The Stable Scoop: Asia hits $2.3T in institutional flows, Europe pushes a digital euro, and Binance dominates USD1 custody

Editor - Jackie

🌍 Macro: Asia’s $2.3T institutional crypto flows lift stablecoin rails, while Gate and Coinbase frame the next growth cycle

Asia’s institutions flirt with stablecoin rails totaling $2.3T regional crypto flows, but keep the risk dial low

• Institutional crypto transactions in Asia rose 70% year over year to $2.3 trillion by mid-2025, alongside growing interest in stablecoin rails.
• Speakers described institutional demand as real but cautious, with a preference for market-neutral and yield strategies rather than directional risk.
• Japanese mega banks are working on stablecoin solutions, while some participants noted internal treasury stablecoin adoption is still waiting on clearer standards.

Gate CEO says stablecoins already won, and banks are adjusting - Lin Han said stablecoins are crypto’s clearest success, banks should use them to speed services, and Gate will stay neutral by integrating existing stablecoins rather than issuing its own.

Bernstein keeps $440 Coinbase target, citing $5.2T 2025 trading volume and stablecoin focus - Bernstein reiterated “outperform” and a $440 target (212% upside), pointing to $5.2T 2025 volume and management priorities that include scaling stablecoin utility and payments infrastructure despite a $667M net loss.

🔍 Policies: Banking lobby urges OCC to slow crypto charters, Brazil targets USDe-style models, and China narrows RMB stablecoin paths

Slow the charters! Bank lobby warns OCC crypto approvals could confuse consumers and shake deposits

• The American Bankers Association asked the OCC to slow approvals of national bank charters for digital-asset firms until oversight expectations are clearer.
• The ABA said GENIUS Act implementation could take years and require coordinated rulemaking across five agencies, and it criticized conditional approvals that rely on future GENIUS compliance via “conform, cease, or divest” requirements.
• The letter also argued firms not engaged in banking should not use “bank” in their name, warning mislabeling could trigger a consumer-confidence crisis, and the article noted ongoing debate over stablecoin yield and a cited claim that up to $6T in deposits could shift if yield is not restricted.

Europe doubles down on a digital euro, aiming to block “U.S. stablecoin” dominance with online + offline cash

• This was the first time the European Parliament backed a digital euro with both “online and offline functionality.”
• A Parliament summary warned that digital payments, if left to “private and non-EU actors,” risk “new forms of exclusion,” and lawmakers want the ECB to intensify monitoring of crypto-assets.
• Piero Cipollone said a properly designed digital euro would counter the surge in U.S. stablecoins so EU citizens wouldn’t need anything beyond an electronic euro.

Brazil moves to ban USDe-style stablecoins and force fully segregated reserves - Brazil advanced Bill 4.308/2024 to prohibit issuing/trading stablecoins like USDe and Frax, ban derivatives as backing, and impose up to eight years’ prison in a market where stablecoins reportedly drive 90% of crypto volume.

Asia’s onchain retail use speeds up as stablecoin rules mature, but merchants still want local currency - Panelists said Asia’s strong digital-payments baseline is accelerating onchain adoption (e.g., Lotte’s 5M+ Aptos vouchers), while HKD and other local-currency preferences still constrain USDT/USDC usage.

China tightens yuan-stablecoin and RWA tokenization rules, leaving only narrow carveouts - China is described as cutting off RMB-stablecoin issuance channels and broadly banning domestic stablecoin circulation and most RWA tokenization, while leaving limited room for government-approved pilots and possible sandbox debate.

Ripple’s Alderoty urges action on the Clarity Act as stablecoin yield fights drag on - Alderoty said “compromise is in the air” after White House talks and pushed negotiators to move “while the window is still open,” as banks warn rewards could drain deposits and lawmakers set a March 1 deadline.

Fintechs back a “skinny” Fed payment account as banks warn it could boost stablecoin models - Goldfeder argued a capped, non-interest Fed settlement account could expand competition without new risk, while bank groups flagged stablecoin issuance and crypto-adjacent firms as likely beneficiaries of direct rails access.

US banks ask OCC to slow crypto-linked trust charters as stablecoin rules lag - ABA urged the OCC to “pump the brakes” on charter decisions, arguing GENIUS-linked conditional approvals could outpace rulemaking and intensify the political fight over stablecoin yield language.

Russia pitches a digital ruble for BRICS trade as stablecoins stay limited to cross-border use - Russia is framed as targeting a Sept. 1 rollout and positioning the CBDC as a BRICS trade tool, while officials signal no domestic stablecoin use even if cross-border stablecoins face less opposition.

Thailand opens the door to crypto-linked derivatives under its regulated markets framework - Thailand approved changes letting crypto serve as underlying instruments for regulated derivatives, with follow-on rules and TFEX coordination planned alongside a broader tokenization and crypto ETF roadmap.

🔥 Biz Beats:  Binance custodies 89% of USD1 as the Trump-linked stablecoin reaches $5.4B in circulation

Binance becomes USD1’s mega-custodian, holding 89% as the Trump-linked stablecoin hits $5.4B

• Arkham data shows Binance custodies 89% of USD1, and notes “no other major stablecoin has such a high proportion” on a single third-party exchange.
• USD1 has $5.4 billion in circulation and “jumped over 50% in the past month,” making it the fifth largest stablecoin by circulation.
• USD1 is backed by U.S. government bonds, dollar deposits and cash equivalents, and Zak Folkman said the goal is to make USD1 “the preferred stablecoin for major institutions.”

Tempo recruits Farcaster founders and points to a $500M raise at a $5B valuation - Tempo added Dan Romero and Varun Srinivasan to push mainstream stablecoin payments, as Merkle planned to return ~$180M post-acquisition and Tempo cited a $500M raise, December testnet, and major design partners.

CZ says a Trump pardon clears the path for Binance’s U.S. return as USD1 claims swirl - Zhao said he “didn’t do anything” to get the pardon and argued it’s key for U.S. re-entry, while critics alleged an MGX deal linked to Binance was conducted in USD1 and the article noted custody concentration claims.

Blockchain.com wins FCA registration to offer UK crypto services, expanding its Europe footprint - Blockchain.com received FCA registration to provide brokerage, custody, and institutional services, citing $1.2T+ processed and 90M wallets, with plans to seek full authorization later this year.

Bithumb’s $43B bitcoin ledger error sparks compensation plan and tougher oversight talk - Bithumb said 99.7% was recovered and the remaining 0.3% (~$123.4M) repaid, while affected users get set compensation terms and regulators cited systemic ledger-control weaknesses.

Robinhood crypto revenue drops 38% as CEO pushes tokenization and a broader onchain strategy - Tenev said not to be distracted by short-term fluctuations as crypto trading revenue fell to $221M, while the company leaned into tokenization and referenced launching its own stablecoin.

Lawmakers hit SEC chair over case pullbacks as markets slide and WLFI ties draw scrutiny - Lynch warned “people are losing trust” as lawmakers questioned dropped/paused enforcement actions amid claims of political ties, with Atkins declining to comment on specific cases.

💡Rollouts: New stablecoin infra ships across regions, from UAE’s AED token to SoFiUSD plans on Ethereum

Sui gets its first synthetic dollar: suiUSDe launches with a $10M seeded vault and $25M capacity

• The article said Ethena-backed eSui Dollar (suiUSDe) is live on Sui mainnet as the network’s first synthetic dollar.
• SUI Group Holdings seeded a suiUSDe vault with $10M, described as one of the largest initial stablecoin deployments on Sui, with a permissionless vault run by Ember Protocol and an initial capacity of $25M.
• SuiUSDe is the first synthetic dollar supported by DeepBook Margin.

Agant gets FCA registration ahead of GBPA debut for institutional settlement use cases - Agant secured UK registration to launch a fully backed 1:1 GBP stablecoin aimed at institutional payments, settlement, and tokenized assets, in a market where existing GBP tokens remain tiny.

WLFI plans “World Swap” remittance and FX product to drive USD1 adoption - WLFI is reported to be building an FX/remittance platform pitched to cut cross-border costs and connect to debit cards and bank accounts, while also citing $320M in lending activity and ongoing probe scrutiny.

MoonPay and Deel target stablecoin payroll-to-wallet payouts for 40,000 UK/EU businesses - MoonPay said Deel’s payroll scale ($22B processed in 2025) could help route stablecoin deposits directly into employee wallets via MoonPay’s Iron, with U.S. expansion planned later.

UAE launches dirham stablecoin DDSC on ADI Chain with central bank licensing - DDSC is described as a 1:1 AED-backed token live on ADI Chain with FAB custodying reserves, backed by sponsors including IHC and FAB, and paired with claims about payment/remittance market size and major MOUs.

SoFi plans to issue SoFiUSD on Ethereum for trading, remittances, and payments - SoFiUSD is described as fully cash-backed with immediate redemption, with SoFi suggesting it could share yield while keeping reserves at the Fed and positioning it as plumbing for its crypto and payments stack.

Farcaster founders move to Stripe-backed Tempo as it gears up for a stablecoin payments chain - Dan Romero and Varun Srinivasan joined Tempo after Neynar acquired Farcaster (with Romero saying he’ll return $180M raised), as Tempo stacks hires, cites Stripe/Paradigm backing, names major partners, and targets a full launch later this year.

👋 That’s your stablecoin scoop for the week!

Until next time — AllScale Weekly

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