RWA Weekly: Stablecoin Yield Battle Sparks US Civil War, CLARITY Bill Hearing Postponed

Highlights of This Issue

The weekly coverage period for this issue spans from January 9, 2026, to January 16, 2026.

This week, the total on-chain RWA market cap steadily increased to $21.22 billion, with the number of holders surpassing 630,000. The growth is mainly driven by expanding the investor base; the total market cap of stablecoins remains roughly flat, but monthly transfer volume surged by 45.63%, with a turnover rate as high as 27.3 times, highlighting that the market has entered a stage of “stock game deepening.” Institutional large-scale settlements and derivatives collateralization are fueling rapid circulation of existing funds, forming a unique pattern of “high liquidity, low growth.”

On the regulatory front, the US is intensifying its “civil war” over stablecoin yields. Coinbase actively lobbies against restrictions but is rebutted by executives from JPMorgan and Bank of America. The CLARITY Act has become a focal point in the tug-of-war between traditional banks and crypto, with a hearing postponed to January 27; Dubai tightens stablecoin regulations, while South Korea legislates for security token regulation, indicating ongoing refinement of global regulation amid controversy.

Banking institutions are deepening their tokenization business layouts: Bank of New York Mellon, State Street, and other custodians are launching tokenized deposit services; SWIFT collaborates with Chainlink and several banks to pilot interoperability of tokenized assets, showing traditional financial infrastructure accelerating integration with on-chain systems.

Payment infrastructure continues to upgrade: Visa integrates stablecoin payments with BVNK; Korea’s KB Kookmin Card applies for a stablecoin credit card patent; Ripple invests in LMAX to promote RLUSD in institutional settlements, indicating deepening penetration of stablecoins in cross-border payments and daily consumption scenarios.

Additionally, multiple stablecoin payment companies have secured large funding rounds, with capital continuing to bet on compliance and global expansion.

Data Insights

RWA Track Panorama

Latest data from RWA.xyz shows that as of January 16, 2026, the total on-chain RWA market cap reached $21.22 billion, a slight increase of 5.76% compared to the previous month, maintaining steady growth; the total number of asset holders increased to approximately 632,700, up 9.08% month-over-month.

The growth rate of asset holders exceeds that of asset scale, indicating that current market expansion is mainly driven by broadening the investor base rather than significant per capita holdings.

Stablecoin Market

Total stablecoin market cap reached $299.01 billion, a slight decrease of 0.44% compared to last month, with overall scale continuing to contract; monthly transfer volume soared to $8.17 trillion, a 45.63% increase from last month; the turnover rate (transfer volume / market cap) is as high as 27.3 times, indicating a sharp increase in the activity and efficiency of existing funds.

Total active addresses increased to 47.3 million, up 8.02% MoM; total holders steadily grew to about 222 million, up 5.18% MoM, reflecting ongoing user base expansion.

Data suggests the market has entered a phase of “deepening stock game and structural adjustment.” The market cap contraction reflects a lack of inflow of new funds or net outflows, but large institutional settlements and derivatives collateralization are driving rapid circulation of existing funds, forming a “high liquidity, low growth” unique pattern.

Top stablecoins are USDT, USDC, and USDS, with USDT’s market cap increasing slightly by 0.03% MoM; USDC’s market cap decreased by 2.36%; USDS’s market cap slightly declined by 0.78%.

Regulatory News

US Senate Agriculture Committee Reschedules Crypto Hearing to January 27

According to CoinDesk, the US Senate Agriculture Committee plans to release its crypto market structure bill on January 21, with a key hearing on the bill scheduled for January 27. The originally scheduled hearing on January 15 (already postponed from Monday) will now start at 3 PM. The revision of the bill and the hearing are critical steps in legislative progress, allowing senators to debate amendments and vote on whether to include them in the core text, then decide whether to submit the entire bill to the Senate floor for review. The Senate Banking Committee will hold its own amendment hearing this Thursday. The draft bill from the Banking Committee was published around midnight Monday, but amendments are expected before the hearing.

Since the initial draft was released, the Agriculture Committee has not published the full bill text. Pending issues include ethical standards clauses (involving President Trump, his family, and multiple crypto companies) and quorum rules (requiring bipartisan leadership of agencies like SEC and CFTC). Currently, both agencies have only Republican members. Insiders say the Banking Committee’s bill also lacks clauses on ethics or quorum, so the current version may not garner bipartisan support.

Crypto Reporter: If Parties Reach an Agreement on “Yield” Terms in the Next Few Days, the Crypto Structure Bill Still Has Hope

According to reporter Eleanor Terrett, after the US Senate Banking Committee delayed its review of the crypto market structure bill by nearly 24 hours, relevant parties are assessing subsequent developments. Multiple sources indicate that if banks, Coinbase, and Democrats can reach an agreement on the “yield” clause in the coming days, the bill “may” still be advanced.

Regarding the section involving tokenized securities, some tokenization companies believe Coinbase’s opposition is taken out of context, while parties including Brian Armstrong say they hope to significantly amend or delete that clause. The ethical controversy issues involved in the bill are still under discussion, with ongoing dialogues between the White House and Senate. Insiders say the delay by the Banking Committee does not necessarily affect the Agriculture Committee’s review process; if the Agriculture Committee can reach a strong bipartisan agreement, it could facilitate smoother review in the Senate Banking Committee.

Dubai Bans Privacy Coins and Tightens Stablecoin Regulations

According to CoinDesk, the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) has banned privacy coin trading, promotion, and derivatives activities within the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) since January 12, citing difficulties in meeting AML and sanctions compliance. The new regulation redefines stablecoins, recognizing only “fiat-backed crypto tokens” supported by fiat currency and high-quality assets; algorithmic stablecoins like Ethena are not considered stablecoins. Additionally, DFSA shifts token applicability assessment responsibilities to licensed institutions, focusing regulatory efforts on compliance enforcement.

South Korea Parliament Passes Two Amendments to Regulate Security Tokens

According to Digital Asset, South Korea’s National Assembly has passed amendments to the Capital Markets Act and Electronic Securities Act, establishing a formal framework for issuing and circulating security tokens (STOs) after nearly three years of regulatory guidance. The amendments introduce concepts like distributed ledger technology, allowing compliant issuers to directly issue and manage tokenized securities via electronic registration, and establish “issuance account management agencies.” Non-standard securities like investment contract securities will also be regulated under the Capital Markets Act, with OTC trading permitted through new OTC broker-dealer licenses. The amendments take effect upon promulgation, with certain provisions on investment solicitation and OTC trading phased in after 6 months and 1 year respectively.

Project Developments

Bank of New York Mellon Launches Tokenized Deposit Service to Expand Digital Asset Business

According to Bloomberg, BNY Mellon has launched a tokenized deposit service allowing clients to transfer funds via blockchain, marking its deepening involvement in digital assets. The service represents on-chain form of deposits in clients’ accounts, supporting collateral and margin trading, and accelerating payments. Participating clients include Intercontinental Exchange, Citadel Securities, DRW Holdings, Ripple Prime, Baillie Gifford, and Circle.

Global Custodian Bank BNY Mellon to Offer Tokenized Deposits for Institutional Investors

BNY Mellon plans to launch a platform enabling institutional clients to settle deposits on a blockchain. This feature operates on BNY Mellon’s private permissioned blockchain and is governed by the company’s established risk, compliance, and control frameworks.

State Street Launches Digital Asset Platform to Enter Tokenized Deposits and Stablecoins Market

Bloomberg reports that State Street has announced a digital asset platform to develop tokenized money market funds, ETFs, stablecoins, and deposit products. The initiative will be driven jointly with its asset management division and partners, marking a shift from back-end services to direct asset issuance. Previously, State Street partnered with Galaxy Digital to issue tokenized funds and is considering offering crypto custody services.

Société Générale and Swift Test Stablecoin Settlement of Tokenized Bonds

According to CoinDesk, Société Générale’s digital asset division SG-FORGE collaborated with Swift to successfully issue, settle, pay interest, and redeem tokenized bonds using its MiCA-compliant stablecoin EUR CoinVertible (EURCV). The test demonstrates potential for synergy between traditional payment systems and blockchain platforms, with Swift enabling cross-platform asset trading and accelerating capital market digitization. This project is part of a larger digital asset experiment led by Swift involving over 30 global banks.

Swift and Chainlink Collaborate with Several European Banks on Interoperability Pilot for Tokenized Assets

Chainlink announced that Swift, in partnership with UBS Asset Management, BNP Paribas, Crédit Agricole, and Société Générale, completed key interoperability tests enabling seamless settlement of tokenized assets between traditional payment systems and blockchain platforms. The pilot covered DvP settlement, interest payments, and redemption processes, marking significant progress in coordinating on-chain and off-chain financial systems.

The initiative focuses on critical processes such as DvP settlement, interest payments, and bond redemptions, involving roles like payment agents, custodians, and registrars. It builds on earlier collaborations between Swift and Chainlink under the MAS “Guardians” program, demonstrating how financial institutions can leverage existing Swift infrastructure to facilitate off-chain cash settlement of tokenized funds.

Korea’s KB Financial Group Applies for Stablecoin Credit Card Patent

According to The Block, Korea’s largest financial group KB Financial has filed a patent application related to stablecoin payment technology. The patent covers a hybrid payment system allowing users to pay with stablecoins via existing credit cards. The design involves linking blockchain wallets to existing credit cards, deducting stablecoin balances first, and then charging the remaining amount to the card if needed. KB states this aims to retain existing card payment infrastructure, familiar user experience, and benefits (rewards, protections), lowering the barrier for stablecoin payments and promoting mainstream adoption.

Visa and BVNK Collaborate to Launch Stablecoin Payment Service

CoinDesk reports that Visa has partnered with stablecoin payment infrastructure provider BVNK to integrate stablecoin functionality into its Visa Direct real-time payment network. This will enable businesses in select markets to pre-fund payments with stablecoins and directly credit recipients’ digital wallets. BVNK will provide the underlying infrastructure for processing and settling these stablecoin transactions, currently handling over $30 billion annually. Visa invested in BVNK through its venture arm in May 2025, with Citigroup also making strategic investments.

Bakkt Agrees to Acquire Stablecoin Payment Infrastructure DTR

Official announcement states that Bakkt Holdings (NYSE: BKKT) will acquire global stablecoin payment infrastructure company Distributed Technologies Research Ltd. (DTR) for approximately 9,128,682 Class A common shares, advancing its stablecoin settlement and digital banking integration. The deal is subject to regulatory and shareholder approval, with ICE voting in favor. The company will rename itself “Bakkt, Inc.” on January 22 and hold an investor day on March 17.

Galaxy Digital Completes First Tokenized Collateralized Loan Note Issuance, $75 Million

Alternativeswatch reports that Nasdaq-listed Galaxy Digital announced the issuance of its first tokenized collateralized loan obligation (CLO), “Galaxy CLO 2025-1,” on the Avalanche blockchain, with a scale of $75 million. Funds will support Galaxy’s lending business, including a financing line for Arch Lending. Galaxy’s lending team and digital infrastructure team are responsible for structuring and tokenizing the CLO, respectively, while Galaxy Asset Management handles issuance and management.

Figure Launches OPEN Platform for On-Chain Stock Direct Lending Transactions

Bloomberg reports that Figure Technology launched a new platform “OPEN” (On-Chain Public Equity Network), allowing companies to issue real equity tokens on its Provenance blockchain, enabling shareholders to lend stocks directly without traditional brokers or custodians. Figure will initially issue its own equity tokens and support trading on its decentralized platform, aiming to overhaul equity market infrastructure.

Pakistan Central Bank to Collaborate with Trump Family Crypto Project WLFI to Explore Using USD1 for Cross-Border Payments

Reuters reports that sources revealed on Wednesday that Pakistan has reached an agreement with World Liberty Financial, a crypto company linked to the Trump family, to explore using its USD1 stablecoin for cross-border payments. Under the agreement, World Liberty will work with the State Bank of Pakistan to integrate USD1 into the regulated digital payment infrastructure, enabling it to operate alongside Pakistan’s domestic digital currency infrastructure. The announcement is expected during CEO Zach Witkoff’s visit to Islamabad.

Ripple Invests $150 Million in LMAX to Promote RLUSD in Institutional Settlement

Ripple and LMAX Group announced a multi-year strategic partnership, with Ripple providing $150 million in funding to support RLUSD’s widespread use as collateral and settlement asset in LMAX’s global institutional trading system. RLUSD will support crypto, perpetual contracts, CFDs, and some fiat cross-products, aiming to improve cross-asset margin efficiency and enable 24/7 on-chain settlement. The partnership also includes RLUSD custody in LMAX’s segregated wallets and integration with Ripple Prime to expand institutional liquidity and reduce market fragmentation.

STBL Releases Q1 Roadmap: USST Mainnet Deployment and RWA Expansion

Stablecoin protocol STBL released its Q1 2026 roadmap, focusing on transitioning from infrastructure development to deployment of applications, activating USST as a productive asset for lending and yield generation. Key points include:

• January: Deploy USST on mainnet, integrate Hypernative for automated anchoring, and launch DeFi lending;

• February: Inject liquidity, expand RWA collateral, and deploy ecosystem-specific stablecoins (ESS) on testnet;

• March: Extend native USST minting to other high-performance chains like Solana and Stellar, and release a simplified version of the STBL DApp.

MANTRA Announces Restructuring and Layoffs to Address Market Challenges

MANTRA co-founder John Patrick Mullin issued a statement that the company will undergo restructuring and reduce team size across business development, marketing, HR, and other support functions. Mullin stated that adverse events in April 2025 and market downturns made the cost structure unsustainable, and the restructuring aims to focus on core RWA strategies to improve capital efficiency and maintain leadership.

Polygon Cuts Nearly 30% of Staff Post-Acquisition to Shift Toward Stablecoin Payment Business

BeInCrypto reports that insiders say Polygon recently implemented large-scale layoffs, with about 30% of staff dismissed this week. Multiple employees and ecosystem members have posted about departures or team changes. The layoffs follow Polygon’s strategic shift toward stablecoin payments and the completion of acquisitions of Coinme and Sequence totaling $250 million. Polygon Labs spokesperson Kurt Patat confirmed the layoffs are part of post-acquisition integration, with overall company headcount expected to remain stable.

Related: Polygon invests $250 million to fill the gaps, POL token deflation begins its “year of rebirth”

Russia Approves Trademark Registration for Tether’s Asset Tokenization Platform Hadron, Valid Until 2035

Russian media reports that Tether has registered the trademark for its asset tokenization platform Hadron in Russia. The application was filed in October 2025, and Rospatent approved the registration in January 2026. Tether holds exclusive rights to the trademark until October 3, 2035. The trademark covers blockchain financial services, cryptocurrency trading and exchange, crypto payment processing, and related consulting.

Tether-Backed Wallet Oobit Integrates Phantom, Expanding Solana Payments to Visa Network

The Block reports that Oobit, a mobile wallet supported by Tether, announced native integration with Solana’s Phantom wallet, allowing users to pay with stablecoins at Visa-supported merchants worldwide via Oobit’s DePay system. Funds are deducted in real-time and automatically converted to fiat, without pre-transfers or intermediaries. Solana co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko participated in Oobit’s $25 million Series A funding.

Insiders: Tether’s Investment in Ledn Is About $40-50 Million, Valuation Around $500 Million

CoinDesk reports that when Tether announced a “strategic investment” in Ledn last November, the details were kept confidential. Insiders reveal Tether paid approximately $40-50 million for the stake. Ledn, a Bitcoin-backed lender offering fiat and stablecoin loans, now has a valuation of about $500 million.

Stablecoin Payment Company PhotonPay Completes $30 Million Series B Funding, Led by IDG Capital

Crowdfund Insider reports that PhotonPay, a stablecoin payment infrastructure provider, announced completion of a $30 million Series B funding round led by IDG Capital, with participation from Hillhouse Investment, Enlight Capital, Lightspeed Faction, and Shoplazza. Blacksheep Technology served as exclusive financial advisor. The company’s valuation was not disclosed. Funds will be used to expand stablecoin payment channels, recruit key talent, and enhance global regulatory compliance, focusing on the US and emerging markets.

Founded in 2015, PhotonPay has 11 centers worldwide with over 300 employees. The company claims its “native stablecoin” settlement infrastructure processes over $30 billion annually, with partnerships including JPMorgan, Circle, Standard Chartered, DBS, and Mastercard. It plans to launch enterprise value-added services such as yield products and flexible credit tools starting in 2026.

Stablecoin Payment Company Rain Completes $250 Million Funding, Valuation Reaches $1.95 Billion

Bloomberg reports that Rain, a stablecoin payment company, announced a $250 million Series B funding round, with a post-money valuation of $1.95 billion. The round was led by ICONIQ, with participation from Sapphire Ventures, Dragonfly, Bessemer, Lightspeed, and Galaxy Ventures. This brings Rain’s total funding to over $338 million.

CEO Farooq Malik said funds will be used to expand in North America, South America, Europe, Asia, and Africa, and to adapt to rapidly changing global regulations. Rain currently issues stablecoin payment cards in over 150 countries via Visa, allowing users to spend or withdraw at local merchants and ATMs. The company also plans to connect with US ACH and European SEPA systems through partner financial institutions. Malik mentioned potential strategic acquisitions, having acquired loyalty platform Uptop and currency exchange platform Fern in the past year.

Latin American Stablecoin Payment Company VelaFi Completes $20 Million Series B

VelaFi, a Latin American stablecoin payment infrastructure firm, announced a $20 million Series B led by XVC and Ikuyo, with participation from Alibaba Investment, Planetree, and BAI Capital, totaling over $40 million in funding. Funds will be used to expand compliance, banking connections, and operations in the US and Asia. VelaFi has processed billions of dollars for hundreds of clients, offering cross-border payments, multi-currency accounts, and asset management solutions.

Stablecoin Service Provider Meld Completes $7 Million Funding, Led by Lightspeed Faction

Fortune reports that Meld, a stablecoin service provider, completed $7 million in funding, led by Lightspeed Faction, with participation from F-Prime, Yolo Investments, and Scytale Digital. Total funding now exceeds $15 million, valuation undisclosed. Meld aims to be a “Visa for crypto,” enabling businesses and individuals to buy or settle with stablecoins, Bitcoin, Ethereum, or other digital assets globally.

Stablecoin Protocol USDat Developer Saturn Completes $800K Funding, Participated by YZi Labs and Others

Official sources state that USDat, a stablecoin protocol developer, completed $800,000 in funding from YZi Labs, Sora Ventures, and other crypto angels. The yield sources mainly combine Strategy perpetual preferred stock STRC and US Treasuries. The project aims to bring institutional-grade credit into DeFi, enabling on-chain use of Strategy’s credit and providing a new model for corporate treasuries in decentralized finance.

RWA Project TBook Announces Over $10 Million in Total Funding

Chainwire reports that embedded RWA liquidity layer TBook completed a new funding round led by SevenX Ventures, with a valuation exceeding $100 million. The round also attracted Mask Network, prominent family offices, and existing investors, bringing total funding to over $10 million. The project plans to conduct token generation in Q1 2026. TBook is building an embedded RWA liquidity layer connecting asset issuers and qualified users via on-chain reputation infrastructure, based on a proprietary three-layer architecture: identity (incentive passports and vSBT), smart (WISE credit scoring), and settlement (TBook vault).

Maotong MSX Adjusts RWA Spot Fee to “Unilateral Charging,” Zero Selling Fee

Maotong MSX (msx.com), a US stock token trading platform, announced today that it has changed its RWA spot trading fee model. The fee structure has shifted from “bilateral charging” to “unilateral charging.” Specifically, buy orders maintain a 0.3% fee, while sell orders now have zero fee. This effectively reduces the overall transaction cost of a complete “buy + sell” cycle by about 50%. The new fee policy is now active across the entire MSX platform, covering all listed RWA spot trading pairs.

Insights Highlights

US Stablecoin “Civil War”: Banks Block Yield, Crypto Industry Fights Back

PANews overview: The US is embroiled in a fierce debate over stablecoins, centered on whether to further ban stablecoins from offering any form of yield to users. Traditional financial institutions, represented by community banks, argue that even if issuers do not pay interest directly, indirect rewards like bonuses and points through exchanges could still attract funds away from banks, threatening their survival. They advocate amending the “GENIUS Act” to close this “loophole.” The crypto industry strongly opposes, claiming this “clamping down” is disguised protectionism under the guise of regulation, stifling innovation and weakening the US dollar stablecoin’s global competitiveness, risking capital flow to other countries’ digital currencies, constituting a “national security trap.” The core of this debate is whether stablecoins should legally be defined as a bank deposit-like financial instrument or a new asset class, and how the US balances financial stability, traditional banking interests, technological innovation, and global currency competition in the digital age.

Gold RWA Trends Insight — Rapid Growth, From “Hedge Asset” to “On-Chain Financial Infrastructure Component”

PANews overview: Gold RWA (real-world asset tokenization) achieved nearly triple market cap growth in 2025, surpassing $3 billion, evolving from passive hedge assets to active, programmable on-chain financial components. Its rapid growth is driven by macro-hedging demand, stablecoin ecosystem diversification needs, and improved regulatory frameworks (e.g., US “GENIUS Act”). The market landscape has shifted from the “dual dominance” of XAUT (liquidity-led) and PAXG (compliance-led) to a multi-polar ecosystem covering payments, yield, cross-chain functions. Future roles include serving as a cross-border payment bridge, core collateral in DeFi, and a “transitional asset” connecting traditional finance and on-chain worlds, but risks remain in custodial centralization, technical complexity, and inconsistent global regulation.

From Concept to Scale: RWA Becomes a “Slow Bull Mainline” in Crypto Market

PANews overview: RWA (real-world asset tokenization) is transitioning from conceptual hype to a substantive, scaled “slow bull” growth mainline, becoming one of the few tracks in crypto with certainty and sustainability. Its core logic is driven by genuine asset demand (e.g., high-yield on-chain US Treasuries, commodities) and leading traditional financial institutions (e.g., BlackRock, Franklin Templeton), rather than market sentiment. As regulatory clarity improves and cash flows are substantively linked to tokens, RWA has moved from experimental to scalable phase, resembling a “slow bull” based on fundamentals and long-term capital inflows, potentially reshaping DeFi’s market structure.