Digital Finance & Tokenization

CryptoQuant noted that Bitcoin has entered the early phase of a new bull market, having risen more than 25% since the start of last week, but it still needs to close above the 365-day moving average, currently around $83,000, for official confirmation. The on-chain data analytics firm said Bitcoin climbed above $81,000 this week, driven by the U.S. Treasury's plan to double its long-dated bond buybacks to at least $4 billion per operation starting September 9, and comments from President Donald Trump signaling that the U.S. government may consider buying Bitcoin. Julio Moreno, head of research at CryptoQuant, said the closing price of $79,000 was about 5% below the 365-day average, which now stands at $83,100. A decisive break above $83,000 would confirm a new bull market, and until then, that level is likely to act as initial resistance, with the possibility of an early bull market pullback. CryptoQuant's Bull Score jumped from 30 to 80 within a week, the strongest since October 6, 2025, when Bitcoin traded around $124,000, with 8 out of 10 indicators signaling bullish. Spot market demand grew at the fastest monthly rate since late December, and spot and futures demand expanded together for the first time since early October 2025. However, the firm warned that the market looks overheated in the short term. Traders' unrealized profit margin climbed to 20.5%, the highest since June 2025, and short-term holders have already taken profits, realizing $1.2 billion in gains from August 20 to 22, including a single-day record of $614 million on August 20. Bitcoin exchange inflows surged to about 53,000 BTC, the highest since June 5, while Ether rose to 1.7 million ETH and XRP to 460 million XRP, indicating intentions to take profits or hedge.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sent a proposed amendment to crypto asset custody rules for investment advisers to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) under the White House on August 25, for review before opening public comment. The proposal, titled "Amendments to the Custody Rules," falls under the Investment Advisers Act and the Investment Company Act, and would specify how advisers and funds hold client crypto assets in compliance with federal securities laws. The SEC stated it has received numerous questions from advisers regarding crypto holdings, and this amendment aims to eliminate ambiguity and update outdated requirements. The proposal has not yet been made public, and OIRA may request changes before sending it back to the SEC, where commissioners would need to vote again on whether to open it for comment. This move is part of the Trump administration's digital asset agenda under SEC Chairman Paul Atkins, shifting from enforcement to clear rulemaking. Meanwhile, the CLARITY Act remains pending in the Senate.

On August 26, Osaka Prefecture announced that it has decided to provide subsidies to four projects under the "Osaka Prefecture Pioneering Financial Market Formation Support Subsidy," which is implemented jointly with Osaka City. The selected projects are from HashPort, Minau Wallet, Mi&T, and SBI XDC Network APAC. Among these, three projects will demonstrate payments using the yen-pegged stablecoin JPYC and the dollar-pegged USDC. HashPort plans to accept payments in JPYC and USDC at retail stores and restaurants within the prefecture from January to March 2027, and will demonstrate a mechanism to settle with merchants in Japanese yen. The demonstration period is expected to be at least one week. Additionally, HashPort will also demonstrate escrow-type payments via third-party settlement on e-commerce sites. Minau Wallet, in collaboration with Sumitomo Mitsui Card, will demonstrate JPYC and USDC payments using the company's payment terminal "stera terminal." Mi&T, a venture originating from Osaka Metropolitan University, will test in-store payments with JPYC at restaurants and retail stores around the university. Meanwhile, SBI XDC Network APAC, in collaboration with TOPPAN and others, plans to conduct a demonstration for used auto parts exporters in Osaka Prefecture, covering procedures from counterparty verification to export factoring and payment collection on the blockchain.

The British government is preparing to assign a new mission to the Bank of England (BOE) to promote innovation in digital currencies and payment systems, designating it as a secondary objective while the primary mission remains maintaining financial stability. The UK Treasury stated that this move is part of Prime Minister Andy Burnham's efforts to maintain London's competitiveness amid the rapidly changing digital asset market. Lucy Rigby, the minister for the City of London, said that tokenization and Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) have the potential to transform global financial markets, and this new secondary mission will enable the BOE to drive more innovation. This move follows the establishment of a joint working group by the UK and the US in July to promote stablecoins, and comes after the BOE previously faced criticism over restrictions on stablecoin holdings, which it later withdrew in June and set a cap of 40 billion pounds for each stablecoin. Sarah Breeden, Deputy Governor of the BOE for Financial Stability, welcomed the announcement, stating that the central bank is working with the government to maintain confidence and drive innovation in the UK's payment system.

Grayscale, a major US asset manager, published a report on the 26th analyzing the Treasury's expanded buyback of US government bonds, arguing that the buybacks only address the symptom of rising interest rates and do not resolve the root cause of structural fiscal deficits. On the 19th, the Treasury announced it would double the size of long-term bond buybacks to $4 billion per operation from $2 billion, and on the same day, US public debt surpassed $40 trillion for the first time. Grayscale analyzed that with private capital demand expanding amid AI-related investment, the simultaneous increase in funding needs from both the government and private sector is pushing up interest rates. It stated that the unchecked growth of government debt undermines confidence in fiat currencies, prompting investors to seek alternative stores of value with issuance caps, such as gold and certain cryptocurrencies, and named Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Zcash as beneficiaries. However, the increased amount applies to auctions from September 9 to November 4, with the additional size over regular refinancing plans being only about $14 billion, and some market participants view the impact as limited. Additionally, since Grayscale listed the Zcash Trust as a spot ETF, ZCSH, on the 25th, some suggest the report may be aimed at supporting its own product, while others note that gold's longer track record does not automatically give cryptocurrencies an advantage.

StarTail CEO Sota Watanabe announced on the 26th that the company aims to launch the testnet of Strium, a blockchain specialized for finance being developed jointly with SBI Holdings, within the year, and to operate the mainnet within fiscal 2026. Strium is also planned to support the tokenization of stocks and government bonds, as well as payments using the yen-denominated stablecoin JPYSC. SBI and StarTail jointly announced Strium in February 2026 as a layer-1 blockchain specialized for on-chain trading of financial assets, including crypto assets, tokenized stocks, and real-world assets (RWA). This latest announcement provides specific development timelines. The Nikkei reported on the 26th that the Financial Services Agency, the Ministry of Finance, the Bank of Japan, and financial institutions will launch a study group this summer, with a plan to be compiled by early 2027. In his post, Watanabe expressed the intention to "contribute by leading with real products" while the government and the Bank of Japan proceed with institutional design. Strium's goals of instant settlement and 24-hour trading align with the direction of the government and the Bank of Japan's consideration of tokenizing current account deposits, with private-sector implementation taking the lead.

Blockchain project Lisk announced on August 25 that it will shut down its proprietary blockchain, the Lisk Chain, on October 31 and fully pivot to a treasury management platform for corporate finance. The announcement was made public as a message signed by founder and CEO Max Kordek. The new platform offers a service that consolidates account management, remittances, and approvals into a single screen, transcending differences in countries and payment methods, with early access for select companies beginning the same day. The move is driven by the rapid growth of B2B stablecoin payments and the banking challenges faced by crypto companies, with over 80% of European crypto industry firms having experienced rejection or closure of corporate accounts. The company plans to collaborate with financial operators such as Bridge, a subsidiary of Stripe, to address these issues. In connection with the chain closure, Lisk will partner with the layer-1 blockchain Celo to establish a migration environment for decentralized applications and developers on Lisk. Additionally, a proposal has been made to dissolve the operational community organization Lisk DAO, which would destroy the 100 million LSK tokens held by the organization, reducing the total supply from 400 million to 300 million tokens to stabilize token value. Furthermore, the waiting time for unstaking will be uniformly shortened to three days. The LSK token will transition to a new role as a "loyalty token," which can be earned as rewards based on trading activity and customer referrals on the new platform. LSK tokens held or staked on the old Lisk Chain must be migrated to Ethereum before the chain closure, a process that takes at least seven days. Going forward, Ethereum and Base will serve as the primary networks for LSK. Among domestic crypto exchanges, four companies—bitFlyer, Coincheck, OKJ, and Binance Japan—currently handle LSK.

Better Mortgage has partnered with Coinbase Prime to expand a new type of home loan that allows borrowers to use Bitcoin as collateral for their down payment without having to sell their coins. This initiative is part of a residential mortgage program supported by Fannie Mae and represents an industry first, enabling digital asset holders to access home loans without converting their liquidity into cash.

Charles Schwab has launched its Digital Account Opening API, now live through wealth management platform OneVest, enabling digital onboarding for advisors and enterprise clients. The API expands Schwab's third-party fintech integration options and broadens distribution for its custody and platform services, targeting advisors, enterprises, and AI engineering teams seeking tighter integration with Schwab's technology stack. This move is part of Schwab's wider push to support data-heavy and AI-driven financial platforms, aligning with its focus on AI-powered efficiency and automation. A key metric to watch is advisor and enterprise uptake of the digital account opening capability across partners like OneVest over the next 12 to 18 months, which will indicate whether this integration becomes a meaningful channel for client asset and workflow growth.

British fintech giant Revolut began a phased rollout of its euro-denominated stablecoin, EURR, on August 26. The initial rollout covers select customers in Denmark, Poland, and Portugal, with plans to expand to the entire European Economic Area and other currency denominations later this year. The issuer is Bridge Building, the Luxembourg subsidiary of Stripe-owned Bridge, which manages the backing assets in line with MiCA under the approval of the Luxembourg financial regulator. Revolut's head of crypto assets, Emil Urmanshin, said the move would connect its 80 million customers directly to the blockchain. Revolut will cease support for Tether (USDT) in the EEA and Switzerland by August 31, replacing the non-MiCA-compliant dollar-pegged token with a euro-pegged one. However, euro-denominated stablecoins account for less than 1% of the overall market, with Circle's EURC leading the segment, and Qivalis, backed by 37 European banks, also aiming for a launch within the year. ECB President Christine Lagarde noted in May that bank-run risks and potential hindrances to monetary policy mean the case for such coins is not as strong as it appears. In Japan, JPYC has taken the lead, and with bank-affiliated entrants also waiting in the wings, the approach of putting a domestic-currency-pegged token on everyday apps could also inform yen-denominated designs.

US research firm Bernstein has projected that Bitcoin will reach $150,000 by mid-2027 and approximately $300,000 by 2029, the peak of the next cycle. The outlook is underpinned by the view that the 'debasement trade,' driven by expanding government debt, will fuel inflows into Bitcoin as a scarce asset. Bernstein analysts point out that the roughly four-decade-long decline in interest rates has ended, and with US government debt reaching around $40 trillion, rising interest payments are creating a cycle that leads to fiscal deficits and additional borrowing. They analyze that policymakers may eventually tolerate currency debasement, boosting demand for Bitcoin, which has limited supply. This trend is beginning to show in the ETF market, with BlackRock's spot Bitcoin ETF 'IBIT' and the SPDR Gold ETF 'GLD' returning to the top 10 in trading volume. In the base case, BTC is expected to rise to $125,000 by end-2026, $150,000 by mid-2027, and $300,000 by 2029. In the bull case, it could reach $200,000 by mid-2027 and $500,000 by 2029, with a long-term forecast of $1 million by end-2033 maintained.

On the 26th, Hyperliquid Policy Center (HPC), the policy advocacy arm of decentralized crypto exchange Hyperliquid, and Trade XYZ, a third-party market maker on the exchange, jointly submitted a comment letter to the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) requesting a framework to allow perpetual futures on crude oil and natural gas in U.S. regulated markets. Both parties also expressed support for 24/7 trading. The letter cited the military conflict in the Middle East that occurred on February 28 this year, explaining that while traditional crude oil futures markets were closed over the weekend, trading continued on Hyperliquid's oil-linked perpetual futures, with about two-thirds of the price movement being priced in on-chain ahead of the benchmark reopening. According to HPC's research, in about 75% of cases where markets were closed over the weekend, the weekend price of crude oil perpetual futures was closer to the price after Sunday's reopening than to Friday's closing price. The letter also requested that stablecoins and tokenized traditional assets be allowed as margin, and sought approval for on-chain infrastructure in trading, clearing, and settlement. Since Trade XYZ began operations in October 2025, it has recorded cumulative trading volume exceeding $500 billion in markets such as WTI crude oil, Brent crude oil, and Henry Hub natural gas. In May, the CFTC for the first time allowed the listing of perpetual futures on U.S. exchanges, limited to those referencing crypto assets, and in June it solicited comments on energy perpetual futures and 24-hour trading. On the 24th, HPC also submitted another comment letter to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the CFTC, requesting that perpetual futures be uniformly classified as "futures contracts" rather than "swaps," regardless of the underlying asset.

Visa has partnered with Bluefin to launch a unified card-present payment acceptance solution for global merchants, combining advanced payment security and device management in a single platform for in-person transactions. The offering aims to simplify deployment of secure payment infrastructure and reduce compliance scope for enterprise users. This move aligns with Visa's strategy to expand into higher-margin value-added services, which saw revenue up 26% year-over-year, and positions the company to compete with Mastercard and large fintech gateways. However, it also highlights the risk that merchants could gain bargaining power as alternatives like real-time payments mature, potentially increasing pricing pressure on Visa.

Coinbase Global has selected Chainlink as its oracle infrastructure for tokenized stocks on the Base network, a move that could expand its role beyond digital representations of listed shares. By providing continuous pricing data, Chainlink helps make these assets usable across finance applications, connecting traditional securities with onchain markets and opening revenue opportunities for both companies. Coinbase has introduced tokenized versions of stocks such as Apple, NVIDIA, Meta, and Alphabet on Base, each token being a 1:1-backed claim on an underlying share held in regulated custody. Chainlink Data Feeds give developers across the Base ecosystem access to pricing information for these tokenized equities. Chainlink reports that tokenized equities are among the fastest-growing segments of the real-world asset market, with their value reaching a record $2.3 billion by mid-July 2026. The opportunity for Coinbase goes beyond transaction fees; if tokenized stocks gain acceptance as collateral in DeFi, they could attract liquidity, lending activity, and new financial products to Base. Meanwhile, Chainlink would benefit from growing demand for oracle services. In comparison, Robinhood launched tokenized stocks in Europe in 2025 and built Robinhood Chain, an Ethereum-compatible Layer-2 for traditional assets, while Interactive Brokers added nine new tokens through zerohash and three through Paxos, and introduced stablecoin transfers to external wallets. Shares of COIN have lost 20.3% year-to-date, underperforming the industry, and trade at a price-to-earnings ratio of 80.85, significantly above the industry average of 17.2. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for COIN's third-quarter and fourth-quarter 2026 EPS has moved south in the last 30 days, and the stock carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).

Sezzle Inc. is launching Sezzle Send, a peer-to-peer money transfer product, in August, with over 100,000 users already on the waitlist. The service allows users to send money by phone number, choosing Pay-in-Full or Pay-in-5, and recipients receive the full amount upfront, even if they are not existing Sezzle users. This creates a low-cost acquisition channel, as each transfer can introduce new users to Sezzle. The company's active subscribers reached 854,000 in the second quarter, up 76.4% year over year, and average quarterly purchase frequency hit a record 7.2 times. Sezzle's second-quarter revenue rose 51.7% to $149.7 million, with net income of $40.8 million, and marketing spend climbed to $19.4 million while customer acquisition payback remained under six months. However, management's 2026 guidance assumes zero contribution from Sezzle Send, projecting 35% revenue growth, adjusted net income of $185 million, and adjusted EPS of $5.25, leaving upside dependent on adoption.

Cathie Wood's ARK Invest has increased its stake in Circle Internet Group, the issuer of the USDC stablecoin, despite the stock's sharp decline over the past year. USDC, pegged 1:1 to the U.S. dollar, has a market cap of $73.88 billion, accounting for 24.36% of the total stablecoin market, according to DeFiLlama. Analyst Alex Obchakevich noted that while Circle is down 42% over twelve months, it has gained 30% in the last month, and he argues the business has fundamentally changed, citing regulatory approval as a federally regulated trust bank and profitability in the second quarter. Wood echoed this optimism, calling Circle a "prime beneficiary" of tech disruption, though her stated 84% gain since IPO does not match the actual 184% appreciation as of Aug. 21. Bernstein analysts reiterated a $140 price target for Circle, citing growth drivers in stablecoin payments and tokenized assets, with the stock closing at $92.02 on Aug. 25, up over 47% in a month.

The Dallas Federal Reserve warns that tokenized deposits could drain up to $700 billion from bank lending capacity. In a report published Tuesday, the Fed examines how widespread adoption of tokenized deposits—regulated digital assets that can pay interest—might reduce the stability of bank funding. Unlike stablecoins, tokenized deposits are subject to regulation, but instant settlement and smart contracts could make it easier for customers to chase higher yields, eroding the frictions that keep deposits sticky. The Dallas Fed estimates that a 10% increase in deposit-rate sensitivity could cut banks' capacity for interest-rate risk by about $700 billion in 10-year-equivalent terms. The report comes amid growing interest from banks in tokenized-payment experiments, including recent pilots by Custodia, Vantage, Barclays, BMO, and Swift.

Bridge, a Citi-backed AI lending platform, has launched a $500 million direct lending fund to finance CPG brands and retail suppliers fulfilling purchase orders for America's largest retailers. Since spinning out from Citi in 2023, Bridge has deployed over $800 million and facilitated financing for hundreds of growing businesses. The fund launch follows demand from suppliers, including DogSauce, which expanded from 1,200 to over 3,000 Walmart stores with Bridge's support. CEO Rohit Mathur said the AI-driven platform analyzes orders and retailer relationships to provide faster capital than traditional lenders. Walmart's Senior Director of Global Treasury, Brandy Newhof, noted the program adds another funding option for suppliers. Bridge funds up to 100% of production costs on expected or confirmed orders, with repayment tied to retailer payment cycles.

Ripple's stablecoin RLUSD has surpassed the $2 billion milestone, drawing continued attention across the crypto ecosystem. The issuer confirmed the achievement, which comes amid heightened buzz around XRP. This marks a significant growth for the stablecoin since its launch, reflecting increasing adoption and market confidence in Ripple's digital asset offerings.

Visa has joined BLOOM, a Monetary Authority of Singapore-led initiative connecting traditional payment infrastructure with stablecoin-based rails, and will pilot stablecoin settlement with Nium using regulated U.S. dollar- and euro-backed stablecoins. The pilot aims to enable seven-day-a-week settlement, including weekends and holidays, addressing delays in conventional business-day cycles. Visa reported an annualized stablecoin settlement run rate of $7 billion in April 2026 and supports nine blockchains. The initiative remains at pilot stage but could help Visa shape interoperability standards and strengthen its competitive position. Competitors Mastercard and American Express are also expanding stablecoin and blockchain capabilities. Visa shares have risen 9.6% over the past year, and the Zacks Consensus Estimate implies a 14.7% earnings jump for fiscal 2026.

Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan warns that the traditional 60/40 portfolio is 100% exposed to fiat currency, as investors poured a record $7 billion into gold and Bitcoin funds in just five days. Bloomberg senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas calls this the debasement trade, a bet on assets no government can print, which has now stolen the spotlight from AI funds. SPDR Gold Shares took in $3.4 billion in the week through August 21, while BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust added over $1 billion, and the VanEck Semiconductor ETF bled $1.7 billion. The trigger is Washington's debt crossing $40 trillion and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's decision to double long-bond buybacks to at least $4 billion per operation starting September 9. Central banks have already shifted, with gold reaching 27% of their reserves, overtaking US Treasuries at 22%. Bitcoin trades near $79,144, up 0.55% in 24 hours, while IBIT is still down roughly 10% this year after nursing a 33% loss as recently as June.

Japan plans to proceed with a national blockchain-based settlement infrastructure for tokenized versions of stocks and Japanese government bonds. The financial regulator, the Bank of Japan, and major financial institutions are collaborating on the project, with work expected to begin in early 2027 and operation likely to start in the early 2030s. The plan involves converting a portion of banks' reserve accounts at the Bank of Japan into digital tokens, which would function as a wholesale central bank digital currency used only between financial institutions. This move comes as nearly 80% of Japanese institutional investors reportedly plan to allocate to cryptocurrencies within three years, and as the Bank of Japan expands its blockchain settlement network and participates in Project Agorá, a Bank for International Settlements initiative testing tokenized cross-border payments.

Finnomena Public Company Limited has filed its IPO application with the Securities and Exchange Commission to list on the Stock Exchange of Thailand under the ticker FINNO. This marks the first time a Thai startup backed by venture capital and the first WealthTech platform in Southeast Asia to enter the stock market. The company plans to offer up to 30,000,838 newly issued ordinary shares with a par value of 0.50 baht each, representing approximately 15% of its paid-up capital after the offering. Kasikorn Securities Public Company Limited is serving as the financial advisor. For fiscal year 2025, the company reported total revenue of 592.8 million baht, net profit of 105 million baht, and a gross profit margin of 52.4%. In the first quarter of 2026, the company maintains a dividend policy of paying out no less than 50% of net profit. The proceeds from the IPO will be used to develop its platform, obtain a full securities business license, and serve as working capital.

The Deputy Minister of Digital Economy and Society revealed that the number of electronic payment (e-Payment) transactions in July 2026 stood at 4,567.57 million, valued at 10.62 trillion baht, an increase of 12.23% from the same period last year and 2.59% from the previous month. This marks the second consecutive month of growth and a record high, with transaction volume exceeding the 12-month average of 4,234.87 million. This reflects that e-Payment has become an integral part of people's daily lives. Meanwhile, the situation regarding reports of transaction suspensions due to online crimes has improved, with an average of 839 reports per day, representing an average daily damage of 31.10 million baht, a decrease of 16.53% from the same period last year and lower than the 12-month average of 1,009.68 reports per day. For the first seven months of 2026, Thailand recorded a cumulative 30,027 million e-Payment transactions, an increase of 10.49% from 27,177 million in the same period of 2025, with an average of 4,289.60 million transactions per month, up from 3,882.49 million in the same period last year. The ministry continues to accelerate the enhancement of security measures to build confidence alongside the growth of e-Payment.

The Blockchain Association has urged the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to create a coordinated regulatory pathway for equity perpetual contracts in the United States. In a comment letter, the industry group argued that uncertainty over whether these derivatives fall under securities or commodities law has pushed trading activity, liquidity, and innovation to offshore platforms. Equity perpetuals track individual stocks but have no expiration date, allowing traders to maintain positions indefinitely while periodic funding payments align prices with the underlying shares. The association said the agencies can regulate these products under existing statutory powers, citing the joint framework for security futures established by the Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000, and noted the CFTC's recent approval of a Bitcoin perpetual contract as a precedent. It also recommended raising the alternative-compliance threshold under Exchange Act Rule 18a-10 from 10% to as much as 49% to give firms greater flexibility, warning that continued uncertainty will push liquidity, jobs, market data, and innovation further offshore.