The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) is seeking feedback from Ripple and other firms on its proposed stablecoin regulations, with Ripple expressing support for regulatory guidelines on stablecoins issued within Singapore and urging for regulations to also cover those issued outside of the country. Circle Internet Financial, the issuer of the USDC stablecoin, shared similar sentiments and supported the MAS in creating additional regulations for stablecoin issuers.
Asian currencies slightly rose as U.S. yields increased, prompting Thailand's and China's central banks to stabilize their currencies, while the Philippines' central bank stated it may intervene to support its currency; additionally, traders are anticipating the U.S. Federal Reserve's symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
Summary: USD Coin (USDC) will be supported on six additional blockchains, including Cosmos, NEAR, Optimism, Polkadot, and Polygon PoS, as Circle aims to boost adoption for the stablecoin and differentiate it from its competitors.
Main topic: Soramitsu's involvement in building a cross-border payment system for Asian countries using central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) and stablecoins.
Key points:
1. Soramitsu supports the issuance and usage of the Asian CBDC Bakong for cross-border digital payments between Cambodia and Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam.
2. The company aims to enable similar cross-border payments for India, China, and Laos, and is working to establish a Japanese exchange for stablecoins.
3. The cross-border payment network aims to connect Japanese small and midsize companies directly with individuals and businesses in Southeast Asia, leveraging CBDCs and stablecoins for faster and low-cost transactions.
Summary: Coinbase and Circle have dissolved the Centre Consortium due to regulatory clarity issues surrounding stablecoins, with Coinbase taking an equity stake in Circle and Circle assuming enhanced responsibilities for the USD Coin (USDC) stablecoin; Binance.US partners with MoonPay to use Tether (USDT) as its new "base asset" for transactions, while Binance faces challenges with fiat withdrawals in Europe; Shopify now accepts USDC payments on its platform, and Solana Pay plans to add additional altcoins; China launches a blockchain-powered data exchange with over 300 participating enterprises.
Circle's USD Coin (USDC) has experienced a significant drop in market cap due to factors such as the depegging event earlier this year, rising interest rates, and differences in issuance models compared to Tether's USDT stablecoin, which recently reached a new high in market cap at $83 billion.
Circle will soon launch a native version of its USD Coin (USDC) on the Base network, eliminating the need for the bridged version currently used by users.
Global payments firm Visa has expanded its stablecoin settlement capability to include USD Coin (USDC) tokens issued on the Solana blockchain, allowing for faster and more efficient cross-border settlements.
Circle, the company behind the stablecoin USDC, faced a crisis when $3.3 billion of its reserves were stuck at Silicon Valley Bank, causing USDC to lose its $1 peg and lose market share to rival stablecoin Tether, revealing the challenges and shortcomings of Circle's ambitions to reshape the financial system with its dollar-backed token.
USDC stablecoin issuer Circle has responded to proposed changes to the EU's financial crime policies, expressing concerns about the lack of clarity in the terminology used and arguing that technology does not necessarily increase money laundering and terrorist financing risks.
The dollar remains stable in Asia, while the yuan strengthens due to positive economic data from China.
The US dollar remains stable in Asian trades as the yen and sterling experience slight fluctuations due to upcoming central bank meetings, including the Bank of Japan's policy meeting, the US Federal Reserve's hawkish pause, and the Bank of England's possible interest rate increase.
Stablecoin issuer Circle Internet Financial has expanded its euro-pegged stablecoin EURC to the Stellar blockchain, allowing for enhanced European remittance corridors and cross-border payments.
Most Asian currencies, including the Thai baht and Malaysian ringgit, weakened against the US dollar as the greenback continued to strengthen due to hawkish Federal Reserve rhetoric and rising US Treasury yields, leading to concerns over inflationary pressures in net importers such as Thailand and India.
Asian currencies showed mixed movements against the US dollar, with the Japanese yen slightly down, the Singapore dollar up, and the Taiwanese dollar unchanged, among others; overall, there has been varied performance in currency rates across the region in 2023 so far.
Stablecoin issuer Circle has intervened in the SEC's case against Binance, arguing that stablecoins tied to other assets should not be classified as securities.
Stablecoin issuer Circle Internet Financial has released Perimeter Protocol, an open-source smart contract codebase that allows for the development of tokenized credit markets, enabling various credit use cases such as invoice factoring, payroll advances, instant settlement, and credit trading for institutional investors. This move comes as the tokenization of real-world assets gains momentum, with tokenized assets predicted to grow to a $5 trillion market in the next five years. Circle aims to leverage the protocol to enhance the utility of its stablecoin USDC and Euro-pegged token EURC in decentralized finance (DeFi) credit platforms.
Asian currencies against the dollar remained relatively stable, with minimal changes observed in the latest rates, according to data compiled by Reuters.
Polygon-based stablecoin Real USD (USDR) plummeted to $0.51 after its treasury, exclusively holding a $6.2 million insurance fund and backed by TNGBL token, was drained of DAI, indicating its inability to liquidate large amounts due to low trading volume.
