PANews’ latest RWA weekly covered the period from Sept. 25 to Oct. 2, 2026. The update showed a slight pullback in overall RWA market value, continued growth in the number of holders, a string of policy moves around tokenized securities and settlement rails, and fresh product launches spanning tokenized equities, stablecoins and institutional payment infrastructure.
RWA market value dipped while holder count kept rising
According to the latest data from RWA.xyz, total on-chain RWA market capitalization fell to $38.55 billion as of Oct. 2, 2026, down 0.94% from the same point a month earlier. Over the same period, total asset holders climbed to 5.0182 million, up 51.6%.
The divergence was notable. Asset value edged lower, but the number of holders rose sharply, suggesting that new users continued entering the sector even as market size retreated modestly.
Stablecoin market cap rose, but monthly transfer volume weakened
Total stablecoin market capitalization reached $294.04 billion, up 0.71% from a month earlier. Monthly transfer volume came in at $6.82 trillion, down 7.67%. Monthly active addresses reached 60.34 million, up 5.81%, while total holders rose to 293 million, up 3.04%.
The largest stablecoins remained USDT, USDC and USDS. USDT market capitalization rose 0.45% from a month earlier, USDC added 0.02%, and USDS increased 5.3%.
The figures pointed to a market where capitalization and user base continued to expand, while demand for on-chain transfer and settlement softened on the margin.
Report says SEC may revise KYC rules for tokenized securities
The Rollup founder Andy said in a post that, according to sources, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is preparing to revise KYC requirements so users would need to complete identity verification only once to access tokenized securities on-chain.
Under that approach, users could move across different on-chain trading venues and tokenization platforms with greater composability. Andy said zero-knowledge identity systems could let users split orders across multiple venues to execute larger trades.
CFTC accepts tokenized assets for compliant customer fund treatment
In an official notice, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission said three of its divisions jointly updated crypto asset FAQs. The update stated that registered derivatives firms may treat tokenized money market fund shares and similar eligible customer fund investment instruments the same as traditional forms of those assets.
CFTC staff also said they would not object to the use of blockchain and other distributed ledger technology to preserve records in order to satisfy federal recordkeeping requirements.
ECB outlines three models for bringing central bank money on-chain
The European Central Bank proposed three ways to place central bank money on-chain: direct issuance, a bridging mechanism, and an approach using private intermediaries. The models are intended to support settlement for transactions involving tokenized securities, bank deposits and stablecoins on distributed ledger networks.
South Korea moves to widen tokenized securities scope
Yonhap reported that South Korea’s Financial Services Commission published a notice on proposed amendments to subordinate regulations tied to the institutionalization of token securities. The plan would widen the scope of eligible tokenized securities to include traditional securities such as stocks, bonds and funds.
Under the proposal, tokenization would no longer be limited to fractional investment securities. Traditional securities could also be issued in tokenized form. Related electronic securities rules would also clarify distributed ledger requirements, including a structure that must involve an electronic registration institution and at least two account management institutions. The proposal would also prohibit direct fees for using distributed ledgers for electronic registration purposes.
In addition, the FSC plans to allow securities issuers to become issuer account management institutions, provided they meet requirements including minimum equity capital of KRW 40 billion and staffing in account management, internal controls and IT.
For secondary circulation, the amendment would establish an over-the-counter trading system and set an annual net purchase cap of KRW 100 million for ordinary investors across OTC venues. The rules are expected to take effect on Feb. 4, 2027.
Hong Kong adds tokenized HKD deposits to digital green bond settlement
According to a Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government press release, the government priced about HK$20 billion equivalent of digital green bonds under its Sustainable Bond Programme. The issuance covered Hong Kong dollars, renminbi, U.S. dollars and euros.
Alongside conventional settlement and the tokenized central bank money delivery option used previously, the government said the primary issuance settlement process for the Hong Kong dollar tranche also introduced tokenized deposits through EnsembleTX. It described the deal as among the world’s first digital bonds to incorporate tokenized Hong Kong dollar deposits, adding that the move would help enrich the city’s digital financial ecosystem and support exploration of programmable money.
Cross-border e-CNY connectivity expands
Xinhua reported that after the first batch of 26 financial institutions signed on, another 39 domestic and overseas financial institutions had submitted applications by the end of September to join the CBETS cross-border settlement integrated service platform as direct participants.
The Digital Currency Institute for international operations said it has continued optimizing CBETS this year, supporting both bilateral connections with overseas monetary authority payment systems and central bank digital currency systems, as well as direct access by overseas financial institutions. The platform now supports both trade-related and person-to-person cross-border use cases.
HSBC names planned Hong Kong dollar stablecoin HSBC RedCoin
HSBC said its planned Hong Kong dollar stablecoin will be called HSBC RedCoin. The bank also released survey findings based on more than 1,000 local customers, showing that 74% recognized at least one stablecoin use case.
Among respondents, digital asset trading and tokenized investment ranked first at 57%, followed by person-to-person transfers at 53%, cross-border remittances at 52%, and merchant payments at 52%.
On understanding of the product, 60% correctly identified stablecoins as digital assets backed by fiat currency. At the same time, 26% mistakenly believed stablecoins are issued by governments, while 10% thought they generate yield, a feature not included in Hong Kong’s current regulatory framework.
HSBC said the first phase will focus on person-to-person and person-to-merchant payments before expanding into commercial finance and enterprise use cases. In April this year, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority granted its first batch of Hong Kong dollar stablecoin issuer licenses to HSBC and Standard Chartered. HSBC had previously said it plans to formally launch the stablecoin in the second half of this year.
Aave V4 brings tokenized U.S. equities into USDC borrowing on Base
The Block reported that Aave V4 launched Equities Hub on Base, allowing eligible non-U.S. users to post seven tokenized U.S. stocks issued by Coinbase as collateral to borrow USDC. The seven names are Apple, Amazon, Alphabet, Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia and Tesla.
The launch marked the first time tokenized equities could be used as collateral in Aave’s lending market instead of serving only as assets to hold or trade. The market uses Aave’s Hub and Spoke architecture, places the seven stock collaterals into a shared USDC liquidity pool, and applies separate risk parameters to each name to isolate asset-specific risk. Chainlink is providing on-chain price data for the tokenized equities.
The market’s initial total collateral cap is about $29 million. The USDC supply cap is $32 million, the borrow cap is $21 million, and loan-to-value ratios range from 65% to 79% depending on the stock. For now, the seven equities can only be used as collateral. Aave said it may add more Coinbase tokenized equities later, subject to governance and risk review, and could also add GHO as a borrowable asset.
Ethena adds tokenized equities to USDe backing strategy
The Block also reported that Ethena is incorporating tokenized U.S. equities and Binance stock perpetual contracts into the basis trade strategy that supports USDe. Binance bStocks will serve as the tokenized spot leg, while Ethena uses Binance stock perpetuals for hedging to maintain delta neutrality.
Ethena said its risk committee had already approved adding tokenized equity basis trades to the allocation strategy. The company said open interest in Binance stock perpetuals has now exceeded $2.9 billion, with a monthly compound growth rate of 105% this year. It added that the average annualized return from equity basis trades over the past six months was 3.56%.
Ethena said it expects the opportunity set in stock perpetuals to eventually become significantly larger than the market for crypto perpetual contracts as more equity market assets move on-chain. Ethena Labs founder Guy Young called it the most important expansion of USDe’s capital mechanism since launch.
Chainlink connects institutional systems to Swift’s blockchain ledger
In an official announcement, Chainlink said it is using its Runtime Environment, or CRE, to help financial institutions connect systems and key-signing infrastructure to Swift’s blockchain ledger. Banks can keep control of transaction authorization keys while adopting 24/7 tokenized payment workflows under existing security governance and approval processes.
Swift’s ledger coordinates interbank fund transfers among participants using tokenized deposits, including overnight and weekend periods. Final settlement still occurs through existing mechanisms such as real-time gross settlement systems. Swift said when the ledger was announced at Sibos 2025, it was already connected to more than 11,500 financial institutions across more than 200 markets worldwide.
Ondo, Visa, AllUnity, StraitsX and Open Standard post new updates
The Block reported that Ondo Finance and KakaoPay Securities are exploring the creation of a global gateway to South Korean equities.
Visa said Lloyds Banking Group and Visa completed a roughly $750,000 stablecoin cross-border settlement pilot, with funds arriving in about one hour including over weekends. During the seven-day pilot, Lloyds purchased USDC through U.K.-regulated exchange Archax to settle with Visa. Validation took place on both the Canton private chain and a public blockchain to test cross-chain interoperability. Visa described it as its first stablecoin settlement test with a major U.K. banking group.
Cointelegraph reported that European stablecoin issuer AllUnity is launching USDAU, its fourth fiat-backed stablecoin, to expand its MiCA-compliant product line. The issuer had already launched euro, Swiss franc and Swedish krona stablecoins. USDAU is designed to maintain a 1:1 peg with the U.S. dollar through segregated reserves and will debut on Ethereum, Solana, Base, Tempo, Arc and Polygon.
The Monad Foundation said StraitsX plans to natively deploy the Singapore dollar stablecoin XSGD and the U.S. dollar stablecoin XUSD on Monad in early 2027, while exploring stablecoin payments and financial services on the network. The deployment remains subject to technical, regulatory, compliance and partner requirements and is not yet live.
Open Standard announced that OUSD, a dollar stablecoin backed by more than 100 companies including Visa, Stripe and Mastercard, has officially launched on Base, Ethereum, Solana and Tempo. Businesses can access it through channels such as Visa and Stripe. Coinbase will follow on Oct. 1 with free minting and redemption at a 1:1 dollar ratio.
OUSD is issued by Bridge, a Stripe subsidiary. Its reserves are held by BlackRock, Lead Bank and BNY Mellon. Bloomberg reported that Visa, Stripe, BVNK, Coinbase and Shopify have committed to mint roughly $1 billion worth of OUSD in total.
Open Standard CEO Zach Abrams said, 「Trading platforms include Kraken, CB, Uniswap and Orca. We also have dozens of product integrations coming soon, including Ramp, Deel, Securitize and Meow.」
Separately, tokenized U.S. stock trading platform MSX listed spot trading for the tokenized shares of online travel platform $EXPE.
DTCC makes strategic investment in iCapital
According to an official statement, the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation and iCapital announced a strategic partnership, with DTCC also making a strategic investment in iCapital. The two firms said they will work together on private market infrastructure.
The plan is to combine DTCC’s market infrastructure, processing capabilities and network with iCapital’s technology platform and investment workflows in order to connect data, operations and market participants across the private investment lifecycle and reduce operational friction.
As an initial area of cooperation, the firms plan to deepen integration between DTCC’s Alternative Investment Product services and iCapital’s alternatives platform, while also exploring the use of distributed ledger technology and tokenization in private markets. Talia Klein, DTCC’s head of Wealth Management and Investment Solutions, will join iCapital’s board as an observer.
Market commentary in the roundup focused on Aave, stablecoin economics and tokenized deposits
In its insights section, PANews said Aave’s new Equities Hub on Base allows non-U.S. users to pledge seven Coinbase tokenized equities and borrow USDC, with more RWA assets potentially coming later. The outlet noted that risk parameters remain conservative. Total collateral cap is about $29 million, utilization is only 5.34%, and the setup still faces liquidation risk caused by mismatches between stock market trading hours and around-the-clock on-chain markets.
PANews also cited an IOSG report on changing profit distribution in the stablecoin sector. The report said issuers still earn mainly from reserve interest, but lower rates and revenue-sharing agreements with distribution channels are putting pressure on margins. It said user-facing distribution has strong bargaining power. Even if Circle obtains a federal license, its revenue-sharing agreement with Coinbase runs through 2029. The GENIUS Act’s ban on interest paid by issuers to holders is also pushing products such as USDG and Open USD to pass reserve income directly to channels.
On tokenized deposits, PANews said the rise of on-chain Treasury products, stocks and other traditional assets has turned the money used for settlement into a central issue. The U.S., U.K. and Canada are advancing tokenized deposit networks, while Europe’s Pontes project is working on wholesale settlement for tokenized assets using central bank money. The report described tokenized deposits as a digital expression of bank deposits and said the main challenge is interoperability across institutions and integration with traditional payment systems. It added that tokenized deposits, stablecoins and central bank money serve different roles and are unlikely to replace one another in the near term.