A two-month-old Layer 2 built by a stock brokerage is now processing more daily decentralized exchange volume than chains that have existed for years, and the market is only beginning to pay attention.

Robinhood Chain processed roughly $945 million in decentralized exchange volume on Aug. 25, 2026. On the same day, the network handled 5.5 million transactions, tokenized stock volume hit a record $85 million, and a leveraged perpetual token product called pTokens went live on Arcus, the dYdX-built DEX backed by Robinhood Crypto. By any standard metric for a new blockchain, the day was historic.

Crypto Twitter, for its part, was busy arguing about memecoins and parsing Federal Reserve minutes. The chain that a publicly traded brokerage had quietly built into one of the most active networks in all of decentralized finance received roughly the same attention as a midcap altcoin listing on a second-tier exchange.

That disconnect between activity and attention says something about how the market prices narratives over infrastructure. Robinhood Chain is not a new token to trade. It does not have a native coin to speculate on. It is not the product of a pseudonymous team or a viral whitepaper. It is a piece of financial plumbing, built by a company that most of crypto still views with suspicion from the GameStop saga, and it is processing more daily volume than networks that raised hundreds of millions of dollars in venture capital.

The question is no longer whether Robinhood Chain can generate activity. It already has. The question is whether the activity is real, whether it lasts, and whether it changes anything about how traditional finance and decentralized finance relate to each other.

How Robinhood built a top-five chain in 56 days

Robinhood Chain is an Ethereum Layer 2 built on Arbitrum Orbit, the chains-as-a-service framework that runs on the Nitro stack. It settles directly to Ethereum and uses Ethereum blobs for data availability. Block times run at 100 milliseconds, faster than Arbitrum One at 250 milliseconds and Monad at 300 milliseconds. The gas token is ETH.

The mainnet went live on July 1 at Robinhood’s “The World is Flat” keynote at the Old Royal Naval College in London. Within eight days, Uniswap swap volume on the chain had reached $500 million. By July 11, the chain was processing 7.6 million daily transactions and had recorded $3.1 billion in DEX volume in its first week alone.

USDT0 launched on Stellar on Sept. 2, connecting the payments-focused blockchain with Tether-backed liquidity available across networks supported by the cross-chain stablecoin infrastructure.

The integration uses LayerZero’s Omnichain Fungible Token standard. It allows USDT0 to move between Stellar and connected blockchains while maintaining what its developers describe as a unified supply backed one-to-one by USDT.

USDT0 is different from a new direct issuance of USDT by Tether on Stellar. It is an interoperability product that extends access to USDT liquidity across supported networks. The distinction matters because the reported $180 billion represents USDT’s broader market capitalization, not the quantity of USDT0 deposited on Stellar at launch.

Binance Alpha added Pons (PONS) and FLORK (FLORK) on Sept. 2, 2026, opening market and limit-order trading for both tokens, according to an official Binance Wallet notice.

PONS is currently available only through Binance Alpha 1.0. Binance did not announce spot-market listings for either token on its main centralized exchange.

The additions coincided with sharp price movements and growing activity around Pons, a token launchpad operating on Robinhood Chain. PONS reached an all-time high of $0.52, while FLORK posted a triple-digit increase on Binance’s Alpha market page.

PONS reaches record price following Binance Alpha addition

PONS traded near $0.49 after reaching its $0.52 record on Sept. 3, according to a DefiLlama market snapshot. The data provider placed the token’s market capitalization near $349 million.

The token had gained more than 270% over seven days and over 1,800% during the previous 30 days when the data was captured. These figures can change quickly because PONS remains a recently launched, highly volatile asset.

Pons operates a launchpad where users can create and trade fixed-supply tokens on Robinhood Chain. DefiLlama recorded $120.93 million in Pons decentralized exchange volume over 24 hours and $719.39 million cumulatively.

Those figures differ from a broadly circulated estimate claiming approximately $4.54 billion in cumulative trading volume. The larger number appears to use a different dataset or methodology and has not been confirmed by Binance or DefiLlama’s current protocol page.

Pons daily fees reach $5.95 million

DefiLlama recorded $5.95 million in Pons fees over 24 hours. The figure placed the launchpad among the highest fee-generating crypto applications tracked by the platform during the measurement period.

Fees should not be treated as protocol revenue or token-holder earnings. DefiLlama separately reported $1.11 million in daily protocol revenue and approximately $30,634 in token-holder revenue.

The platform also recorded $28.83 million in seven-day fees and $40.84 million over 30 days. Its reported cumulative fees reached $56.77 million, while cumulative protocol revenue stood at $12.25 million.

Pons’ activity followed a broader increase in trading across Robinhood Chain. As crypto.news previously reported, Robinhood Chain reached $945 million in daily decentralized exchange volume on Aug. 25.

That earlier data showed that speculative tokens contributed heavily to the network’s activity. Pons accounted for a large portion of daily volume on certain days, demonstrating how a single application can influence chain-wide figures.

FLORK records a triple-digit post-listing rally

FLORK also attracted speculative trading after its Binance Alpha addition. Binance’s Alpha market page showed the token rising roughly 150% when checked, with about $24.5 million in trading volume.

Wu Blockchain reported that FLORK had gained approximately 293% over a broader short-term period and more than 80% after entering Binance Alpha. Its market capitalization reportedly reached about $17.5 million before retreating.

These market figures remain third-party estimates rather than values confirmed in Binance Wallet’s listing notice. Differences between data providers can result from price volatility, circulating-supply assumptions and the selected measurement window.

Binance has not disclosed any commercial relationship with the Pons launchpad or FLORK’s developers. Its announcement only confirmed their availability through Binance Alpha.

Binance Alpha access does not equal a spot listing

Binance Alpha is an early-stage token discovery and trading service within the Binance Wallet ecosystem. Inclusion does not mean that a token has secured a listing on Binance’s main spot exchange.

Binance also warns that its wallet services are not supervised by a regulatory authority. Users remain responsible for interacting with decentralized applications and assessing the risks connected to each token.

The company has not announced whether PONS or FLORK will move beyond Alpha. Any future listing would require a separate announcement from Binance.

Traders will now watch whether Pons can maintain its fee and volume levels after the initial attention fades. PONS and FLORK price movements will also depend heavily on liquidity, token concentration and continued speculative demand.

Term Labs has recovered all fixed-rate loan positions held in vaults affected by its August governance exploit, with the final position moved on Aug. 25 as Meta Vaults and affected strategies remain shut down.

Term Labs said in its latest incident report that the last fixed-rate position was recovered at 14:52 UTC on Aug. 25, while its investigation found that the attack was confined to liquid balances held inside Term vaults. 

XRP generated more questions than any other cryptocurrency during a Bitwise presentation to approximately 400 wealth managers, research analyst Ryan Rasmussen said on Sept. 2.

Rasmussen and Bitwise chief investment officer Matt Hougan discussed Bitcoin, Solana, Hyperliquid, stablecoins and tokenization during the event. When asked about XRP afterward, Rasmussen said it was “the most asked about throughout the presentation,” adding that there was “a lot of interest.”

The statement provides evidence of attention among attendees at one Bitwise event. It does not establish that XRP is the most popular cryptocurrency among wealth managers generally, nor does it show that participants intend to invest specifically in XRP.

XRP interest contrasts with limited crypto allocations

Rasmussen’s audience poll found that 67% of participants did not currently allocate to cryptocurrency. The wording did not specify whether the question concerned personal investments, client portfolios or firm-wide allocations.

Another 60% said they expected cryptocurrency prices to be higher by the end of 2026. The same share said they planned to allocate to the asset class within the next year.

Those responses reflect expectations and stated intentions rather than completed investment decisions. Market conditions, compliance policies and client risk limits could affect whether the planned allocations occur.

Bitwise did not publish the participants’ firms, assets under management, geographic distribution or sampling method. The results should therefore be treated as an informal event poll rather than a representative survey of the wealth-management industry.

XRP ETF flows provide a regulated access route

U.S. spot XRP exchange-traded funds recorded 11 consecutive trading sessions of net inflows through Sept. 1, attracting approximately $170 million during the period, according to SoSoValue data.

The products had accumulated roughly $1.68 billion in net inflows since launching in November 2025. However, the streak ended on Sept. 2, when the funds recorded approximately $7.2 million in combined net outflows.

One negative session does not establish a longer-term reversal. Daily ETF flows can change because of portfolio rebalancing, short-term trading and broader market conditions.

Crypto.news previously reported that XRP’s recovery increasingly depended on sustained ETF inflows and regulatory progress. At the time, cumulative inflows had already exceeded the threshold used in one external bullish forecast, although the pace of new investment remained uneven.

Institutional filings show exposure, not investor intent

Goldman Sachs was the largest disclosed institutional holder of U.S. spot XRP ETFs at the end of the second quarter, according to Bloomberg Intelligence data compiled from Form 13F filings.

The bank disclosed approximately $87.4 million in XRP ETF exposure. Jane Street followed with about $16.6 million, while Millennium Management reported roughly $16.2 million.

Form 13F filings provide quarterly snapshots of certain securities held by large investment managers. They do not explain whether positions are proprietary investments, client holdings, hedges or inventory supporting market-making operations.

The filings are also backward-looking. Second-quarter reports show positions as of June 30 and do not reveal changes made afterward. They support the conclusion that regulated XRP products have attracted professional market participants, but they do not prove a directional view on XRP.

Wealth managers still face allocation barriers

Wealth managers considering cryptocurrency exposure must assess volatility, custody, liquidity, suitability and regulatory requirements. Approval processes can also differ between independent advisers, broker-dealers and larger financial institutions.

Spot ETFs remove the need to manage wallets or private keys directly. They nevertheless retain exposure to movements in the underlying cryptocurrency and can experience substantial price declines.

Interest in XRP may reflect several developments, including ETF availability, Ripple’s institutional expansion and activity across the XRP Ledger. In related coverage, crypto.news reported that Ripple’s regulated financial businesses continued expanding even as XRP’s price weakened.

The next measurable development will be whether the stated allocation plans produce sustained fund inflows. Future 13F filings will also show whether large managers increased, reduced or exited their XRP ETF positions during the third quarter.

For now, Bitwise’s event indicates curiosity rather than confirmed demand. XRP dominated questions from the audience, but most participants had not yet made any cryptocurrency allocation.

Standard Chartered has expanded institutional Bitcoin and Ether spot trading to the UAE through its DIFC branch, giving eligible clients access to deliverable crypto trades through the bank’s existing electronic trading systems.

Standard Chartered said on Sept. 3 that the service makes it the first Global Systemically Important Bank to offer institutional digital asset spot trading in the UAE and the only global bank currently providing the capability in the region.

Eligible institutional clients can trade Bitcoin and Ether through Standard Chartered’s electronic channels using interfaces already employed for foreign exchange trading. Settlement can be handled through a custodian selected by the client, including the bank’s own UAE digital asset custody service.

The launch combines trading and custody capabilities that Standard Chartered has been building separately in the UAE since 2024, while extending a spot trading business first introduced through its UK branch last year.

Standard Chartered brings Bitcoin and Ether trading to DIFC

Trading is being offered through Standard Chartered DIFC, the bank’s branch in the Dubai International Financial Centre.

Clients will receive deliverable Bitcoin and Ether instead of gaining exposure through a derivative tied to the price of either cryptocurrency. Standard Chartered began offering the same type of institutional trading through its UK branch in July 2025, becoming the first G-SIB to provide deliverable Bitcoin and Ether spot trading to institutional clients.

As crypto.news previously reported, the UK service was introduced for institutional customers including corporations, asset managers and professional investors, with transactions available through the bank’s existing FX trading interfaces.

The UAE deployment brings that trading setup into the same market where Standard Chartered already operates regulated digital asset custody.

Rola Abu Manneh, chief executive officer for the UAE, Middle East and Pakistan at Standard Chartered, said the country’s regulatory framework had supported institutional participation in digital assets.

“Extending our Bitcoin and Ether spot trading capability to institutional clients is a significant step in broadening our regulated digital asset proposition in the market,” Abu Manneh said.

She said combining execution with custody, governance and the bank’s international network gives institutional clients a more integrated route into digital asset markets.

UAE clients can separate execution from custody

Standard Chartered will not require clients using the new trading service to hold their Bitcoin or Ether with the bank.

Institutions can instead settle transactions through a custodian of their choice, giving them the ability to separate trade execution from asset storage. Standard Chartered’s own digital asset custody platform remains one of the available options.

The bank launched that custody service in the UAE in September 2024 after receiving a license from the Dubai Financial Services Authority within DIFC. Bitcoin and Ether were the first supported assets, while Brevan Howard Digital was named the inaugural client.

Its role in UAE institutional crypto infrastructure later expanded through a collateral mirroring program with OKX in April 2025.

Under the arrangement, institutional customers can keep eligible collateral with Standard Chartered while using its value for trading on OKX. The assets remain with the bank instead of being transferred directly to the exchange, while corresponding collateral balances are mirrored into client trading accounts.

The program began in the UAE with support from Brevan Howard and Franklin Templeton.

In April 2026, the framework was extended to BlackRock’s tokenized U.S. Treasury fund BUIDL. Eligible institutional and VIP clients can use BUIDL as collateral while Standard Chartered holds the fund off exchange.

OKX handles margining and liquidation within its trading system, while clients retain ownership of the tokenized fund and its yield under the structure.

DIFC provides the regulated base for the trading service

Christopher Parsons, senior executive officer at Standard Chartered DIFC, said the financial center provides a base from which international financial institutions can deploy services across regional markets.

“Extending our institutional digital asset trading capability through the Centre demonstrates the strength of that model,” Parsons said, citing the combination of Standard Chartered’s markets business, international network and regulated DIFC presence.

Standard Chartered has used DIFC for several parts of its institutional digital asset business. Its custody platform operates from the financial center, while some collateral arrangements involving digital assets are structured around assets held by the bank in Dubai.

The bank’s digital asset operations extend outside the UAE through its corporate and investment bank and associated ventures.

Its institutional strategy covers custody, trading and tokenization, while Zodia Markets operates in digital asset trading infrastructure and Libeara develops tokenization products.

Standard Chartered has meanwhile continued to add regulated digital asset services in other financial centers. In Hong Kong, its local banking unit became the first bank distributor of the HKDAP stablecoin in August, giving eligible institutional clients and partners access to the regulated Hong Kong dollar-backed token.

HKDAP is issued by Standard Chartered-backed Anchorpoint, which received one of Hong Kong’s stablecoin issuer licenses in April. The token entered controlled beta access for institutions and professional investors, with uses including payments, fiat conversion and tokenized asset settlement.

Standard Chartered Bank Hong Kong plans to introduce subscription and settlement services for tokenized money market funds during the fourth quarter of 2026.

Standard Chartered extends a trading model launched in the UK

The UAE service follows more than a year of development around Standard Chartered’s direct institutional crypto trading business.

When the UK operation went live in July 2025, Bitcoin and Ether trades were integrated into existing institutional trading platforms so clients could access crypto through infrastructure already used for traditional markets.

Standard Chartered said at the time that the setup was intended to allow institutions to transact and manage digital asset exposure within its regulated banking environment.

The bank has since tested other structures linking crypto trading with traditional financial market infrastructure. Its digital asset activities span direct spot execution, custody, collateral services and tokenization, while its venture businesses provide separate trading and tokenized asset capabilities.

For UAE clients, the Sept. 3 rollout adds direct Bitcoin and Ether execution to the custody infrastructure Standard Chartered has operated in DIFC since September 2024.

Institutions using the service can route trades through the bank’s electronic trading channels and choose where the resulting assets are held, including settlement into Standard Chartered’s own custody platform.

The Wyoming Stable Token Commission adopted Chainlink Proof of Reserve on Sept. 2 to publish near-real-time reserve and supply data for the state-issued Frontier Stable Token, or FRNT.

The integration combines independent examinations conducted by The Network Firm with Chainlink’s infrastructure. The Network Firm checks reserve assets and outstanding token balances under standards established by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

Chainlink then delivers the resulting verification data onchain. The arrangement gives users a more recent view of FRNT’s backing than periodic reports alone, according to the joint announcement.

Chainlink reserve data supplements daily attestations

Wyoming already publishes daily FRNT reserve attestations through the commission’s website. Proof of Reserve adds an automated onchain distribution layer to those independent examinations.

However, an onchain feed does not independently inspect cash or Treasury securities. It publishes data produced through the underlying examination process. Its reliability therefore depends on the accuracy of the reserve records, the external examiner and Chainlink’s data-delivery infrastructure.

The commission described the integration as providing “near real time” verification. It did not disclose the precise update frequency, the data feed’s contract addresses or the conditions that would trigger an alert when reserve coverage changes.

Proof of Reserve also does not remove the need for financial audits, custody controls or public reporting. It offers an additional way for applications and market participants to access the reported reserve position onchain.

Wyoming says FRNT exceeds federal disclosure rules

The commission said its daily reporting and onchain verification “meet and exceed” the federal baseline established by the GENIUS Act. That comparison represents Wyoming’s assessment rather than a separate determination from a federal regulator.

The federal law requires permitted payment stablecoin issuers to publish monthly reports covering reserve composition and outstanding supply. Those reports must receive an independent examination, while company officers must certify their accuracy.

Wyoming argues that monthly reports provide only a point-in-time view and leave a gap between reporting dates. Daily attestations and an onchain data feed can narrow that gap, although they do not guarantee that reserves cannot change between updates.

The GENIUS Act also contains requirements beyond reserve disclosures, including rules governing permitted assets, redemptions and regulatory supervision. The commission’s announcement focused on transparency and did not claim that Proof of Reserve replaces those obligations.

Secure Mint would connect reserves directly to issuance

Wyoming is also adopting Chainlink’s Secure Mint feature. The feature is not yet confirmed as operational for FRNT.

Once implemented, Secure Mint would require verified reserves to equal or exceed FRNT’s outstanding supply before allowing new tokens to be issued. A failed reserve check would prevent additional minting until the reported coverage returned to the required level.

The commission said this structure could reduce the risk of an “infinite-mint attack,” where an attacker exploits issuance controls to create unbacked tokens. Secure Mint would address one part of that risk by placing a reserve condition inside the minting process.

Its effectiveness will depend on implementation details that have not been published. These include update intervals, emergency controls, administrator permissions and procedures for handling inaccurate or unavailable reserve data.

FRNT expands its use of Chainlink infrastructure

Wyoming publicly launched FRNT on Jan. 7, 2026. The commission says the token is backed by U.S. dollars and short-term U.S. Treasury securities. Income generated from the reserves supports the state’s School Foundation Program.

The reserve verification announcement follows Wyoming’s migration of FRNT’s cross-chain infrastructure from LayerZero to Chainlink’s Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol.

As crypto.news previously reported, Wyoming moved FRNT to Chainlink after completing a security review in August. CCIP now serves as the token’s exclusive cross-chain infrastructure under a multiyear agreement.

FRNT is available across eight public blockchains, including Ethereum, Solana, Base, Avalanche, Arbitrum, Optimism, Polygon and Hedera. The commission previously used LayerZero to support transfers between those networks.

Earlier crypto.news coverage documented how Wyoming prepared FRNT for public distribution through partners including Kraken and Visa. The token later became publicly available in January after its technical mainnet deployment in 2025.

The next confirmed milestone will be the activation of Secure Mint. Wyoming has not announced a launch date, leaving the reserve-gated issuance system as a planned feature rather than a current protection.

Taiwan’s Financial Supervisory Commission has said nine supporting regulations for its new Virtual Asset Service Act, including detailed stablecoin rules, could be formally introduced as early as the first quarter of 2027.

Financial Supervisory Commission Chairman Peng Jinlong said at the FinTechOn 2026 and Asia FinTech Alliance Summit in Taipei on Sept. 2 that global discussions around virtual assets and stablecoins have moved from whether they should be developed to how they should be properly regulated.

Taiwan’s legislature passed the Virtual Asset Service Act in its third reading on June 30, establishing a licensing framework for crypto businesses and rules governing stablecoin issuance.

The FSC is now working on nine subsidiary regulations needed to implement the legislation, Peng said. Stablecoin requirements will form part of that package, with the regulator targeting the first quarter of next year for their publication and implementation.

Taiwan stablecoin rules move toward implementation

Once the new law and supporting regulations take effect, Peng expects Taiwan’s virtual asset and stablecoin sector to enter a new stage under formal supervision.

The Virtual Asset Service Act requires crypto businesses to obtain FSC approval before operating and covers exchanges, trading platforms, transfer providers, custodians, underwriters and lending businesses. Existing companies registered under Taiwan’s previous anti-money laundering regime have been given a transition period to move into the licensing system.

Stablecoin issuers face a separate approval process involving both the FSC and Taiwan’s central bank. Issuers will be required to maintain full reserve backing, place reserve assets in trust and comply with audit and disclosure requirements.

Crypto.news previously reported in July that the legislation moved Taiwan away from a system largely based on AML registration toward supervision covering operations, customer protection, cybersecurity, market conduct and financial reporting.

The framework developed from an FSC draft released in March 2025, which set out proposed licensing standards for virtual asset businesses and requirements for stablecoin issuers. Earlier proposals contemplated allowing banks to issue New Taiwan dollar-pegged stablecoins subject to regulatory approval.

Peng said rapid development in artificial intelligence and blockchain technology is pushing Taiwan and other financial markets toward a model in which traditional finance, digital finance and blockchain-based finance operate alongside one another.

Taiwan has taken a similar regulatory approach to AI. The FSC has published six core principles and related guidelines for financial institutions using artificial intelligence and plans to expand work involving AI-based fraud prevention and financial data applications while keeping risks under control.

Stablecoins emerge as an option for semiconductor payments

The discussion around stablecoins is extending into Taiwan’s semiconductor supply chain, where companies process large volumes of international payments, trade financing and corporate treasury transactions.

Taiwan Semiconductor Industry Association executive director Lu Chaoqun said AI is driving rapid expansion in the global semiconductor business. Global semiconductor annual revenue approached $800 billion in 2025 and could exceed $1.5 trillion this year, according to Lu.

He projected the industry could challenge $2 trillion in annual revenue within the next two to three years and potentially reach approximately $3 trillion by 2035. Taiwan’s semiconductor industry cluster, meanwhile, is moving toward a scale of $1 trillion.

Taiwanese manufacturers assemble and ship roughly 90% of the world’s AI servers and account for around 76% of global semiconductor foundry revenue, Lu said. Components and finished goods move across borders every day, creating payment, financing and corporate capital management requirements alongside physical supply chains.

Factories and logistics networks can operate around the clock, while international payments remain constrained by banking hours, time zones and settlement procedures.

Lu said stablecoins, blockchain technology and financial technology have consequently become urgent infrastructure for supply-chain companies handling cross-border payments, trade financing and treasury management. He argued that financial institutions should work as partners to AI, semiconductor and technology companies instead of limiting their role to providing financial services.

Programmable payments could connect supply chains

Taiwan FinTech Association Chairwoman Wang Li-ling said advances in AI, blockchain, stablecoins and programmable payments are bringing goods, information and money flows closer together within global supply chains.

Under such systems, AI could forecast demand while logistics systems adjust automatically, blockchain networks verify transactions and documents, and programmable payment systems release funds when agreed conditions have been met.

For stablecoins, Wang said the important part is not the “coin” but whether trust can be established behind the “stable” component.

She said stablecoins could make liquidity management more efficient for multinational businesses, shorten settlement periods for importers and exporters, and potentially lower payment costs for small and medium-sized businesses in emerging markets participating in international supply chains.

Cross-border use would require regulation extending beyond individual jurisdictions, Wang said. Reserve management, redemption, technology and regulatory standards would need sufficient cross-border trust, while the increased use of AI in decisions involving goods, capital allocation and supplier risk would raise questions involving data quality, cybersecurity, privacy, model governance and responsibility.

Taiwan has been tightening the infrastructure surrounding crypto transfers as the licensing system takes shape. In August, the FSC proposed expanded Travel Rule requirements for domestic virtual asset transfers, including additional identification requirements for transactions above NT$30,000.

The regulator intends to extend the framework to transfers between Taiwanese and overseas virtual asset service providers by the end of 2027.

Financial institutions assess stablecoin opportunities

Cathay Financial Holdings senior executive vice president Sun Chih-te said digital assets and stablecoins have moved from an area once treated as peripheral by traditional financial institutions toward a new area of financial development.

Large financial institutions can no longer remain outside the sector, he said, though mainstream adoption still faces issues involving market scale, regulation and customer experience.

Cathay is evaluating opportunities involving stablecoins, digital asset custody, cross-border payments and tokenization, according to Sun. The financial group wants to examine potential expansion into digital asset lending and trading while studying applications across insurance, asset management, wealth management and securities businesses.

Cross-border payments are among the applications Cathay considers most capable of reaching scale in the immediate future. The company is evaluating the role it could play within such an ecosystem and which partners could participate.

Taiwan had been considering a banking role in stablecoin issuance well before passage of the Virtual Asset Service Act. An earlier FSC proposal envisioned locally issued stablecoins pegged to the New Taiwan dollar, with issuers subject to regulatory approval and oversight involving the central bank.

Sun said regulatory requirements need to be clear and fair while providing room for innovation alongside anti-money laundering, know-your-customer, security and compliance obligations. Restricting development to the safest possible areas, he said, could leave projects stuck at the proof-of-concept stage.

Stablecoin-based cross-border payments would require a degree of regulatory coordination between markets so different systems can work together, according to Sun.

Customer experience will ultimately determine whether digital asset products move beyond trials, he said. Stablecoins and other digital asset services would need to deliver improvements in actual use, not simply offer faster, cheaper or more efficient transactions in theory.

“Getting to 90% is not enough,” Sun said, arguing that the final 10% can determine whether an innovation remains a concept or becomes a solution adopted by the mainstream market.

Asia FinTech Alliance Chairwoman Tsai Yu-ling said the organization now connects 16 Asian markets and is working to help participating economies share experience and develop common solutions. Its newly launched AFA Awards will support fintech companies seeking expansion across those markets, giving selected businesses what Tsai described as a faster route into the alliance’s 16-market network.