Stablecoins, onchain settlement, programmable money, treasury, and convergence with traditional payment rails.
PYMNTSMVB Financial / Velocity / VisaHigh impactIndependent reportPYMNTS reports that MVB Financial and Velocity are participating in a Visa Direct pilot that lets MVB use stablecoins for funding and settlement of eligible push-to-card payouts. The companies say licensed partners will handle digital-asset conversion, wallet connectivity and onchain controls through a single API and regulated-wallet infrastructure. Availability varies by eligibility and geography.
PYMNTSTether / Fasanara CapitalHigh impactIndependent reportPYMNTS reports that Tether and Fasanara Capital launched StableFund, an evergreen private-credit vehicle anchored by USD 400 million of combined sponsor co-investment and targeting up to USD 3 billion of third-party institutional capital. Fasanara will manage short-duration, asset-backed lending, while Tether will source USDT-linked opportunities and provide on/off-ramp, treasury and cross-border settlement infrastructure.
ABA Banking JournalFederal Deposit Insurance CorporationMaterial changeIndependent reportABA Banking Journal reports that FDIC Chairman Travis Hill expects the agency to issue final rules before the end of 2026 for payment-stablecoin issuer applications and prudential requirements under the GENIUS Act. Hill said the rules will likely follow the OCC's work and identified permissible activities, reserves, stressed redemptions and capital as core subjects. He also said the FDIC is considering a separate proposed resolution rule but gave no details.
PYMNTSPayPal / M0 / MoonPayMaterial changeIndependent reportPYMNTS reports that PayPal, M0 and MoonPay launched PYUSDx, a platform for businesses to create onchain products backed by PayPal USD. M0 says it built the platform, MoonPay holds the backing PYUSD reserves and provides collateral transparency, and three projects—Saturn, Concrete and Cap—were live on September 9. M0 reports more than USD 100 million of processed volume on the platform; USD.AI and Fairblock were still planned to follow.
Digital TransactionsBVNK / MarqetaHigh impactIndependent reportDigital Transactions reports that BVNK and Marqeta announced an integration intended to let Marqeta customers embed U.S.-dollar stablecoin capabilities into cards, wallets and other financial products. The companies say the combination will connect stablecoin balances to standard payment cards accepted at millions of merchants and support round-the-clock settlement alongside fiat options. BVNK supplies stablecoin payment infrastructure and Marqeta supplies card issuing and processing capabilities.
CoinDeskU.S. Bank / Stellar Development FoundationMaterial changeIndependent reportCoinDesk reports that U.S. Bank completed a live pilot payment between its own North American and European entities using USBDC, its proprietary U.S. dollar-backed stablecoin, on the public Stellar blockchain. The bank says the pilot integrated with its finance, risk, compliance and operations systems and tested minting, payment redemption, freezing and clawback through its internally developed Digital Asset Platform.
The PaypersVisa / Credit CoopHigh impactIndependent reportThe Paypers reports that Visa is combining customer-authorized VisaNet settlement data with onchain transaction records so lenders can assess and finance working-capital needs for stablecoin-linked card programs. Visa identifies Credit Coop as an early implementation: smart contracts automate funding, collateral management and repayment for settlement obligations. Visa says participating facilities have financed more than USD 2.5 billion of cumulative settlement volume since 2023 with zero defaults.
The PaypersAvolta / DevelopXMaterial changeIndependent reportThe Paypers reports that Avolta and DevelopX opened a stablecoin checkout pilot at Avolta's Level 2 Duty Free store at Zurich Airport. Avolta's primary release says the pilot runs from September 9 through September 25, 2026 and lets travelers scan a QR code to pay directly from a digital wallet, with funds transferred to the merchant within seconds without a card network or intermediary payment provider. DevelopX identifies USDC and the Base blockchain as the implementation used in the pilot.
CoinDeskCentral Bank of Iran / Iranian exportersHigh impactIndependent reportCoinDesk, citing the Financial Times, reports that Iran's central bank has relaxed foreign-currency controls so exporters can use overseas earnings to finance imports directly instead of first selling the currency through the government's official exchange platform. The reporting says businesses may use bitcoin and Tether's USDT to settle cross-border transactions through Iranian crypto exchanges.
CoinDeskFinancial Intelligence Unit–IndiaWatchIndependent reportCoinDesk reports that the Financial Intelligence Unit–India issued Section 13 PMLA non-compliance notices to 15 virtual digital asset service providers. A Government of India release names Weex, Blofin, Rezorex, Bitunix, DigiFinex, Toobit, XT.com, Latoken, WOO X, Pionex, ChangeNow, SimpleSwap, FixedFloat, WhiteBIT and Guardarian, and says separate notices were issued to take down their apps and URLs from public access in India.
NachaNacha / Digital Sovereignty AllianceHigh impactIndependent reportNacha's Payments Innovation Alliance launched the Next-Gen Currency Project Team, led with the Digital Sovereignty Alliance, to examine how stablecoins and tokenized deposits may be used for global money movement. The member project will create educational resources, track regulation and legislation, and study institutional readiness, infrastructure and risk.
PYMNTSBlock / Builders Bank & TrustHigh impactIndependent reportPYMNTS reports that Block submitted an application to the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to establish Builders Bank & Trust, N.A. If approved, the uninsured national trust bank would provide custody and related fiduciary services, including for bitcoin and stablecoins, under a federal supervisory framework. Block says it would not accept deposits or make loans and would be led by digital-asset executive Lee Woolley.
PYMNTSCorporate treasury / U.S. repo marketHigh impactIndependent reportPYMNTS argues that rapid blockchain settlement does not remove the need to manage liquidity across bank deposits, stablecoins, Treasury bills and tokenized assets. Using New York Fed repo-market structure as an analogy, the article says daily volume in SOFR-related repo segments rose from about $1 trillion in early 2022 to roughly $3 trillion, supported by dealers and other intermediaries that make collateral and cash reusable. It applies that lesson to a hypothetical overseas-supplier payment rather than reporting a new stablecoin product or deployment.
PYMNTSTrace Finance / Bernardo BritesHigh impactIndependent reportPYMNTS summarizes a column by Trace Finance co-founder and CEO Bernardo Brites arguing that stablecoins can accelerate the middle leg of an international payment but do not replace banks at fiat entry, fiat exit, compliance and local-rail access. The article contrasts an estimated $208 trillion of 2025 cross-border-payment value with about $390 billion of annualized genuine stablecoin payments in late 2025, and says raw stablecoin transfer totals above $30 trillion include trading and automated activity. It presents an industry thesis, not a new Trace Finance launch or measured customer result.
CoinDeskVisa / Credit Coop / RainHigh impactIndependent reportCoinDesk reports that Visa is making VisaNet settlement data available to blockchain lenders so they can assess and finance the daily prefunding needs of stablecoin-linked card issuers. Visa's primary article says its network had more than 160 such card programs in the second quarter of fiscal 2026, with payment volume up nearly 200% year over year and annualised settlement volume above USD 20 billion. It also says Credit Coop has financed more than USD 2.5 billion since 2023 across more than 3,000 borrows and 9,000 repayments, with no defaults reported, and names Rain as one issuer using the mechanism.
Rain via PR NewswireRainMaterial changeSecondary reportRain says select beta partners can now fund payouts from stablecoin balances and deliver local currency to recipients' bank accounts through licensed partners in more than 80 countries and 50 currencies. The company says the capability supports B2B, B2C, C2C and C2B flows for marketplaces, contractor platforms, neobanks and businesses, with broader availability planned over the coming months.
PYMNTSCircle / TazapayHigh impactIndependent reportPYMNTS reports, and Circle's September 8 SEC filings confirm, that Circle signed a definitive agreement to acquire Singapore-based Tazapay for USD 400 million in Circle stock. The number of shares will be calculated from Circle's volume-weighted average closing price during the 20 trading days before closing. Circle expects the transaction to close in 2027, subject to customary conditions and approval by the Monetary Authority of Singapore. Circle says Tazapay serves more than 60 bank and fintech partners, supports payouts to more than 100 markets and processed more than USD 25 billion in annualised payment volume as of July 31, 2026, with stablecoins involved in about 60% of transaction volume.
CoinDeskSouth Korea National Assembly Budget OfficeHigh impactIndependent reportCoinDesk reports on a September 8 analysis by South Korea's National Assembly Budget Office. The official release estimates that won-stablecoin substitution could reduce annual merchant payment fees by KRW 0.37 trillion to KRW 5.15 trillion, approximately USD 275 million to USD 3.8 billion, depending on substitution and fee assumptions. The office says current links between domestic dollar-stablecoin trading and conventional markets remain limited, while wider adoption could increase risks to bank intermediation, monetary policy and peg stability.
PYMNTSDBS / Citi / SwiftMaterial changeIndependent reportPYMNTS reports, and DBS's September 7 announcement confirms, that DBS and Citi's New York office completed the first successful Singapore-to-U.S. dollar payment conducted over a weekend. The September 5 transaction used tokenised deposits on the Swift Digital Ledger and took minutes, compared with the announcement's stated industry norm of up to two business days for cross-border payments. DBS says the capability lets participating institutions move U.S. dollars outside normal banking hours; the release also cites a forecast that Asia's outbound cross-border payments could rise from USD 13.5 trillion in 2025 to USD 24 trillion by 2033.
CoinDeskBanks / stablecoin wallet providersMaterial changeIndependent reportCoinDesk reports that stablecoin wallets are challenging banks' role as the default interface for holding and moving money because they can operate around the clock and across borders. Interviewed executives disagreed on the end state: Eco and RedStone executives argued that wallets could take payment-interface share, while Fireblocks and BitGo executives expected banks to retain custody, compliance, savings and credit roles and to add tokenised deposits or stablecoin services. The article cites a BVNK survey claim that 77% of crypto users would prefer to open a stablecoin wallet through an existing bank or fintech rather than self-custody.
PYMNTSU.S. CongressWatchIndependent reportPYMNTS reports that House leaders removed the final two voting weeks of September, leaving the chamber scheduled to depart on September 17. Official Senate scheduling records say the cloture motion on the motion to proceed to H.R. 3633, the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, is due to ripen at 2:15 p.m. on September 15. That is a procedural vote to begin consideration, not final Senate passage or enactment; if the Senate changes the House-passed text, both chambers would still have to approve identical legislation.
CoinDeskLiquid Network / Blockstream / SideSwapHigh impactIndependent reportCoinDesk reports that Liquid Network paused new transactions after purported white-hat hackers withdrew roughly 4,000 of the approximately 4,200 BTC held in its federation wallet, worth about USD 320 million at the time. Blockstream attributed the incident to a bug in the Elements software rather than compromised keys, and the funds moved through SideSwap's authorised peg-out path. The party controlling the bitcoin said it would return the funds after the vulnerability was fixed, but Liquid had not announced a reopening time or confirmed a return by the article's latest update.
CoinDeskBank of Korea / BinanceMaterial changeIndependent reportCoinDesk reports on a Bank of Korea study by Jihyun Kim and Sangheum Cho that examines Binance's introduction of fiat-to-USD-stablecoin pairs across 12 currencies, with pairing dates from 2019 to 2025. After a pair was introduced, local stablecoin premiums fell by about 0.33 to 0.38 percentage points, stablecoins flowed from Binance toward local exchanges when local premiums were higher, and stronger stablecoin buying pressure was associated with depreciation of the paired local currencies. Korea, which had no direct Binance won-stablecoin pair in the study, showed no significant exchange-rate response; buying pressure was reflected mainly in the local stablecoin premium.
Digital TransactionsGlobant / Erin StillwellHigh impactIndependent reportIn a Digital Transactions commentary, Globant payments executive Erin Stillwell argues that stablecoins can complement existing rails for merchant and worker payouts, cross-border settlement and liquidity management. She cites DoorDash's stated plan to use stablecoins for faster payouts and a Globant client project involving stablecoin payouts to agricultural producers, while recommending narrow pilots and integration with existing payment experiences.
PYMNTSBottomline / ChainlinkHigh impactIndependent reportPYMNTS reports that Bottomline partnered with Chainlink to connect Bottomline's existing payment software with public and private blockchains. The announced design keeps ISO 20022 messaging in place while Chainlink's CCIP moves tokenized value between chains and its Runtime Environment coordinates workflows. The cited 600-plus banks are Bottomline customers that could receive access, not banks confirmed to have adopted or used the integration.
Federal Reserve Board staff researchers Kristen Payne and Mary-Frances Styczynski outline a functional framework for measuring tokenised deposits, tokenised money-market funds and payment stablecoins in U.S. monetary aggregates. They say tokenised deposits are already captured in M1 or non-M1 M2 depending on their terms, retail tokenised money-market funds are already included in M2, and payment stablecoins could eventually fit M1 if used mainly for transactions or non-M1 M2 if used mainly as a store of value. Stablecoins are not currently included, and data availability, reporting, reserve double counting and global-versus-U.S. circulation remain unresolved.
PYMNTSDiameter PayHigh impactIndependent reportPYMNTS reports that Diameter Pay raised a USD 10 million Series A co-led by CMT Digital and Lightspeed Faction. Diameter Pay's primary release confirms the round and says its API gives financial institutions access to U.S.-dollar virtual accounts, domestic and international payment rails, stablecoin on- and off-ramps and embedded compliance controls through multiple U.S. banking partners.
PYMNTSOpenReserve BankHigh impactIndependent reportPYMNTS reports that OpenReserve received preliminary conditional approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to form OpenReserve Bank, N.A. The OCC's September register confirms the charter decision. OpenReserve says the proposed bank is intended to combine conventional credit and deposit services with tokenized deposits, stablecoin issuance and always-on settlement, but it has not received final approval or opened.
PYMNTSRevolutHigh impactIndependent reportPYMNTS reports that Revolut received conditional OCC approval to form Revolut Bank US, N.A. Revolut's primary announcement and the OCC register confirm the milestone. The proposed bank still requires FDIC, Federal Reserve and final OCC approvals; Revolut says it is targeting a 2027 launch and would offer loans, cards, FDIC-insured deposits, stablecoins and crypto access only after all required approvals.
CoinDeskSoFi / Payward (Kraken)High impactIndependent reportCoinDesk reports that SoFi and Kraken parent Payward announced a partnership under which Payward will join the SoFi Exchange Network, list SoFiUSD on Kraken and use SoFi business-banking services. SoFi will add Kraken Prime as a source of digital-asset liquidity, with qualified custody potentially available as the relationship expands. SoFi says the network lets institutional clients clear and settle U.S.-dollar transactions around the clock.
Payments DiveStripe / Drew TurchinMaterial changeIndependent reportPayments Dive reports that Drew Turchin said in a LinkedIn post last week that he joined Stripe to lead its stablecoin-cards business. Turchin previously led business development and partnerships at Native Markets and worked at Uniswap Labs. Payments Dive says neither Stripe, its spokesperson nor the executives involved responded to requests for confirmation, and it is unclear whether the role is newly created.
A Citi announcement republished by Finextra says Citi completed live U.S.-dollar transactions with First Abu Dhabi Bank and OCBC on Swift's blockchain-based ledger, covering the Middle East and Southeast Asia. Citi expects DBS and UOB to conduct similar transactions later in September. The controlled proof of concept runs from July through December 2026 and uses tokenized deposits for instant payment commitment while retaining existing settlement models, including RTGS, for final settlement.
FXC IntelligenceOpenPayd / Titan Acquisition Corp.High impactIndependent reportFXC Intelligence's analysis of OpenPayd filings reports 2025 revenue of USD 57 million, EBITDA of USD 12 million and payment volume of USD 100 billion. It says the company projects 2026 revenue of USD 72 million, payment volume of USD 181 billion and a take rate declining to 0.04%, while corporate clients are projected to rise from 742 in 2025 to 1,100 in 2026. The proposed combination with Titan Acquisition Corp. remains pending.
PYMNTSWyoming Stable Token Commission / ChainlinkWatchIndependent reportPYMNTS reports that the Wyoming Stable Token Commission adopted Chainlink Proof of Reserve for Frontier Stable Token (FRNT), adding automated onchain reserve verification to the commission's daily attestations. The move follows FRNT's migration to Chainlink CCIP as its exclusive cross-chain infrastructure. The commission says the combined controls exceed the monthly reserve-disclosure baseline in the GENIUS Act.
PYMNTSOpenPayd / MSB USA / Titan Acquisition Corp.High impactIndependent reportPYMNTS reports that OpenPayd completed the integration of MSB USA and gained 43 state money-transmitter licenses, creating a regulated U.S. footprint for services including ACH, cross-border wires and fiat-to-digital-asset settlement. OpenPayd says the footprint can support its 1,200 global clients. A separate merger with Titan Acquisition Corp. is expected to take OpenPayd public on Nasdaq in the fourth quarter of 2026 at a valuation of up to USD 1.145 billion, subject to completion.
CoinDeskTether / Nutthawat Rukthammachalern / Natthawat KasamvilasMaterial changeIndependent reportCoinDesk reports that plaintiffs Nutthawat Rukthammachalern and Natthawat Kasamvilas filed a U.S. federal civil complaint alleging Tether blacklisted 42,417,785.62 USDT across 10 Ethereum addresses on October 30, 2025, months before an Eastern District of North Carolina seizure warrant dated February 19, 2026. The complaint was filed August 31 in the Southern District of New York; the allegations have not been adjudicated.
crypto.news21-institution stablecoin consortium / Bank of America / Citi / Goldman SachsMaterial changeIndependent reportcrypto.news reports that a group of 21 financial institutions, including Bank of America, Citi, Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank, committed to form a company in the second half of 2026 and target a dollar-pegged stablecoin launch in the first half of 2027. Reuters independently corroborates the consortium statement and says the group expanded from 10 institutions first announced in October 2025; stablecoins linked to other G7 currencies may follow, with the euro identified as a priority.
J.P. MorganKB Kookmin Bank / Kinexys by J.P. MorganMaterial changeIndependent reportJ.P. Morgan says KB Kookmin Bank plans to launch an import/export corporate payment service using the Kinexys Blockchain Deposit Account network, becoming the first Korean financial institution to use the network for that purpose. The planned service will be available through the bank's Korean branches and Singapore branch, initially support U.S.-dollar remittances, and cover ten named countries across Asia, the Middle East, Africa and the United States.
CoinDeskBank of America / Citi / Goldman Sachs / international financial consortiumHigh impactSecondary reportCoinDesk reported that 21 global banks and asset managers formed a joint venture initially focused on a U.S. dollar stablecoin for payments and digital-asset settlement, with a euro token identified as a later priority. Participants cited include Bank of America, Citi and Goldman Sachs.
CoinDeskEthena Labs / Ethena Pay / AvalancheMaterial changeSecondary reportCoinDesk reported that Ethena Labs launched Ethena Pay in beta on Avalanche, combining a dollar savings product, card cashback and payment capabilities that include international transfers. The initial cohort is about 400 users, according to the report.