Cosmos has introduced the Cosmos Partner Network, a new ecosystem initiative aimed at helping financial institutions move digital asset projects into production through its Cosmos Tokenization Suite and digital ledger infrastructure. The network brings together service providers that can support banks and credit unions with round-the-clock payment and settlement functions, treasury management, and use cases such as programmable custody, programmable trade finance, and agentic commerce. Cosmos said it will provide the tokenization and ledger platform, while partners will contribute integrated services including KYC/KYB, custody, and compliance monitoring. Co-CEO Maghnus Mareneck said many institutions already recognize the potential of tokenization, but often struggle to move from pilots to strong real-world customer experiences. The network is designed to reduce the complexity of sourcing and integrating multiple vendors separately. The first group includes 17 participants, among them BitGo, Blockchain.com, Blockdaemon, Galaxy Digital, OpenZeppelin, and others. Cosmos added that partners will be able to connect across its public and private networks and take part in tokenized deposit use cases now under development.

Crypto venture funding slowed sharply in the first quarter of 2026, but stablecoin payment infrastructure remained one of the few areas still drawing large checks. Galaxy Research said crypto VCs invested $4 billion across roughly 355 deals during the quarter, down about 50% from the prior quarter, while deal count fell 16%. At the same time, 57% of capital went to later-stage companies, showing a clear preference for businesses that already have customers, revenue and payment volume rather than token-led narratives. That shift helps explain why companies such as Rain, OpenFX, RedotPay, Mesh and Conduit have continued to raise substantial rounds. Investors are not just backing stablecoin issuers. They are funding the wider stack around payments: cards, cross-border settlement, FX liquidity, wallets, banking access, orchestration and redemption. The appeal is straightforward. Stablecoins can serve as a 24/7 settlement asset, while the companies building on top of them can charge fees that look familiar to fintech investors, including transaction fees, FX spreads, card issuance fees and API subscriptions. Still, the article argues the excitement should be viewed carefully. On-chain stablecoin volume is not the same as real-world payment activity, and fundraising remains concentrated in a small number of scale players. Licensing, local banking ties, fiat on- and off-ramps, and rising competition remain central constraints even as the sector gains momentum.

Seventeen of the largest U.S. banks have said The Clearing House will build on-chain clearing and settlement for tokenized deposits, linked to RTP and CHIPS for round-the-clock operation. The article argues that this is not simply a blockchain story. It is a liquidity story, centered on netting and liquidity-saving mechanisms that let banks settle large payment flows with far less prefunded cash than a gross, real-time model requires. CHIPS, for example, settles about $2 trillion a day with roughly $96 billion of prefunded liquidity, versus an estimated $442 billion under transaction-by-transaction gross settlement, according to the figures cited in the piece. That contrast sits at the core of the stablecoin debate. Stablecoins can move in seconds, but they generally require 100% prefunding. The article says this tradeoff resembles RTP, which also gives up netting in favor of prefunded instant settlement. At the same time, stablecoins have gained traction in areas traditional rails do not cover well: Global South payment corridors, weekends, merchant settlement, and access to transferable dollars outside the U.S. banking system. The piece also argues that stablecoins are not inherently incapable of netting. What is missing is clearing infrastructure around par exchange, redemption, and multilateral net settlement. It points to firms including Better Money Company, Ubyx, Glacis Labs, Cycles, and Circle’s CPN as signs that a token-era clearing layer is beginning to take shape.

Barclays made a strategic investment in Ubyx, a US-based clearing system for tokenised deposits and regulated stablecoins, aiming to enhance interoperability among regulated financial institutions.

Stablecoins are moving beyond crypto trading pairs into core financial infrastructure. With market capitalization above $318 billion, they are increasingly used for deposits, withdrawals, cross-border settlement, regional payments, and bank integration.

Barclays has invested in Ubyx, marking its first direct financial backing of a stablecoin-focused company as banks push deeper into regulated tokenized money infrastructure.

Barclays has made its first direct investment in a stablecoin-related company by taking an equity stake in Ubyx, a U.S. firm focused on stablecoin clearing and settlement.

HM Treasury announces a 54-company task force, including Circle, Ripple, and major banks, to accelerate tokenized assets. The goal is to launch live repo tokenization trials within 12 months, potentially boosting UK economy by £33 billion annually by 2035.