Lawrence Lundy-Bryan

Stablecoins have rapidly moved from the sidelines into the centre of discussion for public cross-border payments companies. In Q2 2025, 72% of the 25 major players we analysed mentioned stablecoins in their earnings calls – a dramatic rise from just 16% the quarter before with virtually no talk of them before 2025. This represents one of the fastest upticks in attention we’ve seen, even compared with previous hype cycles such as AI. Notably, discussion is not just speculative. Many companies are linking stablecoins to real products and near-term launches, including Remitly, Visa, Payoneer, Western Union, dLocal, Citi, Corpay and Standard Chartered. PayPal and Visa also stand out for consistent mentions over the past two and a half years. The breadth and maturity of the discussion show that stablecoin adoption is advancing at pace in cross-border payments, with clear signs of practical integration already underway. Read our full report here to understand how each company is approaching stablecoins: https://lnkd.in/esaKsCz5 #Payments #Stablecoins #CrossBorder #Fintech #DigitalAssets

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🇬🇧🇺🇸 SEC’s Hester Peirce Proposes UK–US Cross-Border Tokenization Sandbox — But No Invite for EU. from Darshana Manikkuwadura (Dash)⚡️🇬🇧 🇱🇰⚡️ Last week, SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce doubled down on her call for a cross-border tokenization sandbox — and this time, she wasn’t pulling punches. Speaking on the future of digital securities, Peirce outlined a framework for a regulatory sandbox between the US and UK to trial tokenized financial instruments in a way that promotes innovation without political baggage. Her message was clear: “Focus on finance, not politics.” This isn’t the first time Peirce has floated the idea. Over a year ago, she responded to the UK’s Digital Securities Sandbox (DSS) consultation with cautious optimism. But now, the vision is firmer: ✅ Bilateral collaboration with like-minded markets ✅ Market-first incentives ✅ Clarity, flexibility, and actual utility for participating firms The sandbox isn’t meant to be just another pilot project where innovation goes to die. Peirce emphasized that real-world applications need room to scale, pivot, and capitalize on user demand in real time — not years after regulators finally catch up. 🔑 “If a regulator were not able to react quickly, the company would have to turn new users away.” That one line speaks volumes. Unlike many policymakers who view sandboxes as safe experimentation zones with no commercial urgency, Peirce gets it: innovation isn't something you run in a lab and shelf for later. Firms building in blockchain and tokenized finance are already live, user-facing, and solving real inefficiencies. They don’t need more theory. They need interoperable, market-driven, legally sound frameworks — now. And here’s where it gets political. While she left room for other like-minded jurisdictions to join the sandbox, she explicitly called out the EU’s approach — particularly its “double materiality” doctrine that injects sustainability goals into financial reporting. Peirce pushed back on the export of EU sustainability disclosure rules, drawing a sharp regulatory divide. Her final words were blunt: “Market integration suffers when two jurisdictions diverge on core matters such as the purpose of financial statements and other securities disclosures.” 💡 Translation? If financial systems can't agree on why they regulate or what outcomes they prioritize (capital formation, efficiency, investor protection), cross-border experimentation will remain fractured. As someone building at the intersection of AI and blockchain, I see this moment as pivotal. If done right, a UK–US sandbox could offer: • Legal clarity for asset tokenization • Regulatory flexibility to scale responsibly • A blueprint for future financial infrastructure Let’s hope this doesn’t stay a speech. The builders are ready. The capital is waiting. And the tech? It’s already live. #Tokenization #BlockchainRegulation #darshanamanikkuwadura Darshana Manikkuwadura (Dash)⚡️🇬🇧 🇱🇰⚡️

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Stablecoins deliver near instant settlement and offer obvious utility across three verticals: payments, trading and collateral. The collateral use case is under discussed--especially for derivatives. Variation margin (VM) is "cash" collateral that moves throughout the system daily to reflect mark to market and balance risk. Losers pay the winners. The size of these cashflows can be humungous--depending on market conditions. But, traditional collateral calls and batches are slow and clunky--exposing intermediaries to unsecured risk. Sometimes, it takes days to settle VM. Weekend stresses are particularly scary--as crypto markets rebalance, traditional markets wait. If not immediately addressed, this basis will likely cause the next systemic stress. So today, more collateral must be locked up as initial margin. This reduces capital efficiency. Now that we have regulated stablecoins coming into the system, it's time for the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission to start thinking about allowing fully backed stablecoins to serve as variation margin. This is an important step in closing the gap. Done right, swifter VM settlement/risk rebalancing will reduce systemic risk and enhance capital efficiency. Critics will worry about "depeg" risk. GENIUS should mitigate some of this risk. But as long as we have fractional banking, and uninsured deposits sit at banks-- this risk remains. So, what's the solution? Create a special class of stablecoins that are not exposed to bank counterparty risk? Further regulate banks to mitigate bank counterparty risk for stablecoin reserves? I'm eager for thoughts here.

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DB & Nethermind - From Wallet to Chain This joint whitepaper by Nethermind and Deutsche Bank bridges blockchain’s decentralization ethos with the regulated industry’s need for clarity in addressing shared challenges including fraud, inefficiencies, and mistrust. Using Ethereum as a reference public chain, it examines how blockchain attributes can align with compliance, governance, and operational resilience standards expected in regulated financial markets. Ethereum’s core principles include decentralization and resistance to censorship, collusion, and dominance which are essential elements of its operational resilience in a trustless public environment. These approaches should be viewed as complementary to, rather than opposing, traditional regulatory goals like market integrity and governance. Both worlds ultimately aim to create healthy, vibrant markets that serve users effectively. While their methods differ, they share similar objectives and visions of fairness.

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Axelar Network is evolving into a major protocol by building interoperability infrastructure with broad implications. Its goal is to connect siloed blockchains with traditional finance, creating the rails for true cross-chain integration at scale. Positioned as a bridge between decentralized networks and trillions in global capital, Axelar is laying the groundwork for seamless connectivity across digital and institutional systems. What stands out immediately is Axelar’s clear focus on institutional adoption. The protocol emphasizes secure interoperability, compliance, and the tokenization of real-world assets. These priorities align directly with the demands of global finance. With institutional interest accelerating, Axelar is already positioned to capture momentum as the market shifts and access widens. This year offers a model for how to build a blockchain project correctly: not through hype or gimmicks, but through deliberate partnerships and measurable outcomes. The team introduced the ITS Hub and Interchain Amplifier governance with a strong emphasis on real-world assets and stablecoins. They deepened connections across Asia, the United States, Europe, and other regions, while advancing tokenomics to support greater security and institutional adoption. The Cobalt upgrade reinforced AXL’s economic model through a fee-burning mechanism, and new integrations such as Elys Blockchain expanded DeFi activity within the Cosmos ecosystem. Momentum accelerated with Ubyx joining as a launch partner, linking institutional stablecoin rails to the global Web3 ecosystem. The launch of the XRPL EVM sidechain opened cross-chain real-world asset and DeFi applications across more than 80 blockchains. Sui integrated for multichain tokenization amid strong DEX activity, while XION advanced interoperability for consumer-facing applications. Elys continued to expand DeFi capabilities. The release of the DAMA 2 litepaper in collaboration with Deutsche Bank provided a clear institutional framework for asset tokenization. Listings on major exchanges of $AXL further increased visibility and broadened market access. The Numbers are Hard to Ignore -$7B+ in cross-chain volume already processed -Real partnerships with Deutsche Bank, JPMorgan, Microsoft -Billions in monthly volume -Full compliance frameworks for institutions -Multi-continent presence with real-world use cases across 80+ chains -$30M funding round, attracting investors like Arrington Capital and Electric Capital -$1M pledged to blockchain and AI research at University of Waterloo Axelar is shaping into a foundational ecosystem for connecting traditional finance with blockchain technology. Stablecoins, asset tokenization, and cross-chain DeFi represent billion-dollar markets, and they are beginning to converge on a secure platform. While much of the industry focuses elsewhere, Axelar is building the rails that make this integration possible.

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