This Week's Highlights
The statistical period covered by this weekly report is from October 9, 2026 to October 16, 2026.
This week, the RWA sector rebounded to USD 39.18 billion, up 1.06% month-over-month, returning to an expansionary channel. The number of asset holders increased to 5.2637 million, up 16.3% month-over-month, with the user base continuing to expand. The total market capitalization of stablecoins maintained USD 292.4 billion, demonstrating resilience, with holders and monthly active addresses steadily rising, but monthly transfer volume continued to contract, indicating a temporary cooling in on-chain capital flow activity.
At the regulatory level, the EU's ESMA publicly solicited opinions on the use of tokenized collateral by central clearing institutions, the EBA recognized USDC as the first significant electronic money token under the MiCA framework and transferred certain supervisory powers, and the Dutch central bank granted Qivalis an EMI license to support its launch of a MiCA-compliant euro stablecoin jointly backed by multiple European banks.
At the project level, Ant International completed the subscription of the Huaxia RMB Digital Currency Fund, connecting the link from cross-border digital RMB allocation to offshore asset investment. Ant Digital Technologies, together with HSBC, completed a small-amount payment test for AI agent tokenized deposits. Robinhood, Bybit, Perpetuals.com, and other parties advanced the research and development of tokenized stock products, among which Perpetuals.com became another institution after OKXICE planning to use the SEC innovation exemption to build a tokenized U.S. stock trading platform. Standard Chartered, Ripple, Visa, Stripe, and others accelerated their layout in commercialization scenarios such as stablecoin custody, collateralization, cross-border payments, and multi-currency payment cards.
At the financing level, Fission and Multiliquid successively obtained financing, and Tether increased its investment in Latin American RWA payment infrastructure.
Data Insights
RWA Sector Panorama
According to the latest data disclosed by RWA.xyz, as of October 16, 2026, the total on-chain market capitalization of RWA reached USD 39.18 billion, rebounding 1.06% from the same period last month and resuming an expansionary trend. The total number of asset holders climbed to 5.2637 million, up 16.3% from the same period last month. The holder base expanded significantly, presenting a sector pattern of "asset scale returning to an upward trend and holder count accelerating growth."
Stablecoin Market
The total market capitalization of stablecoins reached USD 292.4 billion, up slightly 0.24% from the same period last month; monthly transfer volume was USD 6.44 trillion, down sharply 17.75% from the same period last month; the total number of monthly active addresses reached 59.09 million, up 2.35% from the same period last month; the total number of holders rose to 298 million, up 2.9% from the same period last month. Overall, the monthly stablecoin stock market capitalization remained resilient, user-side addresses and holder scale continued to expand, and the on-chain user base grew steadily, but monthly transfer transaction volume experienced a phased contraction, indicating a short-term cooling in on-chain capital flow activity.
The leading stablecoins are USDT, USDC, and USDS, among which USDT's market capitalization increased 0.44% from the same period last month; USDC's market capitalization was flat compared with the same period last month; USDS's market capitalization rose slightly 0.02% from the same period last month.
Regulatory News
ESMA Solicits Opinions on the Use of Tokenized Collateral by Central Clearing Institutions
The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) published a consultation paper soliciting opinions on whether and under what conditions EU central counterparties (CCPs) can safely and effectively use tokenized collateral, covering "digital twins" of traditional assets, natively issued on-chain assets, and hybrid models, and focusing on issues such as the realizability of tokenized collateral in the event of a clearing member default, segregation of client assets, and settlement finality. The consultation period ends on January 15, 2027. ESMA will evaluate feedback in the first quarter of 2027 and decide on next steps.
European Banking Authority Lists USDC as First Significant Electronic Money Token Under MiCA
According to the official website of the European Banking Authority (EBA), the EBA has recognized USDC issued by Circle Internet Financial Europe SAS as a significant electronic money token (EMT) under the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA). Currently, a total of 45 EMTs in the EU have completed notifications under MiCA, and USDC is the first token recognized as a significant EMT.
Starting from November 12, 2026, prudential supervisory responsibilities for USDC, including own funds, reserve assets, liquidity requirements, and recovery and redemption plans, will be transferred from the French Prudential Supervision and Resolution Authority (ACPR) to the EBA. The ACPR will continue to be responsible for supervision in areas such as corporate governance, qualifying holdings, outsourcing, and conflicts of interest. In addition, the EBA has signed a memorandum of understanding with the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) to strengthen cross-border stablecoin regulatory cooperation.
Dutch Central Bank Approves Qivalis Electronic Money Institution License, Plans to Launch MiCA-Compliant Euro Stablecoin
According to CoinDesk, the Dutch central bank has granted Amsterdam-based company Qivalis an electronic money institution (EMI) license, allowing it to issue euro-denominated electronic money tokens compliant with the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA). Qivalis is backed by 37 major European banks, including BBVA, BNP Paribas, ING, and DZ Bank, covering 15 countries. The company plans to launch a 1:1 pegged euro stablecoin in the coming months for on-chain euro settlement infrastructure. Before official issuance, Qivalis still needs to meet remaining MiCA requirements, including publishing a white paper. The token will mainly be distributed through banks, cryptocurrency exchanges, and payment service providers, rather than directly to consumers. After obtaining the license, Qivalis will be subject to ongoing supervision by the Dutch central bank.
South Korea Plans to Open Bond and Fund Tokenization, Annual Net Buying Limit for Retail OTC Investment May Be Set at KRW 100 Million
According to South Korean media EToday, the Financial Services Commission disclosed that the deadline for soliciting opinions on supporting amendments to the Electronic Securities Act and the Capital Markets Act related to securities tokenization is November 11, with implementation planned to align with the law's effective date of February 4, 2027.
It is reported that the amendments plan to expand the scope of tokenization to traditional securities such as stocks, bonds, and funds, and adopt a phased introduction mechanism. The first phase is expected to cover private money market funds (MMFs) exclusively for institutional investors, private bonds, trust-based unlisted stocks, and publicly offered fractional investment securities. Public bonds and funds for ordinary investors will be gradually opened after evaluating initial market operations and demand.
South Korean regulators also plan to establish an approval basis for bond over-the-counter exchanges for ordinary investors and propose limiting ordinary investors' annual net purchases on a single exchange to KRW 100 million. In addition, the settlement mechanism remains a subsequent focus. Initially, the existing cash settlement system of the Korea Securities Depository will continue to be used, while on-chain securities delivery based on stablecoins will need to wait for related legislative progress.
Brazil's B3 Plans to Launch Tokenized Stock Platform in the First Half of 2027, Delayed from Original Plan
According to Bitcoin.com, Brazilian stock exchange B3 is expected to launch a tokenized asset platform in the first half of 2027, delayed from the previously planned second half of 2026. Initially, tokenized stocks will share the same trading book, prices, and liquidity with traditional stocks, using T+2 settlement; 24/7 trading and instant settlement still require regulatory approval. B3 also plans to launch a stablecoin and will apply to the Central Bank of Brazil for digital asset operation and custody licenses.
Bank of England: No Rush to Launch Digital Pound "Britcoin"
According to Bloomberg, Bank of England Deputy Governor Sarah Breeden said during the International Monetary Fund (IMF) annual meeting that the UK is currently in no rush to launch a retail central bank digital currency, namely the digital pound "Britcoin." Whether to proceed with the digital pound project depends on whether other innovative payment solutions such as commercial stablecoins and bank tokenized deposits can realize the benefits brought by tokenization. She also emphasized the hope that UK companies can develop successful pound stablecoins, avoiding a situation where UK residents and businesses can only use innovative payment services through dollar stablecoins.
Local Observations
HSBC and Ant Digital Technologies Complete Small-Amount Payment Test for AI Agent Tokenized Deposits
According to a press release published by PR Newswire, Ant Digital Technologies and HSBC announced the completion of a technical validation test for small-amount payments by AI agents. AI agents can discover and invoke digital services on behalf of users and complete payment in one step, typically below USD 2 per transaction, with real-time settlement. In the test, HSBC's Tokenized Deposit Service (TDS) provided settlement and real-time risk control through the MCP interface, while Ant Digital Technologies' Anvita Flow was responsible for service invocation and small-amount payment settlement. On-chain transactions were completed on the Layer 2 blockchain Jovay testnet. Both parties stated that this test was exploratory only and not a commercial launch.
Ant International Completes Subscription of Huaxia RMB Digital Currency FundAnt International and China Asset Management (Hong Kong) jointly announced that Ant International has recently completed the subscription of the ChinaAMC RMB Digital Money Market Fund, which has been incorporated into Ant International's treasury allocation. The fund transfer was initiated by Ant International at China Construction Bank Shanghai Pudong Branch, with digital RMB assets transferred in real time from Shanghai to Hong Kong, and then transferred to the relevant account at Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong), with the fund subscription completed in offshore RMB. This operation thereby achieved full-chain connectivity of "cross-border digital RMB transfer + offshore RMB asset investment."
Project Progress
Morgan Stanley to Support Tokenized Stocks on Alternative Trading System in Q1 Next Year
According to The Block, Amy Oldenburg, Head of Digital Asset Strategy at Morgan Stanley, said that Morgan Stanley expects to begin supporting tokenized stocks on its Alternative Trading System (ATS) in the first quarter of 2027, a timeline later than the previously announced plan for the second half of 2026. "The first quarter may be more realistic, as it would keep pace with other activities in the broader ecosystem, but the team is certainly actively advancing the related buildout."
BNY and Citadel Securities Complete Triparty Repo Transaction Using Tokenized U.S. Treasuries
According to an official press release from Bank of New York Mellon (BNY), BNY and Citadel Securities completed a triparty repo transaction process using tokenized U.S. Treasuries, marking the first time tokenized assets have been used on a major triparty repo platform. Citadel Securities purchased a 2-year U.S. Treasury through BNY on the Tradeweb platform, with the tokenized representation of the Treasury recorded on BNY's private digital ledger and settled within minutes rather than the standard T+1 settlement cycle; Citadel Securities then used it as collateral for overnight triparty repo financing, with BNY providing cash. BNY stated that it plans to introduce more digital cash and tokenized deposit capabilities to support on-chain settlement and financing, and expects to extend the operating hours of traditional settlement platforms to European and Asian trading sessions next year.
Asset Management Giant Federated Hermes Enters Asset Tokenization, to Launch On-Chain Fund Shares Next Year
According to CoinDesk, Federated Hermes, an asset management company with $911 billion in assets under management, plans to launch its first batch of on-chain fund shares early next year, further participating in Wall Street's wave of bringing traditional assets on-chain.
Federated Hermes has partnered with digital securities infrastructure company Prometheum to bring blockchain-based fund shares into traditional brokerage accounts and financial advisor channels. The company has not yet disclosed the specific types of tokenized funds or the blockchain networks to be used, but Kevin Barr, Head of Digital Asset Products and Platforms, said that money market funds may become the first batch of tokenized products.
This move makes Federated Hermes join the asset tokenization trend driven by institutions such as BlackRock, Franklin Templeton, and JPMorgan Chase. Supporters believe that blockchain can improve the efficiency of asset issuance, transfer, and settlement, and enable more flexible financial product combinations.
Unlike previous tokenized products issued through third-party platforms, Federated Hermes plans to issue on-chain fund shares itself this time, allowing it to participate more directly in the tokenization process of fund products.
Alpaca Plans to Launch Prime Brokerage Business in 2027, Connecting Tokenized Stocks with Underlying Assets
According to Bloomberg, Alpaca, an API brokerage for stocks, options, and cryptocurrencies, announced plans to launch a prime brokerage business in the first quarter of 2027. Prime brokerage can provide financing, asset custody, and securities lending services to large investment institutions such as hedge funds, targeting institutional financing demand brought by the convergence of cryptocurrency and traditional securities markets. It is reported that the company currently custodies more than $3.5 billion in U.S. underlying equity assets and supports tokenized products for more than 10 issuers, including Binance, Coinbase, and Crypto.com, with custody assets growing about 8 times compared with a year ago.
Robinhood Plans to Explore Launching Stock Tokens Linked to Actively Managed ETFs on Robinhood Chain
Robinhood Crypto posted on X that it is exploring, with T. Rowe Price Digital Assets, a global asset management giant with $1.9 trillion in assets under management, the launch of stock tokens linked to actively managed ETFs on Robinhood Chain.
Robinhood Crypto added that if the project succeeds, it may become the first such stock token, while emphasizing that the related cooperation is still in the exploratory stage and that the launch of any potential product would require completion of legal due diligence, approval by the issuer's board of directors, publication of final terms, and regulatory approval in relevant jurisdictions. There is currently no guarantee that the cooperation will proceed or that the related product will ultimately be launched, and its specific form, timing, and applicable regions have not yet been determined.
Bybit to Partner with Mantle to Launch Tokenized Stock Product mStocks
Bybit CEO Ben Zhou announced in the "Make Your Move" global keynote that Bybit will partner with Mantle to launch the tokenized stock product mStocks. The product is fully backed 1:1 by real assets, supports 24/7 two-way redemption, and will support all AMM liquidity pools in the Mantle ecosystem, allowing users to trade through decentralized exchanges.
In addition, Bybit also launched Bybit Direct Stock, allowing users to directly hold and trade real stocks through Bybit, access more than 1,000 trading pairs and assets in the U.S. market, and obtain true stock ownership.
Former FTX Europe Head's Company Perpetuals.com Plans to Launch Tokenized U.S. Stock Trading Platform
According to CoinDesk, Nasdaq-listed Perpetuals.com plans to operate a tokenized securities trading platform under the SEC's five-year "innovation exemption" policy. The policy allows certain trading venues to trade U.S. stocks on public blockchains without registering as traditional stock exchanges. The company is led by CEO Patrick Gruhn, former head of FTX Europe, making Perpetuals.com the second company after OKXICE to seek to operate a trading platform using the exemption.
Perpetuals has not yet determined a specific launch date, with trading potentially beginning as early as mid-November, depending on market data and compliance arrangements, smart contract security reviews, and the completion of other preparatory work, subject to completion of the aforementioned 30-day public notice period.
Standard Chartered Dubai Branch Launches RLUSD Custody Service, Plans to Support Its Use as LMAX Trading Collateral
According to The Block, Standard Chartered has launched institutional custody services for Ripple's USD stablecoin RLUSD on the XRP Ledger through its Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) branch regulated by the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA). Standard Chartered is also working with Ripple and LMAX Group to plan a "collateral mirroring" model that would allow clients' RLUSD custodied at Standard Chartered to serve as eligible collateral for some LMAX products without transferring assets to the trading platform. The arrangement still requires completion of final documentation, testing, regulatory requirements, and internal approvals, and no launch date has been announced. Previously, Standard Chartered announced plans to provide custody services for crypto assets, stablecoins, and tokenized RWAs through its Singapore branch.
Brokerage Services Provider DriveWealth to Use Ripple's RLUSD for Stablecoin Settlement and Cross-Border Payments
According to The Block, brokerage services provider DriveWealth has partnered with Ripple to integrate its stablecoin settlement, cross-border payments, and digital asset custody services into its own brokerage platform. The two parties will first conduct settlement business in Europe and plan to expand the service scope to the United States.
The integration will use Ripple's RLUSD stablecoin on the XRP Ledger, enabling DriveWealth clients to use a stablecoin that can be converted to fiat currency in near real time to fund and manage collateral accounts; at the same time, the two parties are also exploring opportunities for equity financing through Ripple Prime.
Singapore Gulf Bank Launches Stablecoin Exchange Services for Individual ClientsSingapore Gulf Bank (SGB) announced that individual customers can perform two-way conversions between US dollars (USD) and USDT and USDC through its mobile banking app, without needing to transfer funds to a cryptocurrency exchange, and can hold USDT, USDC, and other fiat currencies in the same bank account. The service supports 24-hour conversions Monday through Friday.
Visa Direct launches stablecoin-based money movement service, pilot project moves toward commercial application
Visa announced that the stablecoin functionality of Visa Direct has moved from the pilot stage to commercial deployment. Inyo Global became the first service provider to put Visa Direct's stablecoin prefunding feature into commercial operation. With Visa Direct, businesses can complete user onboarding, fraud prevention and compliance management, collections, and domestic and cross-border payments to more than 180 countries and regions worldwide through a single interface on the Inyo Global platform.
In 2025, Visa launched stablecoin prefunding and payment pilot projects through Visa Direct. These pilot projects demonstrated how stablecoins can provide cross-border funding support, liquidity management, and global money movement services for eligible customers.
Stripe partners with Plasma to launch multi-currency stablecoin card, supporting payments in multiple currencies including USD and EUR
Stripe announced a partnership with Plasma to develop a multi-currency stablecoin card aimed at helping individuals and businesses reduce unnecessary currency conversion and foreign exchange costs when spending across borders. This expansion will support US dollars, Brazilian real, euros, Mexican pesos, and Colombian pesos, as well as stablecoins such as USDC and OUSD. The related infrastructure currently covers more than 30 countries and regions, with plans to expand to more than 100 countries and regions by 2027. In the future, Stripe also plans to support cardholders paying with balances in multiple currencies and automatically selecting the appropriate currency at the time of transaction.
U.S. stock token trading platform MSX lists 3 new U.S. stock tokens
U.S. stock token trading platform MSX has listed spot and contract trading for Wall Street legacy investment banks GS and MS and banking giant $WFC.
Funding Updates
Tether invests in EFY Finance to accelerate USD₮ adoption in Latin American institutional payment scenarios
Stablecoin issuer Tether announced an investment in the seed round of Latin American financial infrastructure company EFY Finance to promote the use of USD₮ and USA₮ in institutional settings.
Tether said the investment aims to strengthen the connection between stablecoins and the traditional financial system and support EFY Finance in developing stablecoin-based cross-border payments, account services, and digital asset custody infrastructure.
Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino said that multiple regions in Latin America face inflationary and capital control pressures, and dollar stablecoins are becoming a tool for obtaining dollar liquidity, while compliant infrastructure and banking connectivity are key to expanding adoption. EFY Finance currently provides on-ramp/off-ramp services for USD₮ and USA₮, over-the-counter (OTC) trading, wallet, and payment card services, covering local settlement channels in more than 12 currencies and 17 countries. The company has obtained a digital asset service provider license in El Salvador and serves more than 25,000 individual and business accounts.
Tokenized fund liquidity company Fission completes $10 million Series A funding, led by Pantera Capital
According to Fortune, tokenized fund liquidity startup Fission announced the completion of a $10 million Series A funding round led by Pantera Capital, with participation from Circle Ventures, Borderless Capital, and Ari Rubenstein. The financing was completed in September 2026. The platform allows investors to connect digital wallets and compress the process of selling tokenized fund shares, which originally took about 200 days, to within 90 seconds, enabling instant liquidity through fees. Its main clients are currently institutional investors, including hedge funds holding tokenized private credit or equity, crypto organizations, and stablecoin issuers.
Tokenized asset settlement platform Multiliquid completes $8 million in funding, led by Polychain
According to The Block, Uniform Labs, the developer of tokenized asset settlement platform Multiliquid, has raised a cumulative $8 million across seed and pre-seed funding rounds, with the latest seed round led by Polychain and participation from Strobe Ventures, CMT Digital, Metalayer Ventures, Generative Ventures, and Circle Ventures. Multiliquid supports institutions in converting between tokenized assets and stablecoins through a single atomic transaction and is currently deployed on Ethereum and Solana.
Insight Highlights
Franklin Templeton executive: Tokenization, AI, and capital allocation—what is the next stop for onchain finance?
PANews summary: A Franklin Templeton executive said on a podcast that institutional capital favors fundamental assets rather than meme coins, and the industry is in a tokenization supercycle. Its tokenized money market fund Benji has operated smoothly since 2021 and has now become standard institutional infrastructure. Stocks and U.S. Treasuries will be the biggest beneficiaries of tokenization, with value coming from around-the-clock liquidity and composability, and in the future corporate profit streams can be split and restructured into financial products.
Stablecoin M&A wave: Mastercard buys Visa's partner first
PANews summary: Stripe, Circle, and Mastercard spent a combined approximately $3.3 billion to acquire three stablecoin infrastructure companies—Bridge, BVNK, and Tazapay—respectively. The focus of the acquisitions is not onchain technology, but offchain fiat off-ramp and settlement capabilities that are difficult to build quickly with software, such as licenses, bank partnerships, and local payment rails.
Stablecoins' raw onchain transaction volume is huge, but real payment scale accounts for only about 1%, while B2B payments have achieved 733% high-speed growth. Independent infrastructure targets continue to be acquired by giants, leaving Visa to search again for partners. The stablecoin market landscape is highly concentrated between Tether and Circle, and acquisition returns depend on payment scale, per-transaction revenue, and customer conversion results.
Phone sellers are coming to seize the stablecoin entrance
PANews summary: Samsung has partnered with Coinbase, Bastion, Solana, and Sui and plans to launch USDC functionality in Samsung Wallet in the United States by the end of October, potentially covering 82 million Galaxy devices. It will support USDC sending and receiving as well as cross-border remittances to banks in more than 60 countries. Bastion will handle custody compliance, Coinbase will provide sub-custody, and Solana and Sui will provide network support. Samsung will not hold user funds.
Samsung has been building in Web3 for years, from mobile crypto wallets and NFT exploration to an affiliated company taking a stake in Upbit operator Dunamu and participating in tokenized securities and stablecoin process validation. This time it is bringing stablecoins into consumer-grade mobile wallets, and whether it can convert ordinary users will be the key going forward.