The Stable Scoop: $35B On-Chain Boom, China’s Oil Giant Tests Stables , RLUSD Heads To Tokyo

Editor - Jackie

🌍 Macro: Global stablecoin flows top $35B and Standard Chartered eyes $2T demand by 2028

$35B stablecoin boom in inflation-hit economies

• Global stablecoin transaction volumes have surged past $35 billion.
• Adoption in Argentina hit $11 billion annually amid 140% inflation, while Nigeria processes $24 billion yearly despite official bans.
• Turkey saw $63 billion in annual transfers, equal to 3.7% of its GDP.

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Ex-Binance’s CZ Zhao says CBDCs outdated as stablecoins rise

• Ex-Binance’s CZ Zhao argued that central bank digital currencies are “already outdated,” while stablecoins continue to gain attention.
• At least 10 countries, including Japan, Denmark, Finland, Singapore, South Korea, and the U.S., have halted CBDC pilots.
• Standard Chartered projected the stablecoin sector could reach $2 trillion, requiring $1.6 trillion in additional Treasury reserves.

Wall Street pushes back against stablecoin law - Associations are lobbying to prohibit all crypto firms from offering yield on stablecoins and to repeal nationwide operations for uninsured state-chartered institutions.

Stablecoins eyed to reshape $4T Treasury market - Standard Chartered forecast stablecoin demand could reach $2 trillion by 2028, with Bernstein projecting $4 trillion by 2035.

Ethena’s USDe climbs to $12B supply on yield loops - Ethena’s USDe stablecoin supply has surged to $12 billion as of Aug. 25, equal to over 15% of USDC’s supply.

🔍 Policies: China’s energy giant CNPC tests trade stablecoins and U.S. Commerce puts GDP data on-chain

China’s oil giant CNPC tests stablecoins for global trade

• State energy giant CNPC will assess whether stablecoins can cut transaction costs and expand yuan usage in international trade.
• The firm is monitoring Hong Kong’s forthcoming stablecoin licensing regime as part of the study.
• CNPC is one of the world’s largest oil producers.

U.S. Commerce Department to issue data on blockchain - Secretary Howard Lutnick announced the department will begin publishing GDP and other economic data “on the blockchain” for government-wide use; Lutnick’s firm Cantor Fitzgerald has ties to Tether and claims to custody most of the stablecoin’s U.S. Treasury reserves.

Former China PBoC chief questions stablecoin need - Zhou Xiaochuan warned stablecoins risk overuse for speculation and could amplify bank run risks through a “multiplier effect.”

UK MP warns lack of crypto laws risks consumer flight - MP Gurinder Singh Josan said failure to legislate pushes UK users toward unregulated offshore providers.

🔥 Biz Beats: Ripple–SBI to push RLUSD in Japan, Binance stablecoin reserves +$3B, and Tether market share slips below 60%

Ripple-SBI team up to push stablecoins into Japan’s market

• Ripple signed an MoU with SBI Holdings to distribute its USD-backed stablecoin RLUSD in Japan starting Q1 2026.
• RLUSD reserves include USD deposits, U.S. Treasuries, and other cash equivalents, verified monthly by an independent auditor.
• SBI executives said RLUSD strengthens the reliability and convenience of stablecoins in the Japanese market.

Circle and Mastercard double down on stablecoin payments

• Mastercard will expand its partnership with Circle to let acquirers in Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa settle payments in USDC and EURC.
• Circle will integrate USDC into Finastra’s infrastructure, which processes over $5 trillion in cross-border payments each day.
• The initiative aims to reduce FX costs and settlement delays as stablecoin volumes now surpass Visa and PayPal.

Binance stablecoin reserves jump $3B and capital stays parked

• ERC-20 stablecoin reserves on Binance climbed from $32B to $35.5B, signaling fresh inflows rather than cashouts.
• CryptoQuant said Bitcoin profit-taking was muted, leaving capital parked on Binance.
• The new reserves highlight investors’ preference to hold liquidity in stablecoins while awaiting re-entry into markets.

Binance opens final 500M USDT Plasma yield batch - Binance has launched the final tranche of its Plasma USDT Locked Product, capped at 500M USDT with a 10k USDT limit per user. The program ends with the same dual reward structure offered in prior batches.

Toyota explores blockchain mobility with stablecoins - Toyota’s Blockchain Lab proposed the Mobility Orchestration Network (MON) to unlock value in vehicle ownership across industries, the system also connects to stablecoin networks via Avalanche’s Interchain Messaging.

Polygon completes $1B+ USDT0 migration - Polygon confirmed the migration of more than $1 billion in USDT liquidity into USDT0, making all reserves auditable on Ethereum and cutting prior bridge times of up to three hours to near-instant transfers.

Binance overtakes Tron in USDT market flows - Tron holds 45% of Tether flows, down from nearly 49%, while BNB Chain surged past 20% and Ethereum regained over 30%.

Vitalik Buterin critiques prediction markets without stablecoin yield - Buterin said major prediction markets fail as hedging tools because they don’t pay interest, forcing users to give up a 4% APY available on stable assets. He expects new use cases to emerge once markets integrate yield on stablecoins.

deBridge connects Tron to 25+ blockchains - deBridge now links Tron to Ethereum, Solana, and 25+ chains with real-time, MEV-protected swaps. The integration turns Tron into a major liquidity gateway for global stablecoin transfers.

UAE banks back AED stablecoin and RWA plans - Zand partnered with CoinMENA to advance crypto transactions, supported by institutions including First Abu Dhabi Bank, IHC, and ADQ. The UAE Central Bank will regulate a new AED-backed stablecoin tied to the alliance.

Stable expands leadership for Tether-focused layer 1 chain - Layer-1 blockchain Stable has appointed Matthew Tabbiner, founder of Frax with experience building a $1.4B stablecoin, as CEO.

Tether’s market share dips below 60% - Tether’s share of the stablecoin market dropped to 59.55%, its lowest since March 2023, though its market cap remains $168B—double Circle’s USDC.

💡Rollouts: Google Cloud unveils GCUL L1 for banks, Tether brings USDT to Bitcoin via RGB, and OKX launches $100M X Layer fund

Google Cloud joins the stablecoin blockchain race with GCUL chain

• Google Cloud announced its own Layer 1 chain, GCUL, designed for banks and institutions to handle payments and settlements.
• The chain is open to stablecoin issuers and payments firms, while rivals Circle and Stripe are building their own stablecoin-focused blockchains.
• Google positioned GCUL as a neutral infrastructure for cross-border and asset settlement.
• Critics argued GCUL is a permissioned chain aimed at absorbing deposits, rather than fully supporting open stablecoin use.

Stablecoin meets Bitcoin: Tether integrates with RGB

• Tether will launch USD₮ on RGB, a protocol for private and scalable digital asset issuance on Bitcoin.
• Users can hold and transfer USD₮ alongside BTC in the same wallet, even offline.
• RGB, launched this month in v0.11.1, enables private and user-controlled asset issuance on Bitcoin.
• CEO Paolo Ardoino said Bitcoin deserves a stablecoin that feels “native, lightweight, private, and scalable.”

Gate unveils GUSD, a U.S. treasury-backed stablecoin with yield

• GUSD is a stablecoin backed by real-world assets like U.S. Treasuries, offering low-risk investment returns.
• Users can mint GUSD 1:1 with USDT or USDC, with redemption providing both principal and accrued yield.
• Gate expects GUSD’s fund size to surpass $100M, with a staking pool offering up to 365% annualized yield.

Gate partners with WLFI for exclusive USD1 rewards - Gate will become the first exchange to launch a rewards program exclusively for USD1 stablecoin users; rewards will apply to spot trading, stablecoin conversions, holding balances, and Earn projects.

Plasma partners with EtherFi on $500M ETH vault integration - EtherFi will transfer over $500M from its staking vault to Plasma, fueling stablecoin-backed yield strategies.

OKX launches $100M fund and waives stablecoin fees - OKX created a $100M ecosystem fund to support developers building on its new zkEVM X Layer network.

Ripple and Gemini debut XRP credit card with stablecoin support - Ripple and Gemini launched a credit card featuring XRP rewards and stablecoin functionality on Gemini’s US platform.

Aave V3 launches on Aptos in first non-EVM move - Aave deployed V3 on Aptos, supporting APT, USDC, USDT, and sUSDe lending and borrowing with Chainlink price feeds.

Aave Labs launches Horizon for RWA-backed stablecoin borrowing - Horizon lets institutions post tokenized Treasuries and CLOs as collateral to borrow stablecoins like USDC, RLUSD, and GHO.

SBI and Chainlink team up on institutional stablecoin adoption - SBI and Chainlink will focus on tokenized RWAs, tokenized funds, and regulated stablecoins. Chainlink Proof of Reserve will provide onchain verification of reserves backing stablecoins.

Polygon completes $1.3B USDT migration to USDT0 - The migration moved $1B+ in liquidity from Polygon’s PoS USDT to USDT0, backed 1:1 on Ethereum. Transfers now settle across chains in seconds instead of hours.

Bit Mining debuts DOLAI stablecoin on Solana with AI-native focus - BIT Mining launched DOLAI, a USD-backed stablecoin fully collateralized 1:1 with cash and short-term U.S. Treasuries.

Aeon partners with Spark to bring $SPK to real-world payments - Spark powers $4B+ in stablecoin liquidity while Aeon Pay supports offline payments at 20M+ merchants across Southeast Asia. The partnership lets Spark holders convert token utility into everyday spending power.

Flamingo Finance adds LP tokens as collateral - Flamingo now allows LP tokens to be used as collateral for borrowing FUSD, its USD-pegged stablecoin.

LBank joins WLFI to boost USD1 adoption - USD1, a 1:1 USD-pegged stablecoin launched in April 2025, will be supported through LBank’s new Points Program rewarding trading, holding, and ecosystem activity.

Moca Network launches AIR Shop with stablecoin-backed loyalty points - AIR SP loyalty points will be backed on-chain by USD-denominated stablecoins to preserve value.

Finastra and Circle team up on cross-border USDC settlement - Finastra’s Global PAYplus, which processes $5T in daily cross-border flows, will integrate with Circle’s USDC, combining blockchain with the scale of traditional banking.

Algorand and XBTO partner on USDC liquidity support - XBTO will act as a strategic market maker for ALGO, improving liquidity across Tier-1 and Tier-2 exchanges. The partnership leverages Algorand’s blockchain to streamline USDC stablecoin transfers between custody wallets and exchanges.

Linklogis partners with XRPL for cross-border stablecoin finance - Linklogis will deploy its trade finance application on XRPL mainnet. Both firms will develop new products, including stablecoin-based settlement systems and smart contract platforms.

Aleo joins Global Dollar Network with USDG integration - Aleo will adopt USDG for treasury management and vendor payments as part of joining the Global Dollar Network. The foundation called it recognition of Aleo’s privacy-first technology in shaping global finance.

Everclear adds TRON support for cross-chain stablecoin flows - TRON hosts $82B in circulating USDT with 2.86M daily active users executing 8.8M daily transactions. Everclear enables seamless rebalancing of USDT between TRON and 20+ other blockchains.

💲 Money in motion: This week’s hottest stablecoin industry financing moves!

👋 That's your stablecoin scoop for the week.

Until next time — AllScale Weekly

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