Stablecoin | Crypto

Leading crypto and fintech companies are competing to capture growing revenue from stablecoin payments by launching their own settlement infrastructure. Stablecoin issuers and fintech-linked firms are launching payment-focused blockchains as they try to control more of the settlement infrastructure behind US digital-dollar transfers. Some stablecoin issuers and fintech-linked companies are building a new wave of blockchain networks designed for institutional payment flows rather than the broader token issuance and smart-contract activity associated with general-purpose layer-1 networks, according to Delphi Digital. These include stablecoin giant Tether-backed Plasma, a public L1 network optimized for cross-border USDt (USDT) transactions, which launched on mainnet on Sept. 25, 2025 after it raised $24 million in February. A month later, stablecoin issuer Circle launched the public testnet for Arc, which it describes as an open L1 blockchain purpose-built for stablecoin finance. Read more

Regulatory uncertainty around stablecoins may disadvantage banks, as crypto firms continue expanding while financial institutions wait for clearer rules. Regulatory uncertainty around stablecoins could place traditional banks at a greater disadvantage than crypto companies, according to Colin Butler, executive vice president of capital markets at Mega Matrix. Butler said financial institutions have already invested heavily in digital asset infrastructure but remain unable to deploy it fully while lawmakers debate how stablecoins should be classified. “Their general counsels are telling their boards that you cannot justify the capital expenditure until you know whether stablecoins will be treated as deposits, securities, or a distinct payment instrument,” he told Cointelegraph. Several major banks have already developed parts of the infrastructure needed to support stablecoins. JPMorgan developed its Onyx blockchain payments network, BNY Mellon launched digital asset custody services, and Citigroup has tested ...

Stablecoin banking startup Kast secured fresh funding as it looks to expand payment infrastructure across North America, Latin America and the Middle East. Stablecoin payments company Kast has raised $80 million in a funding round that values the company at $600 million, according to a Bloomberg report on Monday citing people familiar with the matter. The round was co-led by QED investors and Left Lane Capital, and Kast expects an annual revenue run rate of around $100 million in 2025, according to Bloomberg. The company reportedly plans to use the funding to expand across North America, Latin America and the Middle East, while also adding staff, securing licenses and developing new products. Read more

Messari said weekly stablecoin inflows rose 414% to $1.7 billion as debate over yield-bearing stablecoins continued to stall US crypto market structure talks. Weekly net stablecoin inflows rebounded last week as onchain activity picked up even while US lawmakers and banking groups sparred over whether third parties should be allowed to pay stablecoin yield, according to a new report from Messari. Weekly net stablecoin inflows accelerated to $1.7 billion, a 414.5% increase week-on-week, according to the report published on Wednesday. The recovery also flipped the 30-day average to a positive $162.5 million in daily inflows. Transaction volumes also rose 6.3%, while average transaction size continued to decline, reflecting renewed stablecoin issuance demand and “strengthened” onchain activity amid retail investors, the report said. Read more

Fundraising platform Giving Block said it faciliated more than $100 million in donations of stablecoins to charities in 2025, a surge possibly aided by a change in US laws. The cryptocurrency fundraising platform Giving Block reported that it had seen a surge in donations with stablecoins in 2025 compared with previous years. In its annual report released on Wednesday, the Giving Block said there had been a “major shift” in donations using stablecoins, particularly with Ripple USD (RLUSD) and Circle’s USDC (USDC). The platform reported that it had facilitated more than $100 million in crypto donations in 2025, with more than $32 million coming through USDC, RLUSD, Tether’s USDt (USDT), Dai (DAI), and other stablecoins. “The trend is clear: stablecoins are no longer a side story in Crypto Philanthropy—they’re becoming one of its fastest-growing channels,” said the report. Read more

Tariff shocks led to a capital rotation from crypto into precious metals and tokenized commodities, as analysts warn that the thin crypto market liquidity is limiting a wider recovery. Shrinking crypto market liquidity is a concerning sign for crypto asset valuations, as investors gravitate towards safe-haven assets like precious metals amid growing global trade uncertainty. The stagnating stablecoin supply is presenting a “notable headwind” for Bitcoin (BTC) and the broader crypto ecosystem, according to Matrixport. “Stablecoins serve as the primary liquidity rail within digital assets and stagnation in supply often signals that capital is being off-ramped back into fiat rather than redeployed within crypto markets,” said the digital asset platform in a Tuesday X post.  The stablecoin supply has fallen by $5.6 billion year-to-date, from $159 billion on Jan. 1, to $153.4 billon on Tuesday, according to analytics platform CryptoQuant. Stablecoin reserves on the leading crypto exchange, Binance, also shrank by ...

World Liberty Financial's stablecoin slipped to $0.994 on Feb. 23, a 0.6% deviation that lasted minutes before recovering. For a token backed one-to-one by dollars and government money market funds, with over $5 billion in circulation and the fifth-largest market share among stablecoins, the wobble wasn't supposed to happen. But it did, and the gap […] The post Stablecoin depegs are back — and Binance’s $4.5B USD1 supply chokepoint is setting up the next liquidity shock appeared first on CryptoSlate.

OSL Group has announced a $200M (HK$1.56Bn) equity financing to bolster its balance sheet and pursue acquisitions as it expands stablecoin trading and digital payments. The firm has cited its Banxa acquisition and the launch of OSL BizPay as part of its regulated approach in cross-border settlement. The post Hong Kong-Based OSL Group Launches $200M Equity Raise for Stablecoin and Payments Push appeared first on Cryptonews.

Bitcoin has fallen nearly 30% since a major market crash in October, while gold and silver have soared to new highs. A $2.24 billion drop in total stablecoin market capitalization over the last 10 days could signal capital is leaving the crypto ecosystem and may delay market recovery, according to a crypto analytics platform.  In a post to X on Monday, Santiment said that much of that capital has rotated into traditional safe havens like gold and silver, pushing them to new highs, while Bitcoin (BTC), the broader crypto market and stablecoins have retraced. “A falling stablecoin market cap shows that many investors are cashing out to fiat instead of preparing to buy dips,” Santiment said, adding that rising demand for gold and silver suggests that “investors are choosing safety over risk.” Read more

Proposed restrictions under the US CLARITY Act could drive demand for offshore and synthetic dollar products as investors seek yield outside regulated markets, experts warn. The proposed restrictions on stablecoin yields under the US CLARITY Act risk driving capital out of regulated markets and into offshore, opaque financial structures. Colin Butler, head of markets at Mega Matrix, said banning compliant stablecoins from offering yield would not protect the US financial system, but instead sideline regulated institutions while accelerating capital migration beyond US oversight. “There’s always going to be demand for yield,” Butler told Cointelegraph, adding that if compliant stablecoins can’t offer it, capital will simply move “offshore or into synthetic structures that sit outside the regulatory perimeter.” Read more

Institutional compliance costs and higher Treasury yields are reshaping stablecoin issuance as growth shifts from rapid expansion to balance-sheet discipline. After a period of rapid expansion, the global stablecoin market has largely stalled, signaling a consolidation phase as new regulation, liquidity constraints and higher real-world yields weigh on new issuance, according to Jimmy Xue, co-founder of quantitative yield protocol Axis. In a note shared with Cointelegraph, Xue said that while stablecoin regulation has advanced, tighter frameworks in the United States and Europe have forced institutional issuers to hold higher-quality reserves and absorb rising compliance costs, slowing the pace of net issuance. At the same time, elevated real yields on US Treasurys have increased the opportunity cost of holding stablecoins that offer no direct yield. That dynamic has dampened speculative minting and reinforced stablecoins’ role as infrastructure for payments, settlement and short-duration liquidity, rather th...

With the CLARITY Act scheduled for a markup on Thursday, some lawmakers could still be at odds over decentralized finance, stablecoins and ethical concerns. As US senators prepare to mark up a major crypto market structure bill this week, industry leaders are weighing in on proposed changes that could shape whether stablecoin holders can earn interest and rewards. According to an amended draft of the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act released on Monday, the bill states that “a digital asset service provider may not pay any form of interest or yield [...] solely in connection with the holding of a payment stablecoin,” effectively barring passive, deposit-like returns on stablecoin balances. The draft leaves room for structured reward mechanisms, as stablecoin rewards would not be prohibited under certain circumstances, including “providing liquidity or collateral” or “governance, validation, staking, or other ecosystem participation.” Read more

Crypto venture capitalists have tipped stablecoin card adoption to take off in 2026 after fintech startup Rain secured $250 million in funding to push stablecoin payments. An industry leader said stablecoin-powered cards are shaping up to be one of the biggest crypto themes of 2026, which seek to provide the benefits of blockchain while keeping the payment experience familiar for consumers. “This is one of the big themes of 2026: crypto becomes enmeshed more deeply into how payments flow through the global economy,“ Haseeb Qureshi, a managing partner at crypto-focused venture capital firm Dragonfly, posted to X Friday. “Stablecoin cards are growing like crazy, everywhere in the world,” the VC added after stablecoin startup Rain raised $250 million in a funding round that pushed its valuation to nearly $2 billion. Read more

Venezuela’s worsening economy and a weakening bolívar are driving wider stablecoin adoption, TRM Labs says. The post Stablecoin Use in Venezuela Set to Rise as Bolívar Weakens: TRM Labs appeared first on Cryptonews.

Ripple just secured a major regulatory win in the Middle East, boosting sentiment around its growing stablecoin and putting the XRP price prediction back in the spotlight.On Thursday, the Abu Dhabi Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) officially recognized Ripple USD (RLUSD) as an Accepted Fiat-Referenced Token.This new license allows accredited individuals and entities to use […] The post XRP Price Prediction: UAE Just Approved Ripple’s Stablecoin – Can Arab Wealth Send XRP to $1,000? appeared first on Cryptonews.

The investment from the stablecoin giant coincides with accelerating institutional interest and Wall Street participation in the crypto-backed loans sector. Stablecoin issuer Tether has invested in Ledn, a platform providing consumer loans collateralized by Bitcoin, the company said Tuesday. The funding is targeted toward developing financial infrastructure that allows businesses and individuals to access liquidity and credit against their Bitcoin (BTC) without needing to sell their holdings.  Ledn, founded in 2018, provides users in over 100 countries with custody, risk management and liquidation services. In October, the company reported it had originated $392 million in Bitcoin-backed loans for the third quarter of 2025. Read more

North Dakota debuts first state-backed ‘Roughrider’ stablecoin, planned for a 2026 launch, which will be available to the state's banks and credit unions and will use the FIUSD digital asset platform for transactions. The post North Dakota Debuts First State-Backed ‘Roughrider’ Stablecoin for 2026 Launch appeared first on Cryptonews.

The stablecoin market has surged to a record high, crossing the $300 billion milestone after months of steady expansion in 2025. Data from CoinMarketCap shows that the total supply now stands at $307 billion, cementing stablecoins as one of the fastest-growing segments of the crypto sector. Other data providers confirm the upward trajectory, though with […] The post Stablecoin supply tops $300B: Is crypto finally breaking into banking? appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Stablecoin builders have a narrow window to establish competitive advantages before the GENIUS Act’s full implementation, as critical regulatory details remain undetermined. According to a report by Variant Fund policy lead Salah Ghazzal, early compliance preparation could create lasting market moats while competitors wait for complete regulatory clarity. The legislation establishes clear directional requirements but […] The post Stablecoin builders rush to preempt regulatory challenges with GENIUS Act on horizon appeared first on CryptoSlate.

British crypto holders may soon face a very different landscape as the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) moves to expand its regulatory reach in the industry. A new consultation paper outlines how the watchdog intends to apply its rulebook to crypto firms, shaping everything from asset safeguarding to trading platform operation. According to the financial regulator, […] The post Stablecoin issuers and custodians in UK may be regulated like banks next appeared first on CryptoSlate.