RWA Weekly: Singapore's Monetary Authority Proposes New Stablecoin Regulations; London Stock Exchange Plans to Launch Tokenized UK Stocks

Highlights of This Issue

This week's report covers the period from August 28, 2026, to September 4, 2026.

The RWA sector continues its steady expansion, with the total on-chain market capitalization rising to $38.76 billion, a month-on-month increase of 1.23%. The total number of asset holders reached 3.298 million, a significant month-on-month growth of 105.37%, indicating a rapid increase in user penetration. The total market capitalization of stablecoins reached $303.21 billion, with monthly transfer volume surging by 48.83%. The number of active addresses rebounded from a short-term decline, showing a significant release of on-chain trading vitality.

Regulatory Developments: The U.S. SEC plans to update its nearly half-century-old registration and transfer agent rules to accommodate blockchain and tokenized securities. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) is seeking feedback on a stablecoin regulatory framework that includes cross-border recognition and interest restrictions. South Korea has announced a three-phase roadmap for the tokenization of standardized assets, focusing on the Korean Exchange for phased pilot projects for listed and unlisted stocks.

Project Developments: The parent company of the New York Stock Exchange, ICE, has invested in tZERO to co-develop a securities tokenization registration and settlement infrastructure. The London Stock Exchange is collaborating with Kraken's parent company, Payward, to plan the tokenization of UK stocks. Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, and 21 other leading international financial institutions have jointly established a stablecoin joint venture. Ethena is expanding its USDe yield scenarios from crypto assets to stock perpetual contracts, while Securitize has launched a tokenization plan for sports club equity. Enterprise-level stablecoin settlement platforms and payment infrastructures are also accelerating their rollout in emerging markets such as Latin America.

Financing Developments: SBI has invested $270 million in an Indonesian brokerage to establish a Southeast Asian stablecoin settlement network. The Latin American stablecoin cross-border remittance platform Felix Pago has completed a $200 million Series B financing round, and the payment startup Diameter Pay has also secured a multi-million dollar Series A round. Meanwhile, GPU computing power-backed credit has emerged as a new exploration direction for stablecoin asset sides.

Data Insights

RWA Sector Overview

According to the latest data from RWA.xyz, as of September 4, 2026, the total on-chain market capitalization of RWA has risen to $38.76 billion, showing a moderate month-on-month increase of 1.23%, with the asset side maintaining a steady expansion pace. The total number of asset holders has skyrocketed to 3.298 million, a significant month-on-month increase of 105.37%, reflecting continued high market participation.

Stablecoin Market

The total market capitalization of stablecoins has reached $303.21 billion, with a slight month-on-month increase of 2.51%, continuing an upward trend. Monthly transfer volume has surged to $7.17 trillion, a month-on-month increase of 48.83%, indicating a significant release of on-chain trading vitality and reflecting improved efficiency in fund circulation and transaction demand.

The total number of active addresses has rebounded to 55.89 million, with a slight month-on-month increase of 5.94%, ending the previous short-term decline. The total number of holders has risen to 286 million, with a steady month-on-month increase of 1.69%, solidifying the user base.

The leading stablecoins are USDT, USDC, and USDS, with USDT's market capitalization increasing by 2.34% month-on-month; USDC's market capitalization rising by 2.18%; and USDS's market capitalization slightly decreasing by 0.55% month-on-month.

Regulatory News

U.S. SEC Proposes Updates to Registration and Transfer Agent Rules to Adapt to Blockchain and Tokenization Era

According to The Block, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has proposed updates to its registration and transfer agent rules, which have not been significantly revised since the late 1970s. Transfer agents are responsible for maintaining records of securities ownership, processing corporate actions such as mergers and dividend distributions, and playing a key role in clearing and settlement. The SEC chairman stated that the proposal aims to "simplify and modernize" the rules to reflect the use of electronic communications and blockchain technology in securities issuance and share transfers.

The SEC noted that transfer agents are increasingly interacting with emerging technologies such as tokenized securities and artificial intelligence, with some market participants exploring blockchain-based securities ownership record systems. Transfer agents interacting with tokenized securities and smart contracts must manage risks related to blockchain data integrity, tokenized securities security, and distributed ledger operational models. Injective has recently become a registered transfer agent with the SEC, and companies like Securitize and tZERO have also registered. The consultation period is 60 days.

Singapore's Monetary Authority Proposes New Stablecoin Regulations: Covering Cross-Border Recognition and Prohibiting Interest Payments

According to Singapore Business Review, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) plans to amend the Payment Services Act of 2019 to introduce a stablecoin regulatory framework that includes cross-border recognition, interest restrictions, and financial stability safeguards. The framework will cover single-currency stablecoins issued locally and pegged to the Singapore dollar or G10 currencies, with only licensed issuers allowed to promote their tokens as MAS-regulated stablecoins. MAS proposes to allow jointly issued stablecoins registered in Singapore to be included in the framework under sufficient risk mitigation, and is considering limited recognition for a small number of foreign stablecoins subject to comparable overseas regulatory frameworks, particularly for cross-border wholesale scenarios. Additionally, MAS plans to prohibit interest payments on MAS-regulated stablecoins and impose additional requirements on issuers, such as stress testing, recovery, and orderly winding-up plans. The consultation period ends on October 16.

South Korean Financial Commission: Advancing Tokenization Model Verification and Pilot Projects for Listed Stocks Centered on Korean Exchange

According to Digital Asset, the South Korean Financial Commission has announced plans to advance a tokenization model verification and pilot project centered on the Korean Exchange (KRX), referencing pilot programs from the New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ. The tokenization of unlisted stocks will be promoted through a trust mechanism.

The Financial Commission has released a three-phase roadmap for the tokenization of standardized assets. The first phase will start in February 2027 when the token securities law is implemented, targeting private money market funds, private corporate bonds, and unlisted stocks, limited to institutional investors. The second phase will expand the scope to public offerings. The third phase will promote "on-chain settlement," meaning that both securities and settlement methods will be completed on the blockchain. The Financial Commission stated that after stablecoin legislation, it will formally advance on-chain settlement.

Local Insights

HKDAP Stablecoin Authorized Distributors Increase to Five

According to Zhitong Finance, Standard Chartered Bank, Fosun International's Starway Technology, and Yunfeng Financial's Yunfeng Securities have announced their recognition as authorized distributors of the HKDAP stablecoin, joining the first batch of authorized distributors HashKey and OSL Group, bringing the total number of authorized distributors for HKDAP to five.

Project Progress

New York Stock Exchange Parent Company ICE Invests in tZERO to Advance Securities Tokenization Infrastructure

According to CoinDesk, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange, has announced a partnership with blockchain infrastructure company tZERO to build the planned securities tokenization market infrastructure associated with the NYSE. The two parties will jointly establish a transfer agent and broker settlement system for on-chain securities tokens, with tZERO expected to become the digital transfer agent and participant responsible for recording and compliance management of tokenized stockholder changes. ICE is also participating in tZERO's new financing round and has authorized 103 blockchain patents. The two sides will also explore using tokenized assets as collateral in ICE clearinghouse operations. ICE designated Securitize as the digital transfer agent for the same platform in March this year.

Bitfinex Securities Launches Five Tokenized Products Backed by Bitcoin Treasury Companies

According to Bitfinex's announcement, Bitfinex Securities has launched five tokenized notes backed by publicly listed "Bitcoin treasury" company stocks, including: the Strategy Note (CMSTR) backed by 100 shares of Strategy Inc. common stock, the Strategy STRC Note (STRCst) linked to one share of Strategy Inc. variable rate perpetual preferred stock with dividend rights, the Metaplanet Note (CMPTL) backed by 100 shares of Metaplanet Inc. common stock, the H100 Note (CH100) backed by 100 shares of H100 Group AB common stock, and the Capital B Note (CALCPB) backed by 100 shares of Capital B common stock. These products are issued by Luxembourg's ORO (II) fund through STOKR, based on regulated custodied underlying stocks, and can be traded in fractional shares, open for trading in USD, Tether (USDt), and Bitcoin, regulated by El Salvador's CNAD, and issued on the Liquid Network, with participating wallets required to pass Bitfinex Securities' KYC and AML checks.

Securitize Partners with Socios to Launch Sports Equity Tokenization Plan

Securitize has announced a partnership with Socios to develop Socios Equity Tokens, which will facilitate the compliant tokenization of minority stakes in professional sports clubs. The two parties plan to explore new models for sports club equity financing and ownership globally, with Socios responsible for sports industry partnerships and front-end fan interactions, while Securitize manages securities issuance, investor onboarding, ownership registration, and transfer control through its regulated entity. Securitize states that the total market capitalization of global professional sports clubs is approximately $500 billion, and this collaboration aims to bring part of that value on-chain, potentially becoming one of the first projects launched under the EU's DLT pilot mechanism for European trading and settlement systems.

Ethena Expands USDe Yield to Stock Perpetual Contracts, Betting on RWA Derivatives as Mainstream

According to CoinDesk, Ethena, the issuer of USDe, plans to expand its "synthetic dollar" USDe's basis trading from BTC, ETH, and SOL perpetual contracts to stock perpetual contracts, leveraging higher and more stable funding rates for yield. Ethena states that the open interest in stock perpetuals has increased from less than $1 billion in March this year to about $6.2 billion, with recent annualized funding rates of approximately 14% and 17.5% on Hyperliquid and Binance, significantly higher than Bitcoin's low unit digital levels. Ethena expects that within the next 12 to 24 months, the real-world asset perpetuals backed by USDe will surpass crypto derivatives and will announce the first batch of partner exchanges and deployment plans in the coming weeks. USDe currently has a circulating scale of about $4 billion, significantly down from its peak of nearly $15 billion in 2025.

London Stock Exchange Plans to Launch Tokenized UK Stocks in Collaboration with Kraken's Parent Company Payward

According to fxnews, the London Stock Exchange (LSE) has announced plans to launch tokenized UK stocks and has partnered with Payward, the parent company of Kraken, to explore how regulated market infrastructure and digital-native distribution can support the next phase of the tokenized public equity market. The LSE is evaluating a tokenized UK stock designed to expand access to capital markets while preserving shareholder rights, protection, and governance standards. This work will consider how LSEG's digital securities custody can support settlement and asset services (subject to regulatory approval). This initiative is part of LSEG's broader market infrastructure modernization, which includes the 24-hour trading platform LSE 24, digital securities custody, and a digital settlement house. Additionally, pending regulatory approval, the LSE plans to list xStocks on LSE 24 and begin trading in 2027.

Payward, the parent company of Kraken, has partnered with SoFi to introduce the SoFiUSD stablecoin and a 24/7 USD settlement network.

According to Cointelegraph, Payward has partnered with SoFi to bring the SoFiUSD stablecoin to Kraken and connect Payward to SoFi's 24/7 USD settlement network. SoFi will use Kraken Prime as a source of digital asset liquidity, and Payward will join the SoFi Exchange Network to access its commercial banking services. SoFiUSD is issued by SoFi Bank and is a USD stablecoin launched in 2026.

SoFi has 15.8 million members and has offered crypto trading in its app. Kraken stated that routing trades through Kraken Prime will provide SoFi with liquidity across multiple trading venues. Both parties indicated that as the partnership expands, qualified custody services may be added, allowing Kraken's institutional and commercial clients to access SEN's 24/7 USD settlement services.

Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, and 21 other financial institutions plan to establish a stablecoin joint venture, aiming to launch a USD stablecoin in 2027.

According to PR Newswire, 21 major international financial institutions have announced plans to establish a new company globally in the second half of 2026 to launch a bank reserve-backed stablecoin solution, initially focusing on USD-denominated stablecoins, with plans to expand to G7 currencies like the euro. The company aims to apply this in wholesale, institutional, and retail scenarios, including cross-border payments and digital asset settlements, while striving to meet compliance requirements such as the GENIUS Act and MiCA. Participating institutions include Bank of America, Citi, Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo, Fidelity Investments, and WisdomTree from the US, Deutsche Bank, UBS, Banco Santander, and BBVA from Europe, as well as MUFG Bank, Standard Bank, and Sirius International Holding, with a target to launch in the first half of 2027.

Circle and edgeX deepen cooperation to jointly expand FX and global asset trading markets on Arc chain.

Circle and decentralized perpetual contract trading platform edgeX jointly announced that on September 16, with the launch of the Arc mainnet, edgeX will become the flagship perp for Arc, providing 24/7 FX trading on the first day of the mainnet. Both parties will work together to promote the development of the foreign exchange and global asset trading markets on the Arc chain.

On the first day of the mainnet launch, edgeX will initially provide support for 24/7 trading of USD/JPY perpetual contracts and will launch over 150 perpetual contract markets covering US stocks, commodities, and crypto assets, all using Arc's native USDC as collateral and settlement assets.

Arc is a Layer 1 blockchain designed for stablecoin finance, featuring a built-in FX engine (StableFX), institutional-grade RFQ pricing system, and 24/7 on-chain PvP (payment versus payment) settlement using USDC as the native gas.

edgeX is invested by Circle Ventures and will exclusively launch the FX perp market for Arc Chain. edgeX is a leading centralized perpetual contract exchange by trading volume, having surpassed 900 billion in trading volume since its launch, allowing users to trade perpetual contracts for US stocks, commodities, foreign exchange, and crypto assets 24/7. Previously, Circle and edgeX teams collaborated on the issuance of native USDC on EDGE Chain and CCTP integration. This cooperation will further combine Circle's capabilities in stablecoin financial infrastructure with edgeX's experience in on-chain trading, jointly expanding 24/7 global asset trading scenarios.

In the future, both parties plan to gradually increase more mainstream foreign exchange trading pairs based on market demand and liquidity conditions and explore non-USD stablecoin collateral and on-chain FX spot markets.

Kast launches a stablecoin settlement and wealth management platform for enterprises.

According to Cointelegraph, stablecoin payment company Kast has launched the "KAST Business" platform, providing global enterprises with stablecoin-based business accounts, payment cards, cross-border transfers, and wealth management services. Enterprises can open fiat virtual accounts for receiving payments through partnered licensed institutions, deposit supported stablecoins and crypto assets, issue virtual cards, and make local payments in over 20 fiat currencies. The platform offers up to 8% annual returns on idle funds, sourced from short-term US Treasury bonds and stablecoin yields, and provides up to 3% cashback on spending. Kast previously completed a $80 million financing round, with a valuation of approximately $600 million, aiming to expand into North America, Latin America, and the Middle East, currently claiming to have over 1 million users, with a goal of attracting 1,000 to 5,000 active enterprises by the end of 2026.

Sui integrates Kravata to build stablecoin payment infrastructure in Latin America.

The stablecoin payment infrastructure platform Kravata has officially launched on the Sui public chain. Kravata provides compliant stablecoin infrastructure for the Latin American region, including stablecoin transfers, receipts, merchant settlements, and embeddable global account services, with transactions having zero gas fees and settling within seconds. Currently, Kravata has approximately 5 million users in Latin America, and related services will operate through the Sui network after this integration.

MSX has opened the third phase of Pre-IPO subscriptions, with globally high-profile unicorns Neuralink and Anduril going live.

According to the official announcement from MSX, the platform officially opened subscriptions for the third phase of Pre-IPO projects Neuralink and Anduril on August 31 at 18:00 (UTC+8), with subscriptions continuing until September 6, 2026, at 00:00 (UTC+8).

This phase exclusively features two globally high-profile AI unicorns—Neuralink, a leading brain-machine interface company owned by Elon Musk, and Anduril, a top AI defense technology unicorn in the US. User subscription amounts will be allocated based on the effective holdings of $MSX, with specific rules subject to the platform's announcement.

Previously, the second phase of MSX Pre-IPO project Polymarket has opened for redemption, achieving a subscription yield of 33.3%. Users can log in to the MSX platform to participate in this phase of subscriptions.

Financing Dynamics

SBI invests $270 million in Indonesian online broker Ajaib, betting on Southeast Asia's stablecoin settlement network.

According to CoinDesk, SBI Holdings plans to acquire a 20% stake in Indonesian online broker Ajaib Group for approximately $270 million by the end of this month to promote the issuance of its yen-pegged stablecoin JPYSC in Southeast Asia and build a blockchain-based cross-border settlement network. Ajaib provides securities brokerage, forex margin trading, cryptocurrency, and asset management services in Indonesia, which will provide SBI with access to an approximately $375 billion consumer retail market and over 20 million retail investors. This transaction is considered one of the largest tech financings in Indonesia in recent years and further enhances SBI's regulated crypto and digital securities infrastructure layout in Southeast Asia, following its acquisition of Singapore's Coinhako and investment in Singapore's digital securities platform DigiFT. The Japanese government previously announced plans to build a blockchain settlement infrastructure for stocks and government bonds in the early 2030s.

Stablecoin cross-border remittance startup Felix Pago completes $200 million Series B financing, with a16z participating.

According to Bloomberg, stablecoin cross-border remittance startup Felix Pago announced the completion of $200 million in Series B financing, which includes $87 million in equity financing and $113 million in credit facility financing. The equity financing was participated in by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), while the credit facility financing came from General Catalyst's Customer Value Fund.

Felix Pago is currently one of the most representative stablecoin remittance networks in Latin America, primarily using WhatsApp as the front-end entry and leveraging USDC and blockchain as the underlying settlement infrastructure, significantly reducing the cost and time for cross-border remittances from the US to Mexico.

Bullish provides $100 million debt facility to USD.AI for GPU-backed loans.

According to CoinDesk, cryptocurrency trading platform Bullish (NYSE: BLSH) will provide a $100 million debt financing to the stablecoin protocol USD.AI to provide liquidity for AI infrastructure loans backed by GPUs and other high-performance computing assets.

USD.AI is developed by Permian Labs and aims to connect AI infrastructure financing with on-chain capital, with over $225 million in crypto assets currently locked in the protocol. Bullish also plans to launch trading pairs related to USD.AI's yield-bearing token sUSDai, establishing a secondary market based on GPU-backed debt.

Stablecoin payment infrastructure startup Diameter Pay completes $10 million Series A financing.

According to The Block, stablecoin payment infrastructure startup Diameter Pay has completed $10 million in Series A financing, led by CMT Digital and Lightspeed Faction, with participation from SixThirty Ventures, Stellar Development Foundation, Tech Council Ventures, Onigiri Capital, and BitRock Capital.

This marks the first round of financing for Diameter Pay since its establishment. The company's founder and CEO, David Lighton, stated that they had previously relied on self-funding. This round of financing began in April this year and was completed in July, with the transaction conducted in equity form; the specific post-investment valuation has not been disclosed. Founded in 2023, the company primarily provides payment infrastructure for banks, fintech companies, and digital asset exchanges, helping clients obtain USD virtual accounts, domestic and international payments, stablecoin inflows and outflows, and compliance controls through partnerships with U.S. banks. Its USD virtual accounts allow overseas fintech companies to offer USD accounts to their customers, while Diameter Pay manages the compliance and payment controls behind the scenes, and can connect with stablecoin infrastructure.

Insights

Wintermute: After ETFs and DAT, RWA May Lead the Next Bull Market

PANews Overview: Currently, the flow of funds into the crypto market via ETFs is positive, but the incremental growth of traditional funding channels such as ETFs, DAT, and stablecoins has stabilized. The market still requires new sources of incremental funds to initiate the next bull market. Historically, each bull market has been driven by new liquidity channels, and RWA is currently the only potential channel that continues to grow.

The essence of RWA is not just asset tokenization but also liquidity tokenization. Its funds enter the on-chain system rather than being directed towards specific assets, resulting in a more moderate and lasting impact on the market compared to ETF-style impulses. Currently, the annual inflow scale of RWA is about $16 billion, only one-tenth of the peak of ETFs/DAT, and it remains in the early stages. The relaxation of regulatory frameworks and the widespread acceptance of tokenized assets as collateral are becoming catalysts for its growth.

If RWA drives the next bull market, funds are more likely to cover the entire on-chain ecosystem rather than a single cryptocurrency, leading to a potentially more moderate and lasting market trend, necessitating attention to the flow of funds and value accumulation.

Ethena × FalconX: Tokenized Stablecoin Reserves into Private Credit

PANews Overview: Ethena and FalconX have established a $1 billion revolving secured lending facility through a bankruptcy-remote SPV, directing USDe reserve assets towards over-collateralized institutional credit. FalconX acts as the initiator, service provider, and collateral manager, with collateral held by a third party, while Ethena occupies the highest repayment priority.

This move expands the sources of income for USDe from a single funding rate to four categories: staking yields, funding rates, treasury-like assets, and institutional guaranteed credit, providing a yield floor for sUSDe independent of crypto market conditions. It also encourages stablecoin issuers to enter the trillion-dollar private credit market as funding wholesalers.

Ethena's core moat comes from its zero-cost float size, diverse distribution network, top-tier counterparty resources, and compliance first-mover advantage. This layout is a necessary investment for its cyclical resilience and to enhance its institutional narrative, marking a shift in the second half of the stablecoin competition towards asset-side capability comparisons.

As the "back-end" of tokenization is now clearly priced, who is collecting the toll in the era of "everything on-chain"?

PANews Overview: The competitive focus in the tokenization industry has shifted from front-end asset issuance to back-end clearing, custody, settlement, and repurchase, with capital beginning to assign clear pricing to these "back-end pipelines."

Recent events confirm this trend: Bain Capital led a $74 million investment in clearing custodian RQD*, betting on the structural fee value of tokenized clearing and settlement; Korea's Mirae Asset acquired the exchange Digital X, leveraging compliance licenses and existing users to create a $10.9 billion integrated layout of "stablecoin + RWA + STO"; Virtu, Tradeweb, and others completed the first full-chain sovereign bond repurchase, achieving atomic settlement in 10 minutes, validating the feasibility of on-chain collateral financing channels.

Front-end issuance and distribution are rapidly scaling, with barriers lowering. The back-end facilities that are regulated, auditable, and capable of collateral financing are the core scarce assets. The winners in the industry will be those who control the settlement and clearing pipelines and collect the "toll fees"; currently, these remain early market signals.

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