This Week's Highlights
The statistical period covered by this week's newsletter is October 2, 2026 – October 9, 2026.
This week, the RWA sector edged down slightly to $38.88 billion, a 0.99% decrease month-over-month, but the number of asset holders rose to 5,176,400, up 37.21% month-over-month, continuing the structural characteristic of "asset scale under pressure, user penetration continuing"; the total market capitalization of stablecoins rose slightly to $295.09 billion, with the existing user base continuing to consolidate, but monthly transfer volume fell significantly, and on-chain transaction settlement activity cooled markedly.
On the regulatory front, the European Central Bank confirmed the official launch of the digital euro in 2029 to safeguard regional monetary sovereignty, ESMA required service providers within the EU to phase out non-MiCA-compliant stablecoins within three months, France advanced legislation on crypto-related tax amendments, and Japan's Ministry of Finance outlined three development paths for government bond tokenization.
On the project front, OKX partnered with ICE to submit an application to the SEC, planning to launch a compliant tokenized U.S. stock trading platform relying on an innovation exemption; Securitize teamed up with LG CNS to build tokenized infrastructure in Asia-Pacific and launched tokenized U.S. stocks with full shareholder rights on Solana; Ondo launched Ondo Private Markets, a platform for tokenizing equity returns of private companies; Injective completed a whitepaper iteration, repositioning itself as institutional-grade RWA tokenization infrastructure.
On the financing front, tokenized cash fund issuer Spiko completed a $90 million Series B funding round, FDUSD issuer First Digital and stablecoin payment service provider OpenPayd advanced their Nasdaq listing processes, and Anchorage Digital acquired B2B payment platform Routable to improve its stablecoin payment business.
Data Insights
RWA Sector Panorama
According to the latest data disclosed by RWA.xyz, as of October 9, 2026, the total on-chain market capitalization of RWA fell to $38.88 billion, down 0.99% from the same period last month. The total number of asset holders climbed to 5,176,400, up significantly by 37.21% from the same period last month, indicating that new users are still continuously entering. With asset scale under pressure while only the number of holders rose sharply against the trend, this reflects that the RWA sector shows the structural characteristic of "short-term pullback in total asset scale, continued penetration on the user side."
Stablecoin Market
The total market capitalization of stablecoins reached $295.09 billion, up slightly by 0.51% from the same period last month; monthly transfer volume was $6.82 trillion, down significantly by 21.87% from the same period last month; the total number of monthly active addresses reached 60.73 million, up 5.13% from the same period last month; the total number of holders rose to 295 million, up 2.82% from the same period last month, presenting a divergent picture of "continued expansion in total market capitalization and user base, while monthly on-chain transfer activity cooled sharply," showing that existing stablecoin holders continued to accumulate and new addresses steadily entered, but short-term on-chain fund transfers and transaction settlement demand weakened markedly.
The leading stablecoins are USDT, USDC, and USDS, among which USDT's market capitalization rose 0.58% from the same period last month; USDC's market capitalization was flat compared with the same period last month; USDS's market capitalization edged down 0.01% from the same period last month.
Regulatory News
European Central Bank: Digital Euro Will Enhance the Competitiveness of European Banks, Officially Launching in 2029
According to a report by JRJ, ECB Executive Board member Cipollone said the digital euro will help European banks improve their competitiveness. Cipollone said on Tuesday that the digital euro project is not merely intended to make up for the current shortcomings of Europe's payment system. He said: "This is also an opportunity to think about the future and provide an innovation platform. New opportunities are constantly emerging, and we want to ensure that European payment service providers have sufficient capacity to seize these opportunities and build strong competitive advantages." The European Central Bank plans to officially launch the digital euro in 2029 and will start a pilot phase next year. The project aims to safeguard Europe's monetary sovereignty. At present, Europe is highly dependent on U.S. payment companies such as Visa and Mastercard, while the continuous development of stablecoins pegged to the U.S. dollar has further intensified the concerns of European policymakers.
ESMA Requires Crypto Service Providers to Stop Offering Non-MiCA-Compliant Stablecoin Services, Phase Them Out Within 3 Months
The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) issued an opinion on October 8 requiring EU crypto-asset service providers (CASPs) to stop providing services involving non-MiCA-compliant stablecoins to EU clients, covering trading, exchange, custody, transfers, and investment advice, and to prevent clients from buying or increasing holdings. Existing exposures must be cleared within 3 months, by no later than January 8, 2027, during which only limited exit services such as selling, exchanging, and withdrawing may be provided.
French National Assembly Committee Is Reviewing 10 Crypto Amendments, Including Stablecoin Exchange Transactions Already Passed
According to a report by Journal du Coin, the Finance Committee of the French National Assembly proposed ten crypto-related amendments to the 2027 budget bill, and the Finance Committee has been reviewing these amendments since October 7: three were passed and one was rejected. Among them, measures including taxation of stablecoin exchange transactions, an exit tax on crypto assets, and a 10-year carryforward of crypto asset losses have been passed by the committee; the proposal to extend the personal wealth tax to crypto assets was rejected; and some measures on self-hosted wallet reporting and platform fines are still under review. None of the above measures has yet formally become law and still requires further review.
Some Employees of Russia's Ministry of Finance Receive Salaries in Digital Rubles for the First Time
According to a report by Cointelegraph, Russia's Ministry of Finance said on Friday that some employees of the ministry received their salaries in digital rubles for the first time. The ministry did not disclose exactly how many employees received salaries in digital currency, nor the total amount of salary payments.
The ministry said that, given the successful disbursement of about 16 million digital rubles (approximately $192,245) during the previous pilot of federal budget expenditures in 2025, this move applies that mature payment channel to its own payroll process. In addition, the Bank of Russia is working with the Ministry of Finance to advance work related to incorporating the digital ruble into the budget payment process.
Japan's Ministry of Finance Proposes a "Three-Type" Plan for Government Bond Tokenization
According to a report by NADA NEWS, Japan's Ministry of Finance held the first meeting of the "Study Group on Government Bonds on the Blockchain" today and released explanatory materials, organizing government bond on-chain initiatives into three types. Type 1 is circulating the beneficial interests of funds investing in government bonds (MMFs) on the blockchain; Type 2 is putting the transfer ledger on-chain under the current transfer settlement system, in three forms: a single account management institution, multi-institution collaboration, and connection to the Bank of Japan's ledger; Type 3 is issuing a new form of government bonds on a blockchain outside the current system. The Ministry of Finance believes that on-chain initiatives can improve the efficiency of collateral and liquidity management and expand the investor base, especially benefiting overseas investors, but it also pointed out issues such as market fragmentation, transmission of sharp price fluctuations, and system renovation costs. All three types are provisional classifications, and the Ministry of Finance plans to compile a report by January 2027.
Kyrgyzstan Government Terminates Operation of National Stablecoin USDKG and Liquidates the Issuer's Exchange
According to a report by Bits media, the Kyrgyzstan government decided to terminate the operation of the national stablecoin Gold Dollar (USDKG) and required the Ministry of Finance to liquidate its issuer EVA and the country's first state-owned cryptocurrency exchange, Coin Nomad Exchange. The stablecoin was launched by the country's authorities in November 2025 and was initially positioned as the world's first state-issued stablecoin backed by physical gold and pegged 1:1 to the U.S. dollar. The issuer was the state-owned company "Virtual Asset Issuer" (later renamed "EVA"), wholly owned by Kyrgyzstan's Ministry of Finance, with a registered issuance volume of slightly more than 50 million tokens. The token runs on the Tron blockchain. The authorities had positioned it as a cross-border settlement tool and planned to operate it at least until 2034. This shutdown aims to optimize state-owned asset management, and USDKG holders can exchange their tokens for fiat currency or USDT.
Project Progress
Standard Chartered Bank Singapore Branch Plans to Provide Custody Services for Crypto Assets, Stablecoins, and Tokenized RWA to Institutional Investors
According to a report by The Block, Standard Chartered Bank's Singapore branch plans to provide custody services for certain crypto assets, stablecoins, and tokenized real-world assets to institutional investors. The bank said this service will expand its existing crypto asset custody business footprint, which currently covers the UAE, Luxembourg, and Hong Kong.
OKX Submits Application to SEC, Plans to Launch Tokenized U.S. Stock Trading PlatformAccording to Bloomberg, OKX has filed an application with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to launch a tokenized stock trading platform, becoming one of the first major exchanges to leverage new U.S. regulations to trade digital versions of public company shares on a crypto platform. The applicant entity, OKXICE LLC, is a joint venture between OKX and Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange. It plans to initially list tokenized stocks of 63 NYSE-listed companies, with issuers having a 30-day opt-out period before trading can begin. The move relies on the SEC's five-year "Innovation Exemption" introduced on September 17. The joint venture is co-chaired by former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo. Under the new rules, tokenized securities must include full shareholder rights such as dividends and voting rights. ICE took a stake in OKX in March of this year at a $25 billion valuation.
Securitize Partners with Korean Giant LG to Develop Korean Tokenized Assets, Launches Tokenized U.S. Stocks on Solana
According to Cointelegraph, tokenization platform Securitize has announced a strategic partnership with Korean tech giant LG CNS. The two parties have signed a memorandum of understanding and plan to jointly develop tokenized assets and digital asset infrastructure for Korean financial institutions.
Under the terms of the agreement, the two companies will focus on exploring use cases such as tokenized funds, stocks, and stablecoins, and will work to uncover business opportunities in the broader Asia-Pacific market. The partnership comes at a critical juncture as Korean regulators prepare to implement new rules on tokenized securities. The management rules previously proposed by South Korea's Financial Services Commission (FSC) are expected to take effect in February 2027.
According to CoinDesk, Securitize has launched its tokenized U.S. stock product Securitize Stocks, initially covering 12 companies including Apple, Nvidia, and Tesla. Issued on Solana, each token is backed 1:1 by actual shares and retains dividends and voting rights, with settlement in USDC. Qualified investors in the U.S., Europe, and other regions can trade them. The company subsequently plans to support 24/7 trading and intends to expand to the NYSE digital platform and OKXICE.
Ondo Launches Ondo Private Markets, Tokenizing Private Company Equity Returns and Bringing Them On-Chain for Trading
Ondo Finance has announced the launch of the Ondo Private Markets platform, aimed at bringing the economic returns of industry-leading private companies on-chain through Tokenized Notes. Ondo Private Markets provides investment exposure through tokenized notes, with each token's returns linked to the per-share value of the relevant company's common stock in a qualifying liquidity event (such as an IPO or other exit event). The related tokens are freely transferable and can be composited with the on-chain DeFi ecosystem.
Injective Releases New Whitepaper, Positioning Itself as Institutional-Grade Financial and RWA Tokenization Infrastructure
According to official news, Injective has released a new whitepaper, its first comprehensive rewrite since the initial whitepaper in December 2018. Injective stated that it has evolved from its original Ethereum-based front-running-resistant protocol into a Layer 1 blockchain for institutional-grade finance and asset tokenization.
The new whitepaper covers native RWA issuance, iAssets, on-chain central limit order book (CLOB), approximately 600-millisecond block times and deterministic finality, native EVM and WASM, perpetual contract mechanisms, and financial functions for AI Agents. Among these, AI Agents can use USDC for machine payments through MCP servers, policy-constrained signatures, and the x402 protocol. Injective also stated that on-chain protocol revenue will flow to regular INJ community buybacks.
Plume Launches Tokenized Vault Based on Fidelity Total Bond ETF
Plume has announced the launch of nBND, a tokenized vault primarily based on the Fidelity Total Bond ETF (FBND). The product is designed to provide on-chain allocators with broader fixed-income portfolio exposure beyond short-term Treasury and money market assets, marking Plume's expansion of its tokenized asset offerings into longer-duration and actively managed bond exposure.
Cardano Foundation Spins Off Digital Identity Project Veridian, Tokenizes Its Equity On-Chain
According to CoinDesk, the Cardano Foundation has announced the spin-off of its digital identity project Veridian into an independent Swiss company and will tokenize most of its 1 million shares on-chain using CIP-0113, a newly launched programmable token standard on the Cardano network. Veridian becomes the first company to use the standard for equity tokenization, but the tokenized shares are not being offered to the public. Foundation CEO and Veridian Chairman Frederik Gregaard said the company plans to seek strategic investors in 2027. Veridian is led by blockchain engineer Thomas A. Mayfield and develops digital credentials based on the KERI and ACDC open standards, helping individuals, enterprises, and AI agents verify identity and permissions without the need for a central database. Its mobile wallet is already available on iOS and Android and has been integrated with Utah's digital identity regulations in the United States.
Solana Silver Tokenization Project Dominion Announces Shutdown After Hack Causes Liquidity Collapse
Solana-based silver tokenization project Dominion has announced its closure. The team stated that a security attack in September led to a large amount of SILV being stolen and sold off, triggering a liquidity collapse, loss of operating funds, and damage to market structure, ultimately making sustainable recovery impossible.
Dominion stated that after the attack, most remaining liquid funds were used for a refund plan for holders from before the hack, with eligible participants able to exit at $63 per SILV. The team said the funds needed to rebuild liquidity, restore the market, and maintain project operations exceeded remaining resources, leading to the decision to cease operations. The team also said it still believes silver and other real-world assets (RWA) will accelerate their migration on-chain and remains bullish on Solana becoming an important platform for tokenized commodities and financial assets.
U.S. Stock Token Trading Platform MSX Has Distributed Dividends for 11 Underlying Assets
U.S. stock token trading platform MSX has completed dividend distributions for 11 U.S. stocks, ETFs, and digital asset-related token underlying assets, including Salesforce (CRM), Merck (MRK), and Nasdaq 100 ETF ($QQQ). This distribution covers relevant underlying assets with execution dates from October 3 to October 11.
Financing Updates
Spiko Completes $90 Million Series B Financing, Tokenized Cash Fund AUM Reaches $2.7 Billion
According to The Block, tokenized cash fund issuer Spiko has announced the completion of a $90 million Series B financing round led by New Enterprise Associates (NEA), bringing the company's cumulative funding to $120 million.
Spiko stated that its tokenized cash fund business now covers more than 25 jurisdictions, with assets under management (AUM) reaching $2.7 billion.
The company plans to use the proceeds from this round to launch more fund products, expand into new markets, and grow its team, further advancing the development of on-chain traditional financial assets.
Stablecoin Payment Infrastructure Noah Completes $38 Million Seed Round with Participation from FJ Labs and Others
According to Globenewswire, stablecoin payment infrastructure company Noah has announced the completion of a $38 million seed financing round, with participation from Endeit Capital, FJ Labs, LocalGlobe, Felix Capital, and several well-known angel investors. The new funds will be used to expand international remittance operations, broaden regulatory coverage, and provide stablecoin-based cross-border payment services for enterprises and individuals.
FDUSD Issuer First Digital Reaches $250 Million Nasdaq Listing AgreementAccording to Techinasia, Hong Kong-based digital asset company First Digital Group Limited (issuer of the FDUSD stablecoin) has signed a definitive business combination agreement with Nasdaq-listed SPAC CSLM Digital Asset Acquisition Corp III (ticker: KOYN). The pre-transaction equity valuation is $250 million. Upon completion, First Digital will become a wholly owned subsidiary of a new Cayman holding company, with existing shareholders exchanging for Class A ordinary shares. The combined company is expected to list on Nasdaq in the first half of 2027.
Stablecoin payment infrastructure company OpenPayd plans to go public by year-end at an $11 billion valuation
According to CoinDesk, London-based stablecoin payment infrastructure company OpenPayd plans to complete a Nasdaq listing (ticker: OP) by the end of 2026 through a merger with Titan Acquisition Corp., at a valuation of approximately $1.1 billion. CEO Iana Dimitrova said the proceeds from the listing will be used for U.S. market expansion and acquisitions, with the goal of launching services to U.S. customers by April 2027. The company has acquired and incorporated money transmitter licenses in 43 states. OpenPayd's latest fiscal year (ended April 30, 2026) revenue was $73 million, up approximately 28% year-over-year. The company provides fiat and stablecoin payment infrastructure, with clients including Kraken, OKX, and others.
Anchorage Digital acquires B2B payment platform Routable to expand stablecoin payment business
According to Thedefiant, Anchorage Digital, the first federally chartered digital asset bank in the United States, has acquired B2B payment platform Routable for an undisclosed amount. Through a developer-first API, Routable helps businesses complete payee onboarding and verification, automate tax and compliance processes, and make batch payments to creators, contractors, sellers, and others in over 220 countries, supporting both fiat and stablecoin payments. Anchorage Digital said its clients will expand from crypto-native companies to traditional financial institutions entering the digital asset space, as well as large tech companies and Fortune 500 companies with large payment needs. Routable will operate under a new brand, with stablecoin and tokenized deposit products expected to launch in the coming quarters.
Insights Roundup
TOKEN2049 Observations: Without RWA, Would DeFi Be Dead?
PANews summary: Views at the TOKEN2049 conference hold that RWA is a must-answer question for DeFi. Relying solely on crypto-native assets, DeFi's TVL and yields will fluctuate with coin prices, making it difficult to compete with the appeal of risk-free rates in traditional markets.
Currently, Hyperliquid and Solana have already shown incremental growth brought by RWA, but the vast majority of tokenized stocks and funds remain merely on-chain and have not truly been put into use in the DeFi ecosystem. The integration of the two faces bottlenecks such as T+1 and other liquidity constraints in RWA redemptions, insufficient depth in on-chain fixed-rate markets, and institutions favoring permissioned KYC access rather than direct deposits.
In the next stage, DeFi will no longer compete on TVL and yield rates. Key areas to watch include RWA collateral acceptance capacity, fixed-rate market development, and institutional compliant access. Metrics to track include the share of tokenized stocks embedded in DeFi, RWA collateral scale, and the growth rate of RWA holding addresses.
ArkStream Capital: When Binance Becomes "Stockance," Crypto Is Undergoing an Unprecedented Transformation
PANews summary: Affected by the macroeconomic environment in which the U.S.-Iran conflict pushed up oil prices and the Federal Reserve raised rates, Bitcoin rose 42% in the third quarter of 2026, following the Nasdaq and decoupling from gold. Funds mainly flowed in through Bitcoin ETFs, and a broad altcoin rally no longer exists.
Although the two corporate chains Robinhood Chain and Arc have impressive data, trading is mostly concentrated in Meme and token launch platform tokens, and RWA development is still in its early stages.
This quarter, the main incremental trading volume in the crypto industry came from RWA perpetual contracts, and the on-chain RWA scale grew significantly. The market valuation logic has shifted: tokens with real protocol revenue and buyback execution have outperformed most altcoins. The sustainability of protocol revenue will become a key criterion for screening projects, and the crypto industry is entering an RWA era of two-way integration with traditional finance.
SEC Opens the Gate, OKX Enters the U.S.: Tokenized Stocks Must Be "Truly Stockized," Offshore Playbook Faces a Test
PANews summary: OKX has submitted an application to the SEC, planning to launch a tokenized stock trading platform in the United States. Its offshore market currently has more than 70 synthetic tokenized stocks, which are subject to Regulation S and inaccessible to European and American users. Holders only have price exposure and do not possess real shareholder rights such as dividends and voting.
In September, the SEC introduced a five-year innovation exemption allowing compliant venues to trade on-chain U.S. stocks, but it hard requires that tokens must carry full shareholder rights. Existing offshore synthetic products do not meet this condition.
OKX and ICE, the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange, have established a joint venture, OKXICE, and are awaiting approval of broker-dealer and FCM licenses. Going forward, key areas to watch include the public contents of its application, product structure, and the progress of license approvals.