Tether Comes Home

This week, the world’s largest stablecoin revealed its plans to reenter the US market, while corporate giants Samsung and Coupang joined the global stablecoin frontier. Regional regulatory developments accelerated alongside technical innovations addressing scalability and yield generation. 

Let’s start with the big events then dive into the rest of this week’s highlights. 

But first…

Hello from RWA Night! Last week my good friend Travis John hosted a New York mixer the day before RWA Summit and it was a blast getting to meet several of you in person and chat about all things tokenization, stablecoins, and Real-World Assets! If you’re not already following Travis on LinkedIn, you’re missing out because he and his organization RWA Builders and the XDC Network are setting the tone for the top in-person events as well as leading the conversation on all things real-world asset tokenization. If you’re looking for a warm intro, don’t hesitate to message me and I’ll connect you directly. 

Now back to the newsletter…

Key Highlights

• Tether Enters US Market with USAT Stablecoin: Tether unveiled USAT as a U.S. dollar-backed rival to USDT, marking the company's strategic entry into regulated American markets. Trump ally Hines was appointed to the top position for their December launch. 

• Native Markets Wins Hyperliquid USDH Bid: Native Markets secured the high-stakes race to issue Hyperliquid's native USDH stablecoin. Test phases were expected within days as multiple firms competed for the lucrative opportunity.

• Samsung and Coupang Join Stablecoin Frontier: Major Korean corporations Samsung and Coupang entered the fast-moving global stablecoin market, indicating significant corporate adoption across Asia's technology sector.

Corporate Strategy and Market Entry

Tether's strategic U.S. market entry through USAT stablecoin is pivotal for the world's largest stablecoin issuer. The company unveiled USAT as a dollar-backed rival to its existing USDT while appointing Trump ally Hines to a top position for a December launch. Obviously this is a response to the GENIUS act and is wise regulatory positioning for American market penetration. 

The high-stakes competition for Hyperliquid's USDH stablecoin concluded with Native Markets winning the coveted issuance rights. Test phases are expected within days. This competitive process was organized on Discord yet still signalled strong institutional appetite to address their specialized infrastructure requirements. Having seen this RFP process from the inside I can’t help but feel that Native’s victory was a foregone conclusion. Congrats to the Native Markets team! 

Major corporate adoption accelerated through diverse sector participation. Mega Matrix made a $2 billion move into stablecoin treasury management, while Zelle's parent company investigates launching proprietary stablecoins, indicating payment processor recognition of digital asset necessity. The folks at Zelle are smart and I’m sure they’ll come to similar conclusions that we discuss each week in this newsletter. 

Korean technology giants Samsung and Coupang joined the global stablecoin frontier, representing significant corporate validation from Asia's leading technology companies. MoneyGram has also positioned stablecoins as the backbone of next-generation applications, transforming traditional remittance infrastructure through digital asset integration. This isn’t the first time I’ve written about MoneyGram and it makes sense they’d consider blockchain based payments.

Regional Adoption and Regulatory Development

Cross-border payment infrastructure achieved significant milestones, with K Bank proving stablecoin remittance technology between South Korea and Japan, demonstrating the practical implementation of international digital payment corridors. QRQO debuted in Abu Dhabi with $370 million assets under management while targeting USD yield opportunities.

Regulatory frameworks evolved across multiple jurisdictions. UK authorities consider regulating stablecoin issuers and custodians like banks, while Australia's regulator eased rules on stablecoin intermediaries, indicating divergent regulatory approaches balancing innovation with oversight. Issuers being regulated more and more like banks makes a lot of sense as stablecoins will increasingly become entrenched in our financial system. 

India faces mounting pressure for stablecoin regulation as Stripe's Tempo launch and $240 billion global supply create policy urgency. Former Federal Reserve officials noted stablecoin risks are lower than traditional bank runs, providing regulatory validation for digital asset stability. I like this take because it’s nuanced and different from the typical Fed opinion about “destabilization”. 

Asian corporate adoption expanded, with 361 Degrees becoming among the first Chinese brands to use stablecoin payments in Hong Kong. Mirae Asset raised NAVER price targets, citing stablecoin and webtoon growth synergies. 

Japan's first stablecoin launch carries implications for government bond demand and financial system evolution, as domestic digital currency development influences traditional monetary policy transmission mechanisms.

Technical Innovation and Market Developments

Yield generation capabilities advanced through innovative product launches. Bitget Wallet introduced Stablecoin Earn Plus, offering 10% yields on USDC, while second-generation stablecoins create new utility by separating yield from principal, addressing evolving infrastructure needs.

Network performance improvements targeted stablecoin optimization. Polygon announced 33% transaction capacity increases specifically for stablecoins, while TRON quietly dominates everyday crypto spending according to comprehensive usage analysis. This checks based on the volume we see at BVNK - Tron is huge for us.

However, security challenges persist. Yala's YU stablecoin failed to restore its peg following attempted attacks, highlighting ongoing risks in newer stablecoin implementations. Israeli authorities linked crypto wallets receiving $1.5 billion to Iran's Revolutionary Guard, so as always regulated businesses that interact with these new payment rails must remain vigilant. 

Cross-platform integration advanced through "network of networks" effects targeting global B2B payments, while Forward Industries raised $1.65 billion in cash and stablecoins for Solana-focused treasury strategies. We’re seeing institutional diversification across blockchain networks and it doesn’t surprise me to see Solana get lots of attention. 

Investment product development accelerated with Bitwise filing ETF proposals focused on tokenization and stablecoins amid growing institutional interest in regulated digital asset exposure.

The convergence of major corporate market entries, evolving regulatory frameworks, and technical infrastructure improvements indicates stablecoins transitioning from experimental payment rails to essential global financial infrastructure requiring sophisticated compliance architectures and institutional-grade security protocols. Sounds like a job for BVNK! ;) 

I hope you enjoyed this week’s newsletter, if you’d like to learn more don’t hesitate to message me about how BVNK can help your business stay ahead of the stablecoin adoption curve. As always, thanks for reading and be sure to stay tuned for next week's issue as we continue tracking this transformative landscape.

Reply to this newsletter or send me an email at [email protected] to learn how BVNK’s payment platform can unlock faster settlement and global access with stablecoins. You can also follow me on X for more insights.