Original Title: "Cobo Stablecoin Weekly Report 25 | From Coinbase's Transition to Google's AP2, Why Have Stablecoins Become Unavoidable Choices for Giants?"

Market Overview and Growth Highlights

The total market value of stablecoins has reached $291.839 billion, with a weekly increase of $4.544 billion. In terms of market share, USDT continues to maintain its leading position with 58.73%, while USDC ranks second with a market value of $73.989 billion, representing 25.35%.

Blockchain Network Distribution

Top three stablecoin networks by market value:

· Ethereum: $160.479 billion

· Tron: $77.56 billion

· Solana: $12.411 billion

Top 3 Networks with the Fastest Growth This Week:

· M By M^0 (M): +18.79%

· EURC (EURC): +6.03%

· Ethena USDe (USDe): +5.48%

Data source: DefiLlama

Fed Rate Cut, Coinbase's Transition from "Compliance Channel" to "On-Chain Infrastructure"

The stablecoin race has rapidly intensified, with banks, traditional payment institutions, emerging issuers, and others entering the field, directly impacting Coinbase's core profit source. In the past, relying on USDC distribution and reserve spreads, Coinbase and Circle shared the low-risk, high-yield stablecoin dividend. However, with the establishment of the "GENIUS Act" legal status, competition is now fully open—Tether has entered the U.S. with the compliant version USAT, while Robinhood and Revolut are preparing to launch their own tokens. Coinbase's monopoly channel and compliance advantages are rapidly eroding, forcing them to seek a new growth trajectory.

The macro environment has increased the pressure. The Fed's rate cut has led to an increase in trading volume, which, while positive for exchange businesses, poses a challenge to the stablecoin model: narrowing interest rate differentials leading to a significant reduction in profit margins. Coinbase's close ties with Circle, receiving approximately $300 million in distribution fees in just the first quarter of 2025—more than Circle's own net profit—while also holding $16 billion in equity. JPMorgan estimates that Circle's assets are valued at as high as $550–600 billion on Coinbase's books. In this context, the narrowing spreads not only weaken current profits but also directly impact the capital markets' valuation logic of Coinbase.

Today's competitors not only include giants but also numerous "grassroots" forces. The white-label mode has significantly lowered the issuance threshold, allowing any application with a brand and channel to enter the stablecoin market. The launch of USDH by Hyperliquid indicates that liquidity-bearing trading platforms are beginning to awaken, no longer relying on external issuers but instead retaining revenue through issuing native stablecoins to strengthen ecosystem resilience. If USDH's issuance is successful, theoretically it could capture about 7% of USDC's market share, posing a substantial threat to Circle and Coinbase. Therefore, Circle has chosen to invest in Hyperliquid and promote USDC integration into its ecosystem to defend against this potential impact. It can be seen that stablecoin competition is shifting from a game dominated by a few leaders to a multi-level, multi-mode open competition.

Coinbase can no longer rely on a single trading matching engine and "rent-seeking" stablecoin distribution but must build an ecosystem flywheel driven by real on-chain activities. From this perspective, a series of recent actions by Coinbase reflect this logic: publicly releasing the Base coin issuance expectation and offering over 10% on-chain lending yield to attract funds; leveraging its brand and compliance advantages to guide its massive centralized user base to on-chain applications; accelerating cross-chain integration to connect ecosystems like Solana and expand the utility boundaries of USDC.

All of this points to the same goal: transforming Coinbase from a regulatory dividend-driven entry platform into a core gateway of on-chain finance. In the era of full-market stablecoins, this is a passive yet necessary adjustment and the only way for Coinbase to maintain its core position in the digital economy.

Google Cloud Unveils AI Agent Payment Protocol AP2, Setting the Stage for the Future of the Machine Economy

This week, Google Cloud released the open-source Agent Payments Protocol (AP2), marking the moment when AI begins to possess the economic behavioral capabilities of human individuals. AP2 is compatible with traditional payment methods such as credit cards while also, for the first time, incorporating stablecoins into the system, thereby providing a native, intermediary-free payment method for interactions between intelligent agents. Google's core intention is to address the trust issue in AI transactions and, by restructuring the payment logic, propel itself toward the trust layer of the future machine economy.

Traditional payment systems rely on trust in "human accountability" and multi-step intermediary validation. However, in an AI-dominated environment, this foundation is no longer effective. Consumers struggle to confirm correct execution of authorizations, merchants cannot ensure the authenticity of instructions, and in case of a transaction error, the payment network finds it challenging to assign responsibility.

The solution proposed by AP2 is to shift trust from uncontrollable machine decisions to verifiable user intent. The AP2 protocol introduces three core authorization credentials (Mandates): Cart Mandate, Intent Mandate, and Payment Mandate. The first ensures explicit consent from the user present, the second allows users to set condition-based automated decisions for agents, and the third serves as the final payment execution credential. These mandates are all based on cryptographic signatures and Verifiable Credentials (VCs), forming a continuous chain of proof where each operation must generate a credential, and the next step can only be taken after verifying the authenticity of the previous link.

This means that not only the transaction itself but even capturing the pre-transaction intent is structured as verifiable credentials, allowing the entire transaction process to be traceable and verifiable. As a result, trust no longer relies on the endorsement of centralized institutions but is embedded in a distributed, tamper-proof process. Payment is no longer an isolated settlement action but is redefined as an intelligent instruction carrying intent and context, laying a viable trust foundation for atomic and high-frequency microtransactions in the machine economy.

Furthermore, the deeper significance is that payment itself is redefined as part of computation. Each AI transaction is no longer a standalone monetary settlement but an intelligent instruction carrying intent and context. This instruction is essentially a semantic data package encapsulating information such as "who initiated, why executed, under what conditions occurred," making payment both a value flow and an information flow. This will bring about new business models where developers can price around fine-grained usage-based or on-demand services. The decision logic of AI agents, consumer preferences, and automation requirements are recorded on the chain, becoming high-quality intent data with value-added potential. This not only directly benefits Google's core business in advertising and cloud services but could also establish new competitive barriers in the longer-term AI application ecosystem. Through AP2, Google is essentially attempting to grasp the context and data dividend of the AI business system, leading the future digital economy.

However, this "payment as computation" design can only be efficiently implemented in a blockchain-based system. Blockchain provides three key elements: a flexible data structure, trust based on cryptography, and a native programmable environment. In the long run, the real leverage of AP2 may lie in stablecoins. Without stablecoins, AP2 can still improve efficiency; but only the native programmability and decentralization characteristics of stablecoins can truly enable "payment as computation," allowing AP2 to evolve into a complete AI economic operating system.

It is worth noting that the x402 extension of the A2A (Agent-to-Agent) protocol, the encrypted payment channel in this AP2 protocol, was contributed by the Ethereum Foundation. If the previously self-built payment chain by Stripe caused Ethereum to lose its position in the "day-to-day consumer payment" narrative, then with the implementation of AP2, Ethereum will enter a brand-new scenario where it will serve as a decentralized trust layer for high-frequency, atomic settlements between AI agents in the machine economy, potentially becoming the foundational coordinate system for "machine payments." In line with this, the Ethereum Foundation recently announced a pivot towards the AI and machine economy track, forming the dAI team to attempt to build a decentralized AI technology stack to ensure that the future intelligent agent ecosystem does not overly rely on a few centralized entities, further affirming the direction of this strategic transformation.

New Product Express

MetaMask Launches mUSD Stablecoin, Joins the Expanding USD Stablecoin Camp

Key Highlights:

· MetaMask's new stablecoin, mUSD, was officially launched on Monday, becoming the first stablecoin introduced by a self-custody crypto wallet, aiming to become the default digital dollar unit within its ecosystem.

· mUSD is issued by Bridge, a stablecoin issuance platform under Stripe, minted through M0's decentralized infrastructure, fully backed by "high-quality, highly liquid dollar-denominated assets" on a 1:1 basis, providing real-time transparency and cross-chain composability within the M0 liquidity network.

· Users will be able to deposit, hold, exchange, transfer, and cross-chain with mUSD within MetaMask, with the team expecting to enable spending through MetaMask cards at Mastercard-accepting merchants by the end of the year.

Why It Matters:

· MetaMask's launch of mUSD comes at a time when stablecoin giant Tether announced plans to launch the US-compliant stablecoin USAT, Hyperliquid is also developing a native stablecoin, and traditional banks are exploring tokenized dollar issuance or integration following regulatory clarity in the US. As of Monday's publication, the circulating supply of mUSD is approximately $18 million. The stablecoin market competition is intensifying, with various platforms seeking differentiation through different compliance strategies, technical infrastructures, and ecosystem integrations.

Ethereum Foundation Establishes "dAI" Team to Develop Ethereum as AI Economy Base Layer

Key Highlights:

· Ethereum Foundation has established a new "dAI" team, led by core developer Davide Crapis, to accelerate work at the intersection of blockchain and artificial intelligence

· The team has two main missions: to make Ethereum the "preferred settlement and coordination layer for AI and machine economies," and to build a decentralized AI tech stack to ensure AI's future "doesn't rely on a few entities alone"

· The current focus is on developing the ERC-8004 standard for AI agent identity and transactions, set to be released at the November Devconnect conference. This standard aims to allow applications to verify AI agent identities, comply with rules, and establish trustworthiness

Why It Matters:

· As more autonomous software triggers payments, signs messages, and calls on-chain services, reliable identity and policy enforcement become key to security and scalability. Crapis defines this effort as "Ethereum+AI," providing a neutral, verifiable base layer for intelligent agents to engage in value, reputation, and rule-sharing. This is the latest strategic focus of the Ethereum Foundation following the end-to-end privacy roadmap and L2 interoperability framework

Coinbase Launches USDC Lending Service, Offering Up to 10.8% APY Through Morpho

Key Highlights:

· Coinbase has introduced a new USDC lending feature, providing a current APY of up to 10.8%, allowing users to complete all operations without leaving the Coinbase app

· The service is powered by the Morpho protocol and Steakhouse Financial on the Base chain, with Coinbase creating smart contract wallets for users connected to the Morpho protocol, allowing funds deposited to start earning interest immediately

· The service will gradually open to users in the United States (excluding New York), Bermuda, and other countries, allowing users to withdraw funds at any time subject to liquidity, while maintaining the familiar Coinbase user experience

Why It Matters:

· This is an important step for Coinbase to further expand its DeFi services, offering USDC holders a higher passive income option than the original 4.1% (up to 4.5% for Coinbase One members). With USDC's circulating supply exceeding $73.6 billion, this service will allow more traditional users to participate in decentralized finance through a trusted platform, while Coinbase continues to expand its role as a bridge between cryptocurrency and DeFi

PayPal Launches Crypto Payment Links PayPal links, Enabling Cross-App, Cross-Border, and Cross-Currency Transactions

Key Highlights:

· PayPal introduces the new "PayPal links" feature, allowing users to create custom one-time payment links to share in any conversation, first launching in the United States and later expanding to markets like the UK and Italy

· Soon to directly integrate cryptocurrency functionality into the P2P payment process, U.S. users can send cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and PYUSD through PayPal to PayPal, Venmo, and other cryptocurrency-supporting digital wallets

· PayPal supports various fund management options, including a PayPal Savings account offering a 3.80% annual percentage yield (FDIC insurance provided by Synchrony Bank), as well as various cryptocurrency purchase and trading services

Why It Matters:

· PayPal is connecting the world's largest digital payment system and wallet through its global platform, PayPal World, making P2P payments as simple as sending a text message. The company saw a 10% year-over-year increase in Q2 P2P and other consumer payments volume, with Venmo reaching its highest payment volume growth rate in three years, demonstrating its strategic value in driving global fund flows and expanding the user ecosystem

Cloud Service Platform Vercel Launches x402-mcp, Enabling AI Agents to Integrate an Accountless Open Payment Protocol

Key Highlights:

· Vercel has released the open-source x402-mcp protocol, enabling direct payment capabilities for AI agent tools through the HTTP 402 status code, without the need to pre-register an account or manage API keys, allowing AI agents to autonomously discover and pay for new services

· The protocol seamlessly integrates with the Model Context Protocol (MCP) server and Vercel AI SDK, allowing developers to set prices for API routes and MCP tools, while the client-side only needs a simple wrapper to handle the payment process

· The current implementation is primarily based on USDC stablecoin settlement on the Base blockchain, but the x402 standard itself supports multiple payment networks, including non-cryptocurrency payment methods. Vercel provides a one-click deployment template with Coinbase Wallet integration

Why It Matters:

· It addresses a key pain point in the AI agent economy system—payment settlement. When a large language model needs to call a paid API or tool, existing solutions require pre-establishing an account and configuring payment relationships. The x402 protocol, through an open standard, allows AI agents to pay directly programmatically, providing true economic autonomy to AI systems and significantly reducing the complexity of developer integration with payments

Offline Protocol Launches the World's First Offline Stablecoin Settlement Network: OfflinePay

Key Highlights:

· Offline Protocol has announced the launch of OfflinePay, touted as the world's first offline stablecoin settlement network, aimed at enabling individuals without bank accounts and those digitally underserved to perform peer-to-peer stablecoin payments via ordinary smartphones in offline environments

· Simultaneously, the company has established the Stable Institute research institution, focusing on addressing inclusion issues in the evolution of currency forms and studying how stablecoin infrastructure can provide more equitable financial services to populations lacking connectivity and banking access

· The company will continue to develop products such as Fernweh, OfflineID, and Proof of Location AVS, with OfflinePay being introduced as the new flagship product targeted specifically at regions with weak infrastructure, limited internet access, and frequent disasters

Why It Matters:

· It tackles a pain point of mainstream cashless payment systems that exclude hundreds of millions of unbanked individuals. By supporting true peer-to-peer offline stablecoin payments, OfflinePay reduces remittance costs, enhances transparency, enables traditionally excluded populations to participate in the digital economy, and offers a practical solution for financial inclusivity

PayPal's Stablecoin PYUSD Expands to 9 New Blockchains, Reaching $1.3 Billion in Total Value Locked

Key Highlights:

· PayPal's USD-pegged stablecoin PYUSD has expanded to 9 new blockchains through the LayerZero interoperability protocol, surpassing its native issuances on Ethereum, Solana, Arbitrum, and Stellar

· LayerZero has integrated Paxos-issued PYUSD into its Hydra Stargate system, creating a permissionless version called PYUSD0 that is interchangeable 1:1 with the underlying stablecoin

· This expansion enables PYUSD to be used on Abstract, Aptos, Avalanche, Ink, Sei, Stable, and Tron, while existing community-issued versions on Berachain and Flow will automatically convert

Why It Matters:

· PayPal launched PYUSD in 2023, becoming one of the first stablecoins supported by a major payments company. Through LayerZero's expansion, the token aims to enter new markets faster and provide a USD-pegged stablecoin in the crypto economy. Since its launch, the PYUSD supply has grown to $1.3 billion, and this expansion indicates PayPal's active efforts to strengthen its presence in the broader blockchain ecosystem

Market Adoption

International Remittance Firm MoneyGram's New App Embraces Stablecoins as Core Payment Infrastructure

Key Highlights:

· MoneyGram has launched its new app, integrating Circle's USDC stablecoin, Stellar blockchain, and Crossmint wallet technology as digital payment infrastructure, allowing users to receive and hold USD-pegged stablecoins

· The first market to go live is Colombia, a major remittance-receiving country where inbound remittances to households are 22 times the outflow and the Colombian peso has devalued over 40% in the past four years

· As a global leader in international remittances, MoneyGram serves approximately 150 million customers and operates over 400,000 physical locations across 200+ countries and territories, also serving as a significant onramp and offramp for cryptocurrency

Why It Matters:

· MoneyGram CEO Anthony Soohoo likened stablecoins to revolutionary applications like spreadsheets in the personal computer era and browsers in the internet era. He believes that with a clearer regulatory framework post the passing of the U.S. GENIUS Act, stablecoins will become a killer app in the crypto industry, providing the foundation for real-time settlements and stable asset storage

American Express Introduces Blockchain "Travel Stamps" to Record Digital Travel Memories

Key Takeaways:

· American Express has launched Ethereum-based "Travel Stamps" digital memorabilia, essentially ERC-721 tokens minted and stored on Coinbase's Base network

· These travel stamps are technically NFTs but are currently non-tradeable and have no economic value. Customers can collect them when using an American Express card. While not positioned as a blockchain loyalty program, they have reward and collectible attributes

· American Express has provided wallet-as-a-service support for this product, and the new travel app also includes travel tools and Centurion Lounge upgrade features

Why It Matters:

· This is a typical case of traditional financial institutions exploring non-financial applications of blockchain technology. Colin Marlowe, Vice President of American Express Digital Labs, stated that the project's aim is not to generate short-term revenue but to enhance the American Express travel experience, making it distinctive, while also laying the foundation for potential future loyalty programs and partnerships

Capital Deployment

Standard Chartered Bank's Venture Arm Plans to Launch $250 Million Digital Asset Fund

Key Takeaways:

· Standard Chartered Bank's venture arm, SC Ventures, plans to raise $250 million to establish a fund focused on digital asset investments in the financial services industry, set to launch in 2026

· This fund will receive backing from Middle Eastern investors and aims to make investments globally. Gautam Jain, a partner at SC Ventures, revealed this at the Saudi Arabia Money 20/20 event

· In addition, SC Ventures also plans to establish a $1 billion Africa investment fund and the first-ever venture debt fund, but it is not yet clear whether these two funds will focus on digital assets

Why It Matters:

· This move reflects the ongoing trend of institutional interest in digital assets. Projects such as JPMorgan's Kinexys and the tokenized currency market fund collaboration between Goldman Sachs and BNY Mellon demonstrate that mainstream banks are expanding their crypto service offerings, while the participation of Middle Eastern investors highlights the region's emergence as a crypto and blockchain hub

MoonPay Acquires Payment Startup Meso to Expand Crypto Payment Business

Key Takeaways:

· Crypto fintech company MoonPay has acquired payment startup Meso to further expand its crypto payment network, but the specific acquisition amount and completion date have not been disclosed

· Meso's co-founders Ali Aghareza and Ben Mills (from PayPal and Venmo, respectively) will join MoonPay as Chief Technology Officer and Senior Vice President of Product, respectively

· This is MoonPay's second payment industry acquisition this year, following its $175 million acquisition of Solana-based crypto payment processor Helio in January

Why It Matters:

· MoonPay is consolidating its position as a provider of infrastructure for the crypto and Web3 industries through strategic acquisitions, similar to the Stripe model in the traditional payment space. This acquisition indicates that the company is actively integrating payment industry talent and technology to build the world's largest crypto payment network to meet the demand for seamless crypto transactions from both institutions and individuals

Regulatory Compliance

Quantexa Launches Platform to Help Small Banks Address Stablecoin Compliance Challenges

Key Takeaways:

· Data and analytics software company Quantexa launched an anti-money laundering (AML) solution based on the Microsoft cloud platform on Wednesday, designed specifically for small and community banks in the United States

· The product, named Cloud AML, aims to help financial crime investigation teams make faster decisions with less expense while maintaining accuracy, reducing "false positives," and addressing the common compliance standards all banks face despite varying resources

· Chris Bagnall, Head of North America Financial Crime Solutions at Quantexa, pointed out that banks may see fund flows between customers and cryptocurrency exchanges, but the source of funds outside of exchanges could be a blind spot

Why It Matters:

· The product launch comes as the U.S. is set to pass stablecoin legislation this summer, expected to unleash new competitors including Bank of America and Citigroup. As stablecoins become more prevalent, most banks are increasingly focused on monitoring fund inflows and outflows to combat financial crime. Quantexa's research shows that 36% of AML professionals believe digital assets will have the greatest impact on the AML industry in the next five years, indicating that as stablecoins become more common in everyday payments, institutions need to take a more holistic view of their crypto-related risk exposure

Tether Launches U.S.-Regulated Stablecoin USAT, Former Trump Administration Official Appointed CEO

Key Highlights:

· Tether has announced that former White House Cryptocurrency Working Group Executive Director Bo Hines will serve as the CEO of its newly established U.S. division, responsible for launching the all-new U.S.-regulated stablecoin USAT

· USAT will serve as a complementary product to USDT (with a market capitalization of approximately $169 billion), issued by crypto infrastructure company Anchorage Digital with Cantor Fitzgerald's involvement, and is scheduled to launch by the end of 2025

· The new USAT team will be based in Charlotte, North Carolina, with Tether Group CEO Paolo Ardoino emphasizing the company's focus on reducing intermediaries with users and inviting U.S. financial institutions to collaborate to expand stablecoin business

Why It Matters:

· This move signifies that the world's largest stablecoin issuer, Tether, is strategically entering the U.S. regulated market by appointing a former Trump administration official to strengthen its political relationships and compliance status. As the 18th largest holder of U.S. government debt globally, Tether achieved a $13 billion profit in 2024, and the launch of a regulated stablecoin will further expand its dominant position in the global stablecoin market

South Korea's First Korean Won-Backed Stablecoin KRW1 Launches on Avalanche

Key Highlights:

· South Korean crypto custody service provider BDACS has announced the launch of South Korea's first Korean Won-backed stablecoin, KRW1, on the Avalanche network, successfully completing the Proof of Concept (PoC)

· Each KRW1 is fully collateralized by Korean Won held at one of South Korea's largest banks, Woori Bank, with real-time bank API integration to ensure transparent and verifiable proof of reserves

· KRW1 is currently in the proof of concept stage and has not been publicly circulated yet. The company plans to position it as a stablecoin for global remittances, payments, investments, and savings and expand it to other blockchains for enhanced interoperability

Why It Matters:

· South Korean President Lee Jae-myung has expressed support for developing the local currency-pegged stablecoin market to strengthen monetary sovereignty in the digital financial era. However, the Bank of Korea insists that stablecoin issuance should be limited to licensed bank institutions. In the absence of clear stablecoin-related regulations, BDACS has strategically positioned itself as a key player in South Korea's upcoming local stablecoin market through partnerships with Woori Bank and global blockchain partners

US Congressman Hill Proposes Amendment to GENIUS Act, Banning Non-Financial Firms from Issuing Stablecoins

Key Highlights:

· US House of Representatives member French Hill aims to amend the just-passed GENIUS Stablecoin Act within the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, with support from Senator Cynthia Lummis

· Key proposed amendments include: strengthening the legal responsibility of CEOs and CFOs for financial data disclosure, explicitly banning non-financial firms from entering the stablecoin business, and ensuring US investors can maintain hardware or software wallets for legal self-custody of digital assets

· The Senate Banking Committee Republicans have released a draft bill, and Lummis plans to complete the market structure legislation by the end of this year, with support from Tyler Williams, a US Treasury Department advisor

Why It Matters:

· The GENIUS Act is a landmark achievement for the Washington crypto industry and its allies, but Hill believes it needs further improvement. While the House version passed with overwhelming bipartisan support at 308-122, the Senate version still faces scrutiny from some senators (such as Louisiana's John Kennedy). These amendments will determine the final form of the U.S. stablecoin regulatory framework

The Bank of England Proposes Limiting Individual Stablecoin Holdings to £20,000, with a Corporate Cap of £10 Million

Key Takeaways:

· According to the Financial Times, the Bank of England plans to set limits on systemic stablecoin holdings: a personal cap of £10,000-£20,000 ($13,600-$27,200), and a corporate cap of around £10 million ($13.6 million)

· Tom Duff Gordon, Vice President of International Policy at Coinbase, stated that setting limits on stablecoins is "detrimental to UK depositors, detrimental to the City of London, detrimental to the pound," and emphasized that other major jurisdictions have not implemented similar restrictions

· Simon Jennings from the UK Crypto-asset Business Council warned that without new systems like digital IDs, such limits are nearly impossible to enforce, while Riccardo Tordera-Ricchi from the Payments Association pointed out that these limits are "meaningless" as cash or bank accounts do not have similar caps

Why It Matters:

· The Bank of England's proposal would make the UK regulatory environment stricter than the U.S. and EU. The GENIUS Act passed in the U.S. in July and the EU's MiCA regulation do not impose limits on individual holdings but focus on issuer licensing, reserves, and redemption standards. This could lead to crypto businesses shifting to more regulation-friendly jurisdictions, weakening the UK's position as a financial innovation hub

Australian Regulatory Agency ASIC Eases Rules for Stablecoin Intermediaries

Key Takeaways:

· The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) announced regulatory relief for stablecoin intermediaries, allowing them to distribute stablecoins issued by holders of an AFS license without needing additional licenses for financial services, markets, or clearing facilities

· This is a significant step by Australia to address regulatory uncertainty in the stablecoin market, with ASIC stating that they will consider expanding the relief further as more issuers obtain AFS licenses

· The relief requires intermediaries to provide customers with a product disclosure statement from the issuer to ensure transparency, while the issuer remains responsible for disclosure and prudential obligations, with the provision to take effect after registration as a federal regulation

Why It Matters:

This action has created a more favorable regulatory environment for the Australian stablecoin market, bridging the gap in regulation before the Treasury finalizes the stablecoin regime. Blockchain APAC CEO Steve Vallas stated that the market's success will depend on demand, and global players' interest in meeting Australian regulatory requirements will provide industry development signals

Israel Calls for Freeze of $1.5 Billion in Tether Assets Suspected of Iran Link

Key Takeaways:

· Israel's National Bureau for Counter Terror Financing issued a list of 187 USDT addresses, claiming these addresses collectively received $1.5 billion, linked to the Iran Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, to be frozen and blacklisted

· Blockchain analytics firm Elliptic stated that not all addresses can be definitively tied to Iran's armed forces, with some addresses potentially controlled by crypto services as part of wallet infrastructure for multiple client transactions

· Tether has previously cooperated with law enforcement to freeze USDT associated with criminal activities, and Iran has long utilized cryptocurrency to evade sanctions, with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps believed to be one of the country's prominent Bitcoin miners

Why It Matters:

This is the latest case of geopolitical conflict spilling over into the cryptocurrency space. Following a 12-day war between Israel and Iran in June this year, tensions between the two continue to escalate. Israel's move signals law enforcement's enhanced tracking of crypto assets potentially evading sanctions, placing major stablecoins like Tether under closer regulatory scrutiny

Macro Trends

BitMEX Co-Founder Hayes: Global Money Printing Spree Will Extend Crypto Bull Market to 2026

Key Takeaways:

· BitMEX Co-Founder Arthur Hayes, in an interview with Kyle Chassé, stated that under the fiscal policy of the Trump era, global currency printing will extend the cryptocurrency bull market until 2026

Hayes believes that Trump's second-term massive spending plan has not been fully rolled out yet, and he expects more liquidity to be unleashed after the 2026 midterms. Investors have underestimated the potential size of funds flowing into the stock and crypto markets.

· He dismissed concerns that arose after Bitcoin hit a record $124,000 in mid-August and then stagnated, pointing out that Bitcoin has shown a stronger resilience against currency devaluation compared to traditional assets.

Why It Matters:

· Hayes links the continuation of the crypto bull market to geopolitical changes, including the breakdown of a unipolar world order. He believes that tensions within Europe (even hinting at a French default leading to Euro instability) will accelerate the global money printing process. He reminds investors to be patient, emphasizing that Bitcoin's true strength lies in its years of compounded excess returns, not short-term speculation.

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