Stablestats Dispatch July 14-July 18, 2025
Industry News
U.S. House Sends Landmark Stablecoin Bill to President Trump’s Desk. The House passed the GENIUS Act on July 17, establishing the first federal framework for dollar-pegged stablecoins and marking a watershed moment for the industry as it awaits the President’s signature. The bill would require issuers to hold liquid reserves and make monthly disclosures, paving the way for nationwide oversight of stablecoin issuers.
Ex-Coinbase Exec’s Stablecoin Bank Raises $12.5M. U.S. startup Dakota, co-founded by former executives from Coinbase, Stripe, and fintech, emerged from stealth with $12.5 million in seed funding to build a fully regulated, stablecoin-native bank. Aiming to become an institutional gateway for tokenized dollars, Dakota plans to operate as a chartered U.S. bank that issues and safeguards stablecoins backed by absolute reserves, essentially “the bank behind the token,” focused on compliance and integration with Fedwire/ACH rather than a consumer-facing coin.
Big U.S. Banks Signal Plans to Launch Stablecoins Amid Regulatory Clarity. Bank of America’s CEO, Brian Moynihan, confirmed that the bank is working on its dollar stablecoin and will move forward once client demand increases. Morgan Stanley’s CFO likewise said the firm is closely monitoring stablecoin developments, as Congress’s “crypto week” legislation boosts expectations that banks like Citi and others will roll out regulated stablecoins shortly.
OKX Integrates Paxos USDG Stablecoin. Crypto exchange OKX has joined Paxos’ Global Dollar Network, offering its 60 million users access to the regulated USDG stablecoin (circulating approximately $356 million) for trading and transfers. Paxos launched USDG in late 2024, with reserves held at DBS Bank and regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore, positioning it as a compliant alternative to USDT/USDC.
Orbital & ClearBank Link Stablecoins with SEPA. Cross-border payments fintech Orbital has partnered with ClearBank Europe to enable real-time euro payments via SEPA Instant, linked to stablecoins, for enterprises. The integration allows for corporate clients to seamlessly bridge fiat and digital asset rails, thereby avoiding slow and costly SWIFT transfers. Instead, it utilizes instant euro clearing with full compliance (AML/KYC) alongside stablecoin and FX liquidity provided on Orbital’s platform.
Zerohash Nears $1B Valuation in New Raise – Crypto infrastructure startup Zero Hash is reportedly raising about $100 million at a nearly $1 billion valuation in a round led by brokerage Interactive Brokers. Zero Hash, whose backend platform enables banks and fintechs to offer crypto and stablecoins, last raised $105 million in 2022 and has since partnered with firms like Securitize to allow institutions to convert USDC stablecoins into US dollars seamlessly.
Noah and the Gnosis team up to launch USD virtual‑account stablecoin rails for U.S. users. The partnership enables businesses to open self-custody USD accounts on Gnosis Chain, bridging ACH/SEPA transfers with on-chain USDC/USDT via Noah’s regulated infrastructure, marking Gnosis’s first entry into the U.S. market ahead of the MiCA-era cross-border stablecoin commerce.
Hong Kong launches “Crypto LEAP” initiative - Hong Kong unveiled a policy framework dubbed Crypto LEAP (Lead in Asia Plan) to bolster its fintech leadership. The plan includes measures to attract digital asset businesses and develop clear regulations (for example, stablecoin licensing and Web3 development), aiming to solidify Hong Kong’s status as a global crypto finance hub.
Spiko Raises $22 Million to Tokenize Treasury Yields for European Businesses. Paris-based fintech Spiko, which offers a tokenized money-market fund for corporate cash, announced a $22 M Series A led by Index Ventures after accumulating $400 M in assets within a year. Spiko’s platform enables companies to convert idle cash into tokenized shares of funds that hold short-term government bonds, offering daily yields with on-demand liquidity. The startup utilizes blockchain technology to eliminate traditional custodians, thereby reducing costs and enabling deposits and withdrawals via stablecoins for 24/7 transfers.
Australia’s Central Bank Selects 24 Tokenization Pilots in ‘Project Acacia.’ The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) and the Digital Finance CRC announced 19 live pilot use cases and five proofs of concept to test tokenized asset markets in wholesale finance. Spanning tokenized bonds, private equity, trade receivables, and carbon credits, the pilots will use a mix of public and private blockchains; settlement will involve bank-issued stablecoins, tokenized deposits, and even a pilot wholesale CBDC, with ASIC providing regulatory relief to enable the trials.
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