The People’s Bank of China has added 20 new operators to its e-CNY network this year through two rounds of expansion, according to CoinDesk. Eight of those additions came this week. CoinDesk said the moves have tripled the size of China’s digital yuan network in 2026. The update points to continued expansion of the central bank digital currency framework, with more banks being brought into the system over the course of the year. The report did not name the newly added institutions in the summary provided, but it did specify the total number of new operators added this year and the count added this week. The expansion was described as taking place across two separate rounds.

Real-world asset activity and stablecoin policy both moved this week. As of Aug. 14, 2026, on-chain RWA market capitalization reached $38.29 billion, while the number of holders climbed to 1.7935 million, according to RWA.xyz data cited by PANews. In stablecoins, total market value slipped slightly to $297.91 billion, but transfer volume and monthly active addresses both fell, pointing to a quieter on-chain period even as holder counts kept growing. On the policy side, the People’s Bank of China said in its 15th Five-Year reform and development plan that it will steadily develop the digital yuan. In Europe, officials decided to revise the Markets in Crypto-Assets framework, or MiCA, with a focus on the market access rules that have left non-EU stablecoin issuers such as Tether outside the bloc. The U.K. advanced the second phase of its digital pound lab and also began work on a regulatory framework for tokenized gold. At the project level, Anchorpoint, the Hong Kong licensed stablecoin issuer backed by Standard Chartered, HKT and Animoca Brands, launched the first phase of issuance and institutional use for HKDAP. HashKey Exchange and OSL joined as recognized distributors. Elsewhere, NYSE, Itaú Unibanco, Coinbase, LG CNS, Miden, Dow Protocol and Rain each disclosed new tokenization, stablecoin or funding developments during the week.

The People's Bank of China (PBOC) Shanghai Headquarters held its second-half 2026 work conference, outlining priorities in financial risk prevention. Officials said the institution will firmly maintain the bottom line of averting systemic financial risks, intensify assessment and verification of bank ratings, and strengthen monitoring and analysis of systemically important financial institutions. Regarding virtual currency, the meeting called for continued prevention and handling of risks from trading and speculation. Other tasks included pushing institutions under the jurisdiction to standardize online marketing of financial products, improving mechanisms for preventing and resolving systemic risks, cracking down on illegal financial activities, further refining the macroprudential management framework, and comprehensively raising cross-border financial risk monitoring.

According to Jin10, China’s central bank said it will conduct an outright reverse repo operation worth 500 billion yuan on Aug. 5, with a term of three months. On the international front, Bank of Japan data indicated that Japan may not have intervened in the foreign exchange market on Monday. U.S. Treasury Secretary Bessent said the United States would take all necessary measures to support the yen. He also said an Iran agreement could be reached as soon as tomorrow, which he said would open the Strait of Hormuz.

According to a report cited by ChainCatcher from Jin10, the People’s Bank of China held its work conference for the second half of 2026 and stressed the need to steadily deepen financial reform and opening-up. The meeting said the central bank will actively carry out central bank currency swap arrangements and local-currency settlement cooperation, support the participation of more overseas institutions in panda bond issuance, advance the construction of the Cross-Border Interbank Payment System for the renminbi, and improve infrastructure for cross-border use of the digital yuan. The readout centered on cross-border settlement, offshore participation, and payments infrastructure.

The People’s Bank of China said at its second-half 2026 work conference that it will continue to implement a moderately loose monetary policy, according to Jin10 as cited by ChainCatcher. The meeting said the central bank will use a range of monetary policy tools in a coordinated way, keep liquidity ample, and support effective financing demand in the real economy. The update also included two end-of-June data points: aggregate financing to the real economy rose 7.4% year over year, while broad money supply grew 8%. The remarks outline the policy stance for the remainder of the year and point to continued support for funding conditions.

The People’s Bank of China held its work conference for the second half of 2026 and said high-level financial opening has continued to move forward steadily, according to a report cited by ChainCatcher from Jin10. The meeting highlighted a set of policy items tied to cross-border financing and renminbi use. Among the measures mentioned were optimizing policies for overseas lending by enterprises, overseas loans issued by banks, and cross-border interbank financing in renminbi. The meeting also said an offshore central bank repo tool would be created. The conference reviewed progress made in the first half of the year. It said panda bond issuance exceeded 160 billion yuan, while construction of the cross-border renminbi payment system posted positive progress. The meeting also referenced support for the development of the international financial centers in Shanghai and Hong Kong, as well as construction tied to Xiong’an New Area and the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor in western China.

According to Jin10, the People’s Bank of China held its work meeting for the second half of 2026 and said financial risks in key areas are continuing to ease. The meeting said financial support for resolving local government financing platform debt risks has delivered notable results. It also said overall conditions in the financial market remain sound. From a macro-prudential perspective, the central bank will monitor and assess bond market operations and strengthen regulatory enforcement in the bond market. The remarks point to continued policy attention on debt risk resolution and closer oversight of bond market activity in the months ahead, as described in the meeting statement cited by Jin10.