Digital-Currency News Digest October 11th, 2026

Stablecoin Liquidity and Ethereum Positioning

Ethereum Stablecoin Supply Rises Despite Weaker ETH Demand

Ethereum stablecoin market capitalization increased by $243.4 million through October 10, even as ETH fell 7.1% over the prior week to $2,492.27. The rise in dollar-linked balances did not translate into stronger ETH demand, while Ethereum, Arbitrum One, and Base together added $403.1 million in stablecoin market capitalization over the same period. Arbitrum One contributed $108.6 million and Base added $51.1 million. October spot Ether ETF flows showed $634.8 million in outflows, derivatives open interest eased from its late-September peak, and a weak realized profit/loss indicator suggested reduced ETH positioning. The pattern indicates stablecoin growth can occur alongside bearish ETH price action and lower leveraged exposure.

Stablecoin DEX Trading Volume Reaches $161.4 Billion

Stablecoins generated $161.4 billion in decentralized exchange trading volume over the past 30 days, showing continued use of dollar- and fiat-linked tokens as a core liquidity source in DeFi. Uniswap v4 and v3 accounted for 47.2% of that volume, about $76.2 billion, underscoring their role as major venues for stablecoin trading and swap activity. The figure highlights sustained trader interest, the depth of liquidity around stablecoins, and the practical importance of these assets in decentralized markets. It also suggests that stablecoin use remains broad-based across trading, collateral, and settlement workflows rather than confined to token launches or speculative ETH-related activity.

Regulatory Oversight and Taxation

NCUA Proposes Stablecoin Reporting Fields for Credit Unions

The NCUA proposed adding 26 stablecoin-related data fields to quarterly Form 5300 Call Reports for federally insured credit unions. The fields would cover reserve assets, custody of cryptographic keys, issuer exposure, and balance-sheet stablecoin holdings, broadening federal oversight of payment stablecoin activity under the GENIUS Act. The agency said the expansion would help examiners assess operational, counterparty, and liquidity risks through offsite supervision. The NCUA is seeking public comments by December 8 on whether the proposed fields are useful and on estimates of the associated reporting burden, with credit unions and industry stakeholders able to weigh in during the comment period.

France Stablecoin Tax Push Stalls After Budget Rejection

France’s National Assembly Finance Committee rejected the 2027 budget’s revenue section, stalling proposed taxes on stablecoin-related digital asset transactions and an expanded crypto exit tax. It had supported treating digital-asset exchanges into MiCA-regulated stablecoins, or electronic money tokens, as taxable sales from January 1, 2027, and taxing unrealized gains for investors moving abroad with more than €800,000 in digital assets. It also approved a 10-year carryforward for crypto trading losses, with unused losses not offsetting later gains. Because the revenue section was rejected, those amendments are absent from the Assembly text. The measures can be revived if lawmakers resubmit them during floor review, which begins October 13 before an October 20 vote.

German MiCA Platforms Exclude USDT

In Germany, USDT is largely unavailable on MiCA-regulated platforms after July 1, 2026, leaving USDC and EURC as the main regulated stablecoin options for compliant exchanges and payment services. That regulatory carve-out reflects the status of Tether’s token under German implementation of MiCA and pushes institutions toward authorized euro- and dollar-referenced alternatives. The development may shape product availability, custody arrangements, and stablecoin routing for European users, while USDT continues to operate on other chains and platforms. The change also underscores how jurisdiction-specific licensing rules can fragment stablecoin availability even when the same asset is widely used for cross-border payments and on-chain settlement.

Central Bank and Policy Pilots

Bank of Korea Shifts Project Hangang Focus

The Bank of Korea said Project Hangang’s digital currency is not a retail CBDC, pivoting instead to commercial bank deposit tokens settled with wholesale CBDC. The central bank is preparing a second-phase pilot by late 2026, focusing on how deposit tokens issued by commercial banks can move through supervised payment infrastructure while the wholesale CBDC handles settlement among institutions. The shift narrows the immediate retail scope of Hangang, reducing consumer-facing complexity and placing banks in a more visible role. It also keeps the Korean policy debate aligned with a two-tier structure, where private issuers offer digital money and the central bank provides settlement and supervisory backstops.

Morocco Considers Two-Tier Unremunerated E-Dirham

Bank Al-Maghrib recommended that Morocco pursue a two-tier, unremunerated e-dirham as a gradual, long-term option for digital currency policy. The proposal would separate central-bank settlement functions from commercial-bank or licensed-issuer distribution, avoiding interest-bearing central-bank money in the hands of the public while preserving a path to broader digital payment infrastructure. The unremunerated design reduces incentives for holding excess digital money at the central bank and aligns with conventional money-creation roles for commercial banks. For Morocco, the approach offers a measured response to digital payment needs without requiring a full retail CBDC rollout or immediate changes to the monetary transmission framework.

ESMA Seeks Views on Tokenized Collateral for CCPs

ESMA is collecting views on whether tokenized collateral can be safely used by EU central counterparties. The consultation examines legal, operational, liquidity, settlement, segregation, and default-management risks associated with digital tokens pledged or settled in clearing workflows. A key issue is whether tokenized assets can be segregated, ported, and monetized reliably during stressed market conditions. Regulators are also considering how legal recognition, smart-contract controls, and interoperability between CCPs, custodians, and clearing members would affect the safety of clearing systems. The outcome could shape rules for tokenized deposits, funds, and other digital assets used in European post-trade infrastructure.

Consumer Adoption and Stablecoin Payments

APAC Consumers Show Stablecoin Interest but Limited Understanding

A Visa survey of 14,250 Asia-Pacific consumers found that 46% are likely to use stablecoins within five years, while only 16% had used them in the previous 12 months. Another 49% expect stablecoins to become a mainstream cross-border payment tool. Respondents cited e-commerce, travel spending, international purchases, and money transfers as likely uses, but only 6% accurately understood how stablecoins work. Government- or central-bank-linked entities were the most trusted potential providers at 27%, with awareness highest in Hong Kong and strongest use intent in Vietnam and India. Visa and partner StraitsX are expanding stablecoin payment and settlement services, including a Mexican peso stablecoin and 24-hour foreign-exchange settlement in multiple currencies.

Stablecoin Card Spending Grows, TRON Leads Volume

Stablecoin card spending reached $4.31 billion in Q3 2026, up 33% from the prior quarter. TRON processed about $998 million, or 23.2% of total volume, making it the leading network for stablecoin card payments. Base followed with roughly $636 million and BNB Chain with about $469 million. Tether’s Plasma network saw about 250% quarterly growth in card volume, indicating rapid adoption of alternative settlement paths. The results highlight TRON’s role as a major settlement layer for USDT-based stablecoin payments and suggest that card networks, payment processors, and blockchain settlement routes are becoming increasingly intertwined. Broader growth also points to stablecoins moving from speculative trading into everyday commerce and cross-border spend.

Polygon Opens USDT Payment Route on TRON

Polygon’s Open Money Stack now lets businesses settle stablecoin payments on TRON by accepting local currency, converting it to USDT, holding it on TRON, forwarding it across chains with Polygon Trails, and paying it out to bank accounts, cards, or cash points. TRON is the largest USDT network, with $93.44 billion in circulation, or about 50.7% of Tether’s supply across reported chains. The integration may support TRX over time if payment volume raises TRON energy consumption, although TRX had barely moved at $0.3306. The route is important because it links fiat entry points, cross-chain movement, and off-ramps into bank or cash access, potentially reducing friction for merchants and consumers using USDT-based payments.

Coinbase and Gennius Target Latin American Banks

Coinbase and Gennius plan to make the ONED stablecoin available through banks in Latin America. The arrangement would allow those banks to offer the stablecoin as a digital asset or payment product to their customers, giving them a compliant distribution channel for a dollar-referenced payment token. The move could support cross-border payments, savings products, and merchant settlement where local currency volatility or banking gaps create demand for stable value. It also reflects a broader model in which crypto firms provide stablecoin infrastructure while banks handle customer relationships, licensing, and distribution. If implemented, the partnership could expand access to ONED beyond direct crypto platforms and integrate stablecoin functionality into existing bank channels across Latin America.

Korea, Institutional, and Quantum-Resilient Developments

Korea Stablecoin QR Payment PoC by Gwangju Bank and Toss

Gwangju Bank and Toss completed a stablecoin QR-code payment proof of concept that lets users scan merchant terminal codes through their apps. The test moves stablecoins between customer and merchant wallets, demonstrating a practical path for retail or small-business payments without requiring card rails or traditional account-to-account transfers. The companies plan further merchant testing, which could reveal practical issues around merchant onboarding, reconciliation, customer experience, and integration with bank accounting systems. The PoC is significant because it pairs a regulated bank with a fintech platform, suggesting that stablecoin payments in Korea may develop through hybrid retail-banking apps rather than standalone crypto wallets or exchange-based transfers alone.

Canton Foundation and LG CNS Expand Korea Push

The Canton Foundation announced a strategic partnership with LG CNS to support institutional adoption of its Canton Network in Korea. The collaboration targets implementation infrastructure for regulated finance, including CBDCs, tokenized deposits, and stablecoins. LG CNS’s enterprise delivery experience is intended to help Korean financial institutions integrate Canton into production workflows, where privacy, access control, and institutional-grade settlement are central. The move reflects growing interest in permissioned or hybrid digital-asset rails that can sit alongside existing payment systems. For Korea, the partnership could strengthen the country’s capacity to pilot tokenized deposits and institutional settlement while maintaining alignment with domestic banking regulation and data requirements.

Korea Fintech Industry Launches Coordinated Anti-Hacking Measures

Korea’s fintech industry association launched coordinated anti-hacking measures after recent cyberattacks on financial institutions. The initiative includes information sharing among participants and regulator-aligned self-inspection checks, aiming to improve threat detection, incident response, and prevention across fintech companies. The measures are intended to reduce the operational risk of digital payment infrastructure, which depends on secure APIs, wallet systems, identity checks, and transaction monitoring. By aligning self-inspection with regulator expectations, the association seeks to make compliance evidence more consistent and to help firms address vulnerabilities before they become customer-impacting incidents. The effort underscores rising concern about cybersecurity as a barrier to stablecoin and digital payment adoption.

BTQ and MoonPay Korea Build Post-Quantum Security

BTQ Technologies is partnering with MoonPay Korea to integrate post-quantum security into the full stack of Korean won-backed stablecoin operations. The collaboration covers issuance, distribution, wallet access, settlement, and last-mile delivery, with a proof of concept testing quantum-safe transaction signing and key management with Korean banks. The network is expected to serve more than 35 million customers in about 180 countries and over 1,500 enterprise clients. The partnership aims to protect regulated stablecoin infrastructure from future quantum-computing threats as Korea expands bank-grade stablecoin adoption. The effort reflects a growing expectation that payment rails need cryptographic resilience, especially when stablecoins are tied to local currency and used in institutional payment flows.

OSL Group Tokenizes and Distributes USDGO Plus SP

OSL Group disclosed that it was engaged to tokenize, custody, and distribute 2WA’s USDGO Plus SP, a market-neutral digital asset fund built on the USDGO stablecoin. The fund is available to eligible professional investors in Hong Kong. The mandate creates multiple fee streams for OSL, including tokenization services, custody of both USDGO and fund units, and distribution through its licensed Hong Kong platform. The engagement supports OSL’s stablecoin and tokenization investment narrative by linking fund creation, asset custody, and regulated distribution in one chain of services. The company remains loss-making and faces execution, cost, and regulatory risks, so the mandate is a commercial signal but not yet proof of sustained profitability.

Justin Sun Frames AI and Quantum Vision for Stablecoins

At TOKEN2049 Singapore and Blockworks DAS Asia, TRON founder Justin Sun framed stablecoins and tokenized assets as practical financial infrastructure for cross-border payments and access to digital dollars. He predicted that AI agents will increasingly conduct autonomous payments and financial activity, implying a future where machine-driven transactions require scalable settlement rails. Sun also emphasized the need for quantum-resilient blockchain infrastructure, noting TRON’s post-quantum signature work on its testnet and its role as a settlement layer for large-scale stablecoin usage. The remarks tie TRON’s strategic position to two trends: stablecoin payment adoption and the security upgrade needed as quantum computing advances threaten current cryptographic assumptions.

The pattern suggests stablecoins are becoming a payment and settlement layer rather than just a crypto yield instrument. At the same time, regulators are testing oversight boundaries, while central banks, banks, and platforms work on institutional rails, consumer education, and quantum resilience.