Global payments are undergoing a transformation, and stablecoins are at the heart of this revolution. They are not only reshaping cross-border transactions, but also redefining the future of payments.

Quick Points

• PayPal’s USD stablecoin PYUSD has expanded to 9 new blockchains via the LayerZero interoperability protocol, going beyond its natively issued Ethereum, Solana, Arbitrum, and Stellar chains;

• LayerZero integrated PYUSD, issued by Paxos, into its Hydra Stargate system, creating a permissionless version called PYUSD0 that is 1:1 fungible with the underlying stablecoin;

• The expansion makes PYUSD usable on Abstract, Aptos, Avalanche, Ink, Sei, Stable, and Tron, while Existing community issuances on Berachain and Flow will be automatically converted.

Why It Matters

• PayPal launched PYUSD in 2023, becoming one of the first stablecoins backed by a major payments company. Expanded by LayerZero, the token aims to more rapidly enter new markets and provide a USD-pegged stablecoin within the cryptoeconomy. Since its launch, PYUSD supply has grown to $1.3 billion, a significant expansion that demonstrates PayPal's commitment to strengthening its presence within the broader blockchain ecosystem.

Market Adoption

International remittance company MoneyGram’s new app uses stablecoins as core payment infrastructure

Quick Summary

• MoneyGram’s new app is online, using Circle’s USDC stablecoin, Stellar blockchain and Crossmint wallet technology as digital payment infrastructure, allowing users to receive and store US dollar stablecoins;

• The first market to go online is Colombia, which is a major remittance recipient country, with overseas remittances received by households accounting for 22% of the funds sent out. times, and the Colombian peso has depreciated by more than 40% in the past four years;

• As the world's leading international remittance company, MoneyGram has approximately 150 million customers and covers more than 400,000 physical locations in more than 200 countries and regions. It is also the largest cash in and out channel for cryptocurrencies.

Why it’s important

• MoneyGram CEO Anthony Soohoo compared stablecoins to revolutionary applications such as spreadsheets in the personal computer era and browsers in the internet era. He believes that after the passage of the US “GENIUS Act” and the clearer regulatory framework, stablecoins will become the killer application of the crypto industry, providing a foundation for real-time settlement and stable asset storage

American Express launches blockchain “Travel Stamp”, a digital souvenir that records travel experiences

Quick Overview

• American Express launches Ethereum-based “Travel Stamp” American Express now offers a range of travel stamps, which are digital souvenirs that are essentially ERC-721 tokens minted and stored on Coinbase's Base network.

• These travel stamps are technically NFTs, but are currently not tradable and have no economic value. Customers can collect them when they use their American Express cards. Although it is not positioned as a blockchain loyalty program, it has reward and collection attributes.

• American Express has provided Wallet-as-a-Service support for this product. The new travel app also includes travel tools and Centurion lounge upgrade features.

Why it’s important

• This is a typical case of traditional financial institutions exploring non-financial applications of blockchain technology. Colin Marlowe, vice president of American Express Digital Labs, said the purpose of the project is not to generate short-term revenue, but to enrich the American Express travel experience and make it unique, while laying the foundation for possible future loyalty programs and partnerships.

Capital Layout

Standard Chartered Bank’s venture capital arm plans to launch a $250 million digital asset fund

Quick Points

• Standard Chartered Bank’s venture capital arm SC Ventures plans to raise $250 million to establish a fund focusing on digital asset investments in the financial services industry, expected to launch in 2026;

• The fund will be supported by Middle Eastern investors and aims to invest globally. SC Ventures partner Gautam Jain said in Saudi Arabia Money 20/20 It was revealed at the event that SC Ventures also plans to establish a $100 million African investment fund and its first venture debt fund, but it is unclear whether these two funds will focus on digital assets. Why it matters: This move reflects the continued growth of institutional interest in digital assets. Projects such as JPMorgan's Kinexys and the tokenized money market fund jointly launched by Goldman Sachs and BNY Mellon demonstrate that mainstream banks are expanding their crypto services, while the participation of Middle Eastern investors highlights the region's emerging status as a hub for crypto and blockchain.

MoonPay acquires payment startup Meso to expand its crypto payment business

Quick Summary

• Crypto fintech company MoonPay acquired payment startup Meso to further expand its crypto payment network, but did not disclose the specific acquisition amount and transaction completion time;

• Meso co-founders Ali Aghareza and Ben Mills (from PayPal and Venmo respectively) will join MoonPay as Chief Technology Officer and Senior Vice President of Products;

• This is MoonPay’s second payment industry acquisition this year, following its acquisition in January. MoonPay acquired Helio, a Solana-based crypto payment processor, for $175 million.

Why It Matters

• MoonPay is strengthening its position as an infrastructure provider for the crypto and Web3 industries through strategic M&A, similar to the Stripe model in the traditional payments sector. This acquisition demonstrates the company's active integration of payment talent and technology to build the world's largest crypto payment network, meeting the needs of institutions and individuals for seamless crypto transactions.

Regulatory compliance

Quantexa launches platform to help small banks meet stablecoin compliance challenges

Quick Points

• Data and analytics software company Quantexa on Wednesday launched an anti-money laundering (AML) solution based on the Microsoft cloud computing platform, designed for small, medium and community banks in the United States;

• The product is called Cloud AML is designed to help financial crime investigation teams make faster decisions with less overhead while maintaining accuracy and reducing false positives. This addresses the problem of all banks facing the same compliance standards but varying resources. Chris Bagnall, Head of Financial Crime Solutions for North America at Quantexa, noted that banks may see the flow of funds between clients and cryptocurrency exchanges, but may be blind to sources outside of the exchanges. Why It Matters: The product's launch coincides with the passage of stablecoin legislation in the United States this summer, which is expected to unleash new competitors including Bank of America and Citigroup. As stablecoins grow in popularity, most banks are focusing more on monitoring inflows and outflows to combat financial crime. Quantexa’s survey shows that 36% of AML professionals believe digital assets will have the greatest impact on the AML industry over the next five years, suggesting that financial institutions need to take a more comprehensive view of their crypto-related risk exposure as stablecoins become more prevalent in everyday payments.

Tether launches U.S. regulated stablecoin USAT, with former Trump administration official as CEO

Quick Summary

• Tether announced that Bo Hines, former executive director of the White House Crypto Council, will serve as CEO of its newly established U.S. department, responsible for launching the new U.S. regulated stablecoin USAT;

• USAT will serve as a complementary product to USDT (market capitalization of approximately US$169 billion), issued by crypto infrastructure company Anchorage Digital, with the participation of Cantor Fitzgerald, and scheduled to be launched before the end of 2025;

Why It Matters

• This move marks a strategic entry into the U.S. regulated market for Tether, the world's largest stablecoin issuer, strengthening its political ties and compliance standing by appointing former senior Trump administration officials. As the world's 18th-largest holder of U.S. Treasury bonds, Tether generated $13 billion in profits in 2024. The launch of this regulated stablecoin will further expand its dominance in the global stablecoin market.

South Korea's first won-pegged stablecoin KRW1 is listed on Avalanche

Quick Summary

• South Korea's crypto custody service provider BDACS announced the launch of South Korea's first stablecoin fully backed by the won, KRW1, on the Avalanche network, having successfully completed a technical feasibility proof of concept (PoC);

• Each KRW1 is fully collateralized by won deposited at Woori Bank, one of the largest banks in South Korea, with transparent and verifiable proof of reserves ensured through real-time bank API integration;

Why It Matters

• South Korean President Lee Jae-myung is supporting the development of a local currency-pegged stablecoin market to strengthen monetary sovereignty in the digital financial era, but the Bank of Korea insists that stablecoin issuance should be limited to licensed banking institutions. Amidst the ongoing regulatory uncertainty surrounding stablecoins, BDACS, through collaboration with Woori Bank and global blockchain partners, is strategically positioned as a key player in South Korea's upcoming local stablecoin market.

U.S. Congressman Hill proposed to amend the GENIUS Act to prohibit non-financial companies from issuing stablecoins

Quick Overview of Key Points

• U.S. House Representative French Hill hopes to adjust the just-passed GENIUS Stablecoin Act in the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act (Clarity Act). Senator Cynthia Lummis expressed support for this direction;

• The main proposed amendments include: Strengthening CEO and CFO Senate Banking Committee Republicans have released a draft bill, including legal obligations for financial data disclosure, a detailed ban on non-financial companies from entering the stablecoin business, and ensuring that US investors can maintain hardware or software wallets for legal self-custody of digital assets. Lummis plans to complete the market structure bill by the end of the year, a timeline supported by US Treasury Department advisor Tyler Williams. Why it matters: The GENIUS Act is a landmark achievement for the crypto industry and its allies in Washington, but Hill believes it needs further refinement. Although the House version passed with overwhelming bipartisan support of 308-122, the Senate version faces skepticism from some senators, such as Louisiana's John Kennedy. These amendments will determine the final shape of the US stablecoin regulatory framework.

The Bank of England plans to limit individual stablecoin holdings to 20,000 pounds and corporate limit to 10 million pounds

Quick Points

• According to the Financial Times, the Bank of England plans to set a cap on systemic stablecoin holdings: the individual limit is 10,000-20,000 pounds ($13,600-$27,200) and the corporate limit is about 10 million pounds ($13.6 million).

• Coinbase's vice president of international policy, Tom Duff Gordon, said that placing a cap on stablecoins "would be bad for UK savers, bad for the City of London and bad for the pound," and stressed that other major jurisdictions had not implemented similar restrictions;

• Simon Jennings of the UK Crypto Assets Business Council warned that such restrictions would be almost impossible to enforce without new systems such as digital IDs, while Riccardo Tordera-Ricchi of the Payments Association pointed out that these restrictions were "pointless" because there were no similar caps on cash or bank accounts.

Why it matters

• The Bank of England's proposal would make the UK's regulatory environment stricter than that of the United States and the European Union. Neither the US GENIUS Act, passed in July, nor the EU's MiCA regulation sets limits on individual holdings, focusing instead on licensing, reserve, and redemption standards for issuers. This could lead to a shift of crypto businesses to more regulatory-friendly jurisdictions, weakening the UK's position as a hub for financial innovation.

Australian regulatorsASICRelax rules for stablecoin intermediaries

Quick summary

• The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) announced regulatory relief for stablecoin intermediaries, allowing them to distribute stablecoins from issuers holding AFS licenses without having to apply for additional financial services, markets or clearing facility licenses;

• This is Australia’s first major move to address regulatory uncertainty in the stablecoin market. ASIC The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASGC) has stated that it will consider further expanding the scope of the exemption as more issuers obtain AFS licenses. The exemption requires intermediaries to provide clients with the issuer's product disclosure statement to ensure transparency, while issuers remain responsible for disclosure and prudential obligations. This provision will take effect after the federal regulations are registered. Why it matters This move creates a more favorable regulatory environment for the Australian stablecoin market and bridges the regulatory friction before the Treasury completes the stablecoin regime. Blockchain APAC CEO Steve Vallas said that market success will depend on demand, and the interest of global players in meeting Australia's regulatory requirements will provide development clues for the industry.

Israel demands freeze of $1.5 billion worth of Tether assets suspected of being linked to Iran

Quick Points

• Israel’s National Bureau for Countering Terrorism Financing released a list of 187 USDT addresses, claiming that these addresses received a total of $1.5 billion and were related to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and should be frozen and blacklisted;

• Blockchain analysis company Elliptic said it could not determine whether all addresses were directly related to the Iranian armed forces, and some addresses might be controlled by cryptocurrency services as wallet infrastructure for multiple customer transactions;

• Tether The company has previously cooperated with law enforcement agencies to freeze USDT associated with criminal activity. Iran has long used cryptocurrencies to circumvent sanctions, and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is considered one of the country's largest Bitcoin miners. (Unrelated text follows) This is the latest example of geopolitical conflict extending into the cryptocurrency sector. Following the 12-day war between Israel and Iran in June, the confrontation has escalated. Israel's move demonstrates that law enforcement agencies are stepping up their efforts to track crypto assets that could potentially circumvent sanctions, placing major stablecoins like Tether under stricter regulatory scrutiny.

Macro Trends

BitMEX co-founder Hayes: Global money printing will drive the crypto bull market to 2026

Quick Points

• BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes said in an interview with Kyle Chassé that global money printing under the fiscal policy of the Trump era will drive the cryptocurrency bull market to 2026;

• Hayes believes that Trump’s massive spending plan for his second term has not yet been fully implemented and is expected to be implemented in 2026 More liquidity will be released after mid-year, and investors have underestimated the scale of funds that could flow into the stock and crypto markets. He refuted concerns that Bitcoin had stagnated after hitting a record high of $124,000 in mid-August, noting that Bitcoin is more resilient to currency devaluation than traditional assets. Why It Matters Hayes linked the continuation of the crypto bull market to geopolitical shifts, including the collapse of the unipolar world order. He believes that tensions within Europe (even suggesting a possible French default could destabilize the euro) will accelerate global money printing. He urged investors to remain patient, saying that Bitcoin's true strength comes from compounded excess returns over many years, not short-term speculation.