrency industry. She pointed out that stablecoin issuers and trading platforms may face civil litigation risks if they freeze related assets due to suspicions of illegal activities.Lummis indicated that Section 305 of the "Digital Asset Market Structure Clear Act" would grant stablecoin issuers and trading platforms the necessary authority to promptly freeze stablecoins suspected of being involved in illegal activities while avoiding civil liability as a result.She believes that this provision can help the cryptocurrency industry more effectively prevent the flow of illegal funds and address the legal risks faced by issuers and trading platforms when taking compliance measures.