Stablecoin News and Analysis

Latest reporting on stablecoins, payments, regulation, tokenized assets and digital money. Leading story: For the first time since Congress taxed the state banknote out of existence in 1865, companies that are not banks issue dollars that people spend. There are $318 billion of them, fully reserved, forbidden by law to be lent, and cleared through the banks their issuers set out to leave.

The Return of Private Money — lead story artwork
The Return of Private Money — lead story artwork

PhotonPay Raises $40 Million Series C Led by Blockchain Capital to Link Stablecoin Wallets With Cards and Local Clearing. Hong Kong based PhotonPay closed a $40 million Series C led by Blockchain Capital, with SBI Group joining; it reports a $65 billion annualised transaction volume as of August 2026, 34 licences and 4.4 million cards issued in 12 months, and plans MCP support for AI agents. South Africa's eZAR Rand Stablecoin Opens to the Public After a Year Long Pilot, With R303 Million in Circulation. eZAR, a rand backed stablecoin whose reserves are invested mainly in the Ninety One Money Market Fund, has opened to the public through partner wallets, ITWeb reported on 2 November; the company says R303 million was in circulation on 30 October, and reserve returns are shared daily with partners. OnePay Lets Select US Customers Deposit USDC Into Checking as Dollars, Powered by Stripe's Bridge. Select OnePay customers can send USDC on 12 blockchains, including Tempo, Base, Solana and Ethereum, and have it converted to US dollars in OnePay Checking, with no conversion fee at launch, OnePay says; Bridge handles compliance checks and conversion. OKX Launches Mastercard Stablecoin Card in the US, Letting Users Spend USDC, USDT and USDG Without Converting First. OKX Card, a virtual Mastercard issued by WebBank, went live for eligible US customers on 2 November, with spending backed by USDC, USDT or USDG held in OKX Pay; it is not available in New York, Massachusetts or five US territories, and OKX pairs it with up to 10% USDG cashback and up to 10% APY on USDG balances. Stripe Launches Stripe Pay for Free Instant B2B Transfers Between Stripe Profiles, in Preview. Businesses can send USD, GBP or USDC to another Stripe business by its profile handle from the Dashboard or CLI; Stripe says transfers are free, and its documentation limits the preview to eligible US and UK businesses with Treasury financial accounts. Anchorpoint Plans HKDAP Minting on Solana and Explores Card Issuer Settlement With Visa and Mastercard. The Standard Chartered led issuer of Hong Kong's licensed HKDAP stablecoin plans native minting and redemption on Solana and will explore HKDAP settlement for card issuers on Visa and Mastercard; no launch dates were given and HKDAP's beta remains on Ethereum. Tencent's TenPay Global and Mastercard Sign MOU on Cross Border QR Payments, Weixin Remittances and Agentic Commerce. TenPay Global and Mastercard signed a memorandum of understanding on 2 November to explore QR acceptance for international visitors in mainland China, more Mastercard Move remittances into the Weixin ecosystem and agentic payments; it is exploratory, with no launch dates or volumes. Circle Q3 2026: Revenue Rises 17% to $865 Million on ARC Token Presale as Reserve Income Falls and USDC Supply Stays Flat. Circle reported third quarter total revenue and reserve income of $865 million on 4 November 2026, including $182 million from the presale of its ARC token, while reserve income fell 8% to $658 million; USDC in circulation was $73.9 billion at 30 September, unchanged from a year earlier, and the company disclosed a workforce reduction of about 5%. Yellow Card Buys Brazil's GoMoney, Adding Pix Collections and Stablecoin Settlement While Central Bank Authorisation Is Pending. Yellow Card said on 4 November 2026 that it completed the acquisition of São Paulo virtual asset service provider GoMoney in October, giving its clients Brazilian real collections and payouts, including through Pix, with settlement in stablecoins; GoMoney operates under Brazil's transitional regime while Banco Central do Brasil reviews its application for authorisation. Pine Labs and Stripe Launch Unified Online and In Store Payments for Singapore Retailers, With Southeast Asia Expansion Planned for 2027. Pine Labs and Stripe said on 4 November 2026 that, starting this month, eligible Singapore retailers can use Stripe for online payments and Pine Labs terminals for in store card payments through one platform, with a single transaction view, multi issuer instalment plans and pay by points; expansion to other Southeast Asian markets is planned for 2027. Taiwan FSC Drafts Stablecoin Issuance Rules: Banks Can Apply, Non Bank Issuers Need NT$300 Million and a Single Purpose Licence. Taiwan's Financial Supervisory Commission said on 3 November that its draft stablecoin rules would let banks and bank invested companies apply, require non bank issuers to hold NT$300 million in paid in capital and be public, single purpose companies, and allow only coins pegged one to one to the New Taiwan dollar or a single foreign currency; the draft goes to a 40 day consultation. Hong Kong's FPS to Link With UnionPay International by End 2026, Opening QR Payments at 100 Million Merchants. The HKMA said on 2 November that Hong Kong's Faster Payment System will connect to UnionPay International by the end of 2026, letting users of FPS enabled bank and wallet apps scan QR codes at more than 100 million merchants in Hong Kong, the Chinese mainland and over 40 other markets; fees, exchange rates and participating institutions have not been announced. Kraken Lists SG FORGE's EURCV Euro Stablecoin, With Societe Generale Acting as Market Maker. Kraken opened trading in Societe Generale FORGE's MiCA regulated EUR CoinVertible on 3 November, with Societe Generale providing liquidity as a market maker; the companies said EURCV is expected to become a cash leg for collateral in Kraken's crypto derivatives later, with no date given. HKMA Moves Ensemble TX to 24/7 Interbank Settlement in Tokenised Central Bank Money, With 12 Banks Now in the Pilot. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority said on 2 November that banks in its Ensemble TX pilot can now settle tokenised deposit transactions with each other around the clock in tokenised central bank money; Standard Chartered launched tokenised deposits for corporate clients on the rail and BOCHK reported more than HK$2.3 billion in real val…

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