Highlights of this episode

This week's statistics cover the period from April 4, 2026 to April 10, 2026.

This week, the total on-chain market capitalization of RWA rose to $29.06 billion, the market capitalization of stablecoins consolidated at a high level of $300.65 billion, the monthly transaction volume hit a new high of $10.21 trillion, the number of monthly active addresses increased by 15.24%, and retail investor participation accelerated its recovery.

A historic breakthrough has been achieved in regulation: HSBC and Standard Chartered Bank have officially obtained stablecoin licenses in Hong Kong, marking the beginning of the era of compliant stablecoins in Hong Kong; the US FDIC has released guidelines for stablecoin issuance, and the Treasury Department plans to require issuers to assume anti-money laundering and sanctions compliance obligations; South Korea, Dubai, Russia and other places are also simultaneously advancing stablecoin and RWA legislation, and the global regulatory framework is accelerating towards enforceable rules.

At the project level: Six Swiss banks, including UBS, plan to test the digital Swiss franc; Securitize provides common stock tokenization services for Nasdaq-listed Currenc; SBI Ripple Asia completes the development of the XRP Ledger token issuance platform; and Circle launches CPN Managed Payments to expand stablecoin payment services.

In terms of financing, Pharos completed a $44 million Series A funding round to advance its RWA public chain, GSR led a funding round for tokenization platform Libera, and Gobi Partners invested in Transak to expand its compliant payment infrastructure in Asia.

Data Perspective

RWA Track Panorama

According to the latest data disclosed by RWA.xyz, as of April 10, 2026, the total market capitalization of RWA on-chain has risen to $29.06 billion, an increase of 8.84% compared to the same period last month, maintaining growth for several consecutive months and becoming the main engine of its expansion. The total number of asset holders has increased to approximately 718,900, an increase of 5.34% compared to the same period last month, matching the asset growth rate.

Stablecoin Market

The total market capitalization of stablecoins declined to $300.65 billion, a slight decrease of 0.08% compared to the same period last month. The overall size remained at a high level with slight consolidation, and liquidity pools faced marginal pressure. Monthly transaction volume rose significantly to $10.21 trillion, an increase of 9.69% compared to the same period last month, reaching a recent high. The capital turnover efficiency was 33.9 times, improving again.

The total number of monthly active addresses increased to 55.17 million, a significant jump of 15.24% compared to the same period last month; the total number of holders steadily expanded to 243 million, an increase of 3.19% compared to the same period last month. These two factors combined indicate that retail investor participation is recovering rapidly and market settlement demand is clearly rebounding.

The leading stablecoins are USDT, USDC, and USDS. Among them, the market capitalization of USDT increased slightly by 0.25% month-on-month; the market capitalization of USDC decreased by 1.7% month-on-month; and the market capitalization of USDS increased by 2.88% month-on-month.

Regulatory news

Two Hong Kong-licensed stablecoin providers initially plan to issue Hong Kong dollar-denominated stablecoins, with preparations to be completed and the coins to be launched in the coming months.

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has issued the first batch of stablecoin issuer licenses to two institutions under the Stablecoin Ordinance: Anchorpoint Financial Limited (a joint venture between Standard Chartered Hong Kong, Hong Kong Telecom, and Animoca Brands) and HSBC. In the first phase, the two institutions plan to issue Hong Kong dollar-denominated stablecoins, primarily for cross-border payments, local payments, and settlement of tokenized assets, while also exploring scenarios such as programmable payments and supply chain financing. The two licensed institutions are required to implement strict reserve management, price stabilization mechanisms, redemption arrangements, and anti-money laundering risk controls, and will officially launch their products between mid- and second-half of this year after completing technical and operational preparations. The two institutions plan to complete preparations and launch their related businesses in the coming months.

The stablecoin yield game is nearing its end; the Clarity Act enters its crucial countdown.

According to Cryptoinamerica, the core disagreement between the US crypto and banking sectors regarding stablecoin yield mechanisms may be nearing a resolution. Multiple sources familiar with the matter revealed that the two sides have begun a new round of communication regarding a latest compromise, and while details have not yet been disclosed, the overall outlook is optimistic.

The current point of contention lies in how to provide stablecoin holders with yield or reward mechanisms without triggering an outflow of bank deposits. A previous draft bill pushed by senators had sparked discontent within the industry, with institutions including Coinbase and Stripe expressing concerns.

The much-anticipated Clarity Act is expected to enter the committee review stage in late April. If the yield issue is resolved, the legislative focus will shift to remaining issues such as DeFi, tokenization, and token classification.

Furthermore, a White House research report on stablecoin yields and their impact on the banking system has yet to be released. The report is said to generally favor the crypto industry, and the reason for the delay is unclear.

The US FDIC has released a draft guideline for institutions issuing stablecoins, covering reserves, redemption, and capital requirements.

According to Bloomberg, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) has released a draft guidance on stablecoin issuance by banks and fintech subsidiaries, covering provisions regarding reserve assets, stablecoin redemption, permitted activities, and capital requirements. FDIC Chairman Travis Hill stated that stablecoins and tokenized deposit products continue to grow and their applications expand due to advancements in digital assets, technological developments in financial institutions, and the Trump administration's support for the crypto industry. This proposal is part of the rule-making work undertaken by the FDIC, OCC, and the Federal Reserve following the passage of the GENIUS Act last year. The FDIC plans to solicit public comment on 144 specific issues, including permitted and prohibited activities, capital requirements, pass-through insurance treatment, and profit restrictions. The proposal will also reaffirm through legislation that tokenized deposits remain deposits under the Federal Deposit Insurance Act.

The U.S. Treasury Department plans to require stablecoin issuers to undertake anti-money laundering and sanctions compliance obligations.

According to CoinDesk, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), both under the U.S. Treasury Department, will jointly release proposed rules requiring institutions issuing stablecoins in the U.S. to establish robust anti-money laundering and sanctions compliance systems. These systems will include the ability to "intercept, freeze, and reject" suspicious transactions and to fulfill obligations under the Bank Secrecy Act. The rules will implement the GENIUS Act passed last year, clarifying that issuers must identify high-risk customers and activities based on their own business, cooperate with FinCEN in tracking down entities of "major money laundering concern," and identify and block transactions that may violate U.S. sanctions through risk-based measures. Issuers may face enforcement action if their compliance systems are found to have serious or systemic deficiencies.

South Korea's ruling party has proposed foreign exchange controls on stablecoins and mandated a trust for RWA assets.

According to the Seoul Economic Daily, the latest consolidation bill from the Democratic Party's Digital Asset Task Force in South Korea clarifies the issuance standards for Real Asset Tokenization (RWA) for the first time. It requires issuers to deposit related assets into a managed trust in accordance with the Capital Markets Act, with further details to be stipulated by presidential decree. For stablecoins, the bill stipulates that if used for foreign exchange transactions, they are considered a means of payment under the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act, and operators are automatically subject to foreign exchange management without separate registration. Daily consumer payments are exempt from reporting obligations. The bill also explicitly prohibits stablecoin issuers from paying interest to holders under any name. The Financial Services Commission is required to develop interoperability technical standards for stablecoins to prevent liquidity fragmentation when Korean won stablecoins are issued across multiple blockchains. Exchanges and fragmented disclosure systems will be integrated into a unified disclosure system under the Digital Asset Industry Association. Key controversial provisions, such as restrictions on major shareholders of exchanges and stablecoin issuers holding bank shares, were not included in this bill.

Dubai Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority Clarifies Three-Path Rules for Stablecoin and RWA Token Issuance

According to Cointelegraph, the Dubai Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA) has released issuance guidelines, categorizing token issuance into three types: Category 1 tokens (fiat-pegged and asset-pegged), Category 2 tokens (which must be distributed through VARA-licensed intermediaries), and exempted tokens with limited functionality. The guidelines require clear definition of reserve assets, redemption rights, and legal structure for stablecoins and RWA tokens, and strengthen the due diligence and ongoing compliance verification responsibilities of licensed distributors. VARA emphasizes an information disclosure mechanism centered on white papers and independent risk disclosure documents, providing a unified regulatory framework for the issuance and distribution of virtual assets in Dubai.

The Central Bank of Russia pushes forward with the implementation of the digital ruble to counter economic and sanctions pressures.

According to DL News, the Central Bank of Russia will officially launch the digital ruble on September 1st, aiming to strengthen anti-corruption efforts, improve the traceability of budget funds, and reduce reliance on the US dollar and SWIFT in foreign trade. The central bank requires large banks and retailers to offer digital ruble services starting in September, medium-sized institutions a year later, and other institutions by 2028 at the latest. However, polls show that approximately 51% of Russians surveyed are unwilling to use the digital ruble, only 7% believe they have received sufficient project information, and most banking professionals also question its necessity. Regulators also hope to use the digital ruble to achieve cross-border settlements with other countries' CBDCs on platforms such as mBridge, in order to circumvent sanctions.

Local Observations

Hong Kong Mortgage Corporation plans to issue the world's largest digital bond using blockchain technology, raising up to HK$12 billion.

According to Bloomberg, Hong Kong Mortgage Corp., a wholly-owned financial institution of the Hong Kong government, is considering issuing its first digital bond, aiming to raise approximately HK$10 billion to HK$12 billion. If the maximum amount is reached, it would become the world's largest digital bond issuance. The multi-tranche bonds are planned to be denominated in Hong Kong dollars and offshore yuan, and could be offered to the market as early as next month. Specific terms are still under negotiation. The report points out that this move aligns with Hong Kong's policy direction of promoting the normalization of digital asset and tokenized bond issuance. These digital bonds will utilize blockchain technology for issuance, trading, and settlement, thereby shortening settlement cycles and reducing operating costs.

Project progress

Six Swiss banks, including UBS, plan to test the digital Swiss franc in 2026.

According to SolanaFloor, six Swiss banks, including UBS, Switzerland's largest bank, plan to test a digital version of the Swiss franc in 2026 to explore its use in real-world banking and financial applications.

Securitize provides on-chain tokenization services for Currenc common stock.

According to The Block, Nasdaq-listed Currenc Group Inc. has commissioned Securitize to tokenize its common stock, planning to enable 24/7 trading, divisible holding, and support for DeFi protocols and algorithmic trading. Currenc is the first company to announce a tokenization plan after Securitize was selected by the New York Stock Exchange to build a 24/7 on-chain securities platform. Securitize currently participates in approximately 70% of the US on-chain asset tokenization market, serving major on-chain RWAs such as BlackRock BUIDL Fund, and has assisted Exodus in issuing on-chain shares. Currenc focuses on cross-border payments, e-wallet infrastructure, and AI enterprise tools, and is currently pursuing a proposed reverse merger with Animoca Brands. Securitize itself also plans to list on Nasdaq through a SPAC transaction with Cantor Fitzgerald, with the proposed ticker symbol SECZ.

SBI Ripple Asia completes development of XRP Ledger token issuance platform in Japan and obtains prepaid payment license.

According to CoinDesk, SBI Ripple Asia has completed the development of a token issuance platform based on XRP Ledger and registered in Japan as an issuer of prepaid payment methods. This platform will support businesses in issuing tokenized payment instruments on XRP Ledger for prepaid and other scenarios. Following registration, SBI Ripple Asia can legally conduct related prepaid payment business in Japan, providing infrastructure for XRP-based tokenized payments.

Fundrise's VCX fund and Kraken launch a tokenized equity fund

According to Crowdfundinsider, Fundrise's innovative fund VCX has announced a partnership with cryptocurrency exchange Kraken to tokenize its fund shares. The tokenized asset, named VCXx, will be traded on Kraken's dedicated xStocks platform, and investors can purchase it directly using the USDG stablecoin or US dollars.

OFA Group has reached a $15 million agreement to provide RWA tokenization services for a New York real estate project.

According to Globenewswire, Nasdaq-listed digital asset infrastructure company OFA Group (OFAL) announced an agreement with MD Queens Development for RWA tokenization services. OFA's Hearth platform will provide blockchain infrastructure for the Long Island integrated development project in New York and will tokenize the tokens early in the development process.

The tokens represent SPV equity in the project and do not directly correspond to real estate ownership. OFA will receive $15 million in compensation, paid in stages according to project milestones. This marks RWA's transition from concept to commercial implementation, and traditional large-scale real estate development has officially integrated compliant on-chain financing and equity management.

The BNB Chain ecosystem RWA platform Tiko has recently been officially launched.

According to an announcement by TIKO on Medium, the tokenized US stock trading platform Tiko has officially launched recently. Positioned as a BNB Chain ecosystem RWA platform, it supports users trading tokenized US stocks via self-custodied wallets and USDT. The platform claims to hold dual licenses issued by the Mauritius FSC: Investment Dealer and VASP, providing 1:1 asset mapping, direct connection to licensed brokers for Nasdaq market data, and achieving low slippage and on-chain settlement within seconds.

Circle launches CPN Managed Payments to expand stablecoin payment services

According to Circle's official website, Circle has launched CPN Managed Payments, a new product targeting banks, payment service providers (PSPs), fintech companies, and large technology enterprises. It provides wallets and blockchain infrastructure managed by Circle. Institutions can realize fiat-to-fiat and fiat-to-stablecoin payment flows on the CPN network without having to build their own wallets, operate on-chain infrastructure, or directly handle stablecoin minting, custody, and compliance licenses.

BitMart will launch USDCx spot trading.

Cryptocurrency trading platform BitMart announced that it will launch USDCx (USDCX) on April 8th and open USDCX/USDT spot trading. USDCX deposits are now open on the platform, starting at 8:00 AM UTC on April 8th, with trading commencing at 10:00 AM UTC on April 8th. USDCx is driven by Aleo ecosystem stakeholders, and its token will gain secondary market liquidity through listing on centralized exchanges.

RWA trading platform MSX adds multiple new stocks to its portfolio.

According to official sources, MSX has launched spot trading for the storage ETF $DRAM.M, AI chip testing equipment manufacturer $AEHR.M, and military 3D printing supplier $VELO.M.

Financing Dynamics

Pharos raises $44 million in Series A funding to advance RWA public blockchain infrastructure development.

Public blockchain project Pharos announced the completion of a $44 million Series A funding round, with investors including Sumitomo Corporation CVC, SNZ, Chainlink, Flow Traders, and several undisclosed global financial institutions. Pharos positions itself as a native Layer 1 financial asset platform for Real-Time Asset Exploitation (RWA) and traditional finance, highlighting its deep parallel execution architecture and native compliance, aiming to tap into the approximately $50 trillion RWA and TradeFi market. During the AtlanticOcean testnet phase, the project claims to have achieved participation from millions of users and addresses, and has reached a solar energy asset RWA cooperation agreement with photovoltaic company GCL Group.

GSR led a funding round for Libera, a tokenization platform backed by SC Ventures.

According to The Block, market maker GSR led a funding round for Libera, a tokenization platform backed by SC Ventures, to support its strategy of building a Web3 “investment bank.” GSR had previously acquired Autonomous and Architech to enhance its token advisory business, and this partnership complements its missing “one-click tokenization” capability.

Founded in 2023, Libeara has supported over $1 billion in on-chain asset issuance, including Asia's first tokenized retail money market fund, and has obtained a capital markets services license from the Monetary Authority of Singapore. GSR's Chief Legal and Strategy Officer stated that tokenizing any asset in a compliant manner is the company's goal, and they have engaged with tokenization projects involving film studios, farmlands, and real estate in the past two months. GSR is positioning itself as a comprehensive, end-to-end global digital asset and RWA capital markets partner, essentially a "Web3 investment bank."

Gobi Partners invests in Transak to expand its compliant stablecoin and digital asset payment infrastructure in Asia.

According to official sources, Gobi Partners has announced an investment in Transak, a global payments infrastructure provider, to support the expansion of its compliant stablecoin and digital asset payment services in Asia.

Founded in 2019, Transak provides a regulated payment layer that enables two-way exchange between fiat currency and digital assets through a single API, covering KYC, anti-money laundering, risk monitoring, licensing requirements, and local payment integration. The company has already obtained 21 regulatory approvals in the US, UK, Eurozone, Australia, Canada, and India, and is poised to expand into the Middle East, Latin America, and Asia Pacific. Transak has established its Asia Pacific headquarters in Hong Kong and plans to deepen its integration with regional payment networks and banking partners.

Insights Highlights

White House report: "Banning stablecoin yields" has very limited impact on bank lending.

The US President has signed the GENIUS Act, requiring stablecoin issuers to back their stablecoins with at least 1:1 high-quality assets (US dollars, short-term US Treasury bonds, reverse repos, money market funds, etc.) and prohibiting direct interest payments to stablecoin holders. A report released today by the White House Council of Economic Advisers, titled "Effects of Stablecoin Yield Prohibition on Bank Lending," indicates that, according to model predictions, a complete ban on stablecoin yields would only increase bank lending by approximately $2.1 billion in the baseline scenario, representing about 0.02% of total loans, while incurring a net welfare loss of approximately $800 million. Large banks would contribute about 76% of the new loans, and community banks about 24%. The report states that concerns about "deposit outflows" are relatively small in scale because most stablecoin reserves would still flow back into the financial system in the form of Treasury bonds, with a limited portion actually deviating from the credit multiplier. Even under extreme assumptions such as all reserves being non-lending cash and the Federal Reserve abandoning the current framework, the increase in bank lending would only be about 4.4%. The report concludes that a yield ban would have minimal effect on protecting bank lending but would weaken the competitive yields offered by stablecoins.

TD Cowen: White House Stablecoin Report Fails to Overcome Legislative Obstacles, Clarity Act May Face Greater Challenges

According to The Block, TD Cowen stated that the recent White House report on stablecoins is unlikely to eliminate the political obstacles facing cryptocurrency legislation, and the path forward for the Clarity Act may be even more difficult. The report points out that banning stablecoin yields would have a negligible impact on bank lending, resulting in only $2.1 billion in growth (0.02% of total loans), a stance more aligned with the crypto industry than the banking sector.

TD Cowen analysts believe that as long as smaller banks continue to view stablecoins as a threat to their deposit business, they will oppose crypto legislation unless the bill explicitly prohibits stablecoin yields. The analysts also point out that the report suggests President Trump may want to allow stablecoin yields, meaning that a compromise that allows platforms to pay for the use of rewards but prohibits holding those rewards may not gain presidential support, making the passage of the Clarity Act even more difficult. TD Cowen had previously lowered its expectation for the bill to pass this year to one-third.

S&P Global: Banks remain cautious in their stablecoin deployments, with most still on the sidelines.

According to a CoinDesk report, a recent report from S&P Global Market Intelligence states that despite stablecoins having a market capitalization of approximately $316 billion and trading volumes in the trillions, US banks remain cautious overall. Only about 7% of small and medium-sized banks are developing related frameworks, and there are currently no substantial pilot programs. The report points out that banks' main concerns are that stablecoins will "drain" deposits, intensified competition with new licensed institutions, and unclear profit models. Large global banks are more likely to explore issuing tokenized deposits or their own digital assets, while smaller institutions tend to use them as conduits between fiat currency and stablecoins. The report predicts that banks with cross-border operations will face the greatest pressure to adapt, needing to upgrade their systems to support multi-track payments and wallet infrastructure.

Chainalysis: Stablecoin trading volume is projected to reach $1500 trillion by 2035.

According to The Block, Chainalysis released a report predicting that stablecoin transaction volume could reach as high as $1500 trillion by 2035. Baseline growth alone could push adjusted stablecoin transaction volume to $719 trillion by 2035; this upper limit would be significantly higher if macroeconomic catalysts such as demographic shifts and merchant adoption were added. The report points out that stablecoins processed approximately $28 trillion in "real economic activity" in 2025; this data excludes transaction noise and only counts payments, remittances, and settlements. Two major driving forces include: an estimated $100 trillion in wealth will shift from older generations to the more digitally accustomed Millennials and Gen Z between 2028 and 2048; and stablecoins are becoming more deeply embedded in merchant checkout and back-end payment systems, with users unaware of the underlying encryption technology. Chainalysis predicts that stablecoin payment volume will be on par with Visa and Mastercard between 2031 and 2039.

Tech giants are all eyeing stablecoins: Meta is just the beginning.

PANews Overview: Global tech giants like Meta are collectively shifting towards stablecoin payment strategies. From Libra's (Diem) early attempt to challenge seigniorage and build its own financial system, to its current move to integrate with third-party stablecoin systems, companies like Meta have reached a compliance consensus on "borrowing a road to run a car" (i.e., using another's resources to support their own stablecoins).

The core of this strategy lies in "traffic is king, compliance outsourcing." By entrusting compliance and infrastructure to professional partners, giants can avoid regulatory risks and focus on controlling payment gateways and the transaction data and ecosystem value behind them. In addition to Meta, Google, Apple, X, and Shopify are also actively integrating stablecoins to reduce cross-border settlement costs and deploy automated transactions in the AI era.

Stablecoins are evolving from speculative assets into the payment foundation for the next generation of the internet, and the entry of major tech companies marks the official start of a deep competition for control of digital life.

The era of easy profits with stablecoins is over; DeFi-native stablecoins may become a new engine for growth in regulatory gaps.

PANews Overview: With the advancement of regulations such as the Clarity Act, the stablecoin market is shifting from a "passive income" model to a "labor-based income" model. The bill aims to block centralized exchanges (CEXs) from issuing passive interest to stablecoin holders through US Treasury yields, protecting bank deposits and defining the non-securities nature of payment-type stablecoins.

However, the bill leaves room for "activity rewards," such as staking, providing liquidity, or trading incentives. This will cause centralized stablecoins like USDC to tend towards pure payment instruments, while DeFi native stablecoins like USDe and USDS will leverage compliance loopholes to serve as yield engines, thanks to their derivatives hedging or protocol profit-sharing logic.

Overall, the stablecoin sector is undergoing a dual-track transformation, where future returns will no longer belong to simple holders, but to contributors who actively participate in protocol activities.

Mastercard launches Digital Asset Partner Program, focusing on on-chain cross-border and B2B payments.

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