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Visa is a digital payments technology company that connects consumers, merchants, financial institutions, and governments worldwide through its high-speed, secure network (VisaNet) to process electronic payments using credit cards, debit cards, and prepaid cards. Visa does not issue cards directly; instead, it provides network infrastructure for banks to use, primarily for international interbank transfers, online payments, and contactless payments.
BLOOM Cross-Border Digital Currency Settlement Initiative Expands with Malaysia and Thailand Central Banks Joining
the Monetary Authority of Singapore has announced the expansion of the BLOOM cross-border digital currency settlement initiative, with Bank Negara Malaysia and the Bank of Thailand joining as policy-making members. BLOOM is a public-private partnership initiative covering regulated stablecoins and tokenized deposits, with participants including Mastercard, Visa, Nium, Ripple, Circle, Coinbase, Airwallex, Maybank, Monee, Shopeepay, and the World Bank Group. The initiative will study the acceptance of different forms of currency, inter-institutional contracting, settlement, and system connectivity, and will implement identity verification and sanctions screening through programmable controls, with applications spanning payments, corporate treasury, and trade finance.
Visa is in talks to acquire crypto custody company Fireblocks for approximately $2.5 billion.
According to Axios, Visa is in acquisition talks with Fireblocks, a crypto asset custody infrastructure company, at a valuation of approximately $2.5 billion. If the deal is finalized, it will further expand Visa's presence in digital asset custody and blockchain payment infrastructure. The news remains unconfirmed at this stage, with specific terms and progress of the acquisition negotiations yet to be disclosed.
Visa Direct Shifts Stablecoin Pre-Funding from Pilot to Commercial Deployment, Inyo Global Among the First to Integrate
According to official announcements from Visa, Visa Direct's stablecoin pre-funding capability has moved from the pilot phase to commercial deployment. Payment infrastructure provider Inyo Global has become the first provider to bring this capability into production, enabling support for eligible Visa Direct customers and partners.
Stripe, Mastercard, and Circle acquired three stablecoin companies within two years, with total deal value exceeding $3 billion
Odaily News: Venture investor Alex Lazarow wrote that over the past two years, Stripe, Mastercard, and Circle respectively acquired U.S. stablecoin infrastructure company Bridge, UK stablecoin infrastructure company BVNK, and Singapore-based cross-border payment platform Tazapay, with the three deals totaling over $3 billion in value. Stripe announced in 2024 that it would acquire Bridge for slightly more than $1 billion; Mastercard's acquisition of BVNK was valued at up to $1.8 billion, including $1.5 billion in base consideration and $300 million in contingent consideration; Circle agreed to acquire Tazapay for $400 million in stock, with the deal expected to close in 2027. Bridge, BVNK, and Tazapay were founded between 2020 and 2022 and had raised approximately $200 million in cumulative funding. Growing stablecoin adoption, an increasingly clear regulatory framework, and rising demand for real-time cross-border payments are the main factors driving the related M&A activity. In 2025, stablecoin adjusted transaction volume grew 91% year-over-year to $10.9 trillion, approaching Visa's $14.2 trillion; real-world payment volume more than doubled to approximately $390 billion.
HIFI Closes $37 Million Series A Funding Round Led by Left Lane Capital
According to The Block, New York-based stablecoin payment and tokenized asset company HIFI has announced the completion of a $37 million Series A financing round led by Left Lane Capital. Proceeds from the funding will be used to expand its tokenized capital market infrastructure and product lines. HIFI provides API infrastructure that integrates fund flows, compliance, and settlement capabilities, currently processing over $7 billion annually across 87 countries. Prior to this round, HIFI participated in a tokenized securities production trade co-hosted by DTCC, BlackRock, Goldman Sachs, and Nasdaq in July. Later this month, it partnered with Visa to extend its stablecoin settlement platform to remittance and card payment scenarios, initially supporting stablecoin settlements for more than 4 billion Visa cards globally.
Reap partners with Visa to launch a stablecoin-linked credit card program in over 100 markets worldwide.
Fintech company Reap announced a strategic partnership with Visa, planning to leverage Reap's card-issuing infrastructure to launch a Visa credit card program linked to stablecoins across more than 100 markets globally, and to expand its business from Asia and Latin America to regions including Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Reap will also use stablecoins to directly settle payment obligations through Visa's Asia Pacific stablecoin settlement program. The two parties will subsequently explore payment models such as agent commerce, and Reap also plans to introduce card features that support multi-currency stablecoin financing and settlement.
Thailand launches app for converting stablecoins to QR code payments
According to Bitcoin.com News, a collaborative project in Thailand has launched a digital wallet app called WORPT, which allows foreign tourists to exchange stablecoins such as USDT and USDC for Thai baht and make payments to local merchants via Thailand's QR Promptpay network. Launched under the Securities and Exchange Commission of Thailand’s (SEC) tourist Digipay regulatory sandbox initiative, the app is jointly developed by Waan Exchange and Wipay, in partnership with the USDT issuer, The Mall Group, and Visa. Designed within the sandbox framework, local merchants will not receive cryptocurrency directly; instead, payments are settled in Thai baht through standard payment channels. WORPT also plans to introduce physical and virtual Visa prepaid cards, allowing users to draw from a shared Thai baht balance for both QR code scans and card transactions. The project is slated to hold its official launch event in November 2026.
BLOOM Cross-Border Digital Currency Settlement Initiative Expands with Malaysia and Thailand Central Banks Joining
the Monetary Authority of Singapore has announced the expansion of the BLOOM cross-border digital currency settlement initiative, with Bank Negara Malaysia and the Bank of Thailand joining as policy-making members. BLOOM is a public-private partnership initiative covering regulated stablecoins and tokenized deposits, with participants including Mastercard, Visa, Nium, Ripple, Circle, Coinbase, Airwallex, Maybank, Monee, Shopeepay, and the World Bank Group. The initiative will study the acceptance of different forms of currency, inter-institutional contracting, settlement, and system connectivity, and will implement identity verification and sanctions screening through programmable controls, with applications spanning payments, corporate treasury, and trade finance.
Polygon Labs Completes Acquisition of Coinme, Entering the Payments Market with Stablecoin Infrastructure
Odaily reports: Polygon Labs has announced the completion of its acquisition of Coinme, a US-regulated crypto payment service provider, with plans to leverage stablecoin infrastructure to enter the payments market dominated by Visa and Stripe. Polygon Labs CEO Marc Boiron stated that the acquisition will help Polygon Labs own customer relationships and capture revenue that previously flowed to intermediaries; Polygon Labs has now become a payments-focused company that uses blockchain to move money. In January, Polygon Labs launched Open Money Stack to support stablecoin payments and cross-border transfers, and to charge fees for currency exchange and money transfers. Marc Boiron said the regulated payments business is expected to become profitable by 2027. Data shows that Visa's payment volume exceeded $12.3 trillion in fiscal year 2025, while Stripe's payment volume reached $1.9 trillion. Through the acquisition of Coinme, Polygon Labs will control more business processes in areas such as crypto asset, stablecoin, and fiat currency conversion, rather than handing customers over to third parties. Polygon Labs' unified payments platform is currently still in technical preview and not yet fully open; early users include Tazapay, Mesh, Toku, and Kira.
Stripe, Mastercard, and Circle acquired three stablecoin companies within two years, with total deal value exceeding $3 billion
Odaily News: Venture investor Alex Lazarow wrote that over the past two years, Stripe, Mastercard, and Circle respectively acquired U.S. stablecoin infrastructure company Bridge, UK stablecoin infrastructure company BVNK, and Singapore-based cross-border payment platform Tazapay, with the three deals totaling over $3 billion in value. Stripe announced in 2024 that it would acquire Bridge for slightly more than $1 billion; Mastercard's acquisition of BVNK was valued at up to $1.8 billion, including $1.5 billion in base consideration and $300 million in contingent consideration; Circle agreed to acquire Tazapay for $400 million in stock, with the deal expected to close in 2027. Bridge, BVNK, and Tazapay were founded between 2020 and 2022 and had raised approximately $200 million in cumulative funding. Growing stablecoin adoption, an increasingly clear regulatory framework, and rising demand for real-time cross-border payments are the main factors driving the related M&A activity. In 2025, stablecoin adjusted transaction volume grew 91% year-over-year to $10.9 trillion, approaching Visa's $14.2 trillion; real-world payment volume more than doubled to approximately $390 billion.
Up to 1.2 Billion Consumers in Asia-Pacific May Use Stablecoins by 2031
Odaily reports: A survey by payment technology company Visa shows that nearly half of consumers in the Asia-Pacific region may use stablecoins within the next five years, higher than the 16% who actually used stablecoins in the past year.The survey shows that only 6% of respondents accurately understand how stablecoins work, and concerns about fraud and scams remain the primary obstacle to stablecoin adoption. Consumer interest in using stablecoins for everyday spending, travel payments, and cross-border transfers is increasing. (CoinDesk)
Tangem launches Visa physical card, first batch limited to 5,000, unavailable in about 20 countries
Odaily reports: Crypto wallet provider Tangem has announced the launch of its first physical Visa card, supporting in-store and online purchases as well as ATM withdrawals, with an initial limited release of 5,000 cards. Users can top up the card directly from their self-custodial wallet, and if the card is suspended or closed, funds can be transferred back to the wallet.More than 40% of Tangem Pay payments come from Latin America, and over 30% from the United States. Tangem stated that the physical card currently cannot be shipped to approximately 20 countries and regions, including China, Russia, North Korea, and Palestine, with these restrictions affected by KYC, sanctions, banking rules, and card issuance compliance requirements.Tangem Pay will also offer USDC cashback on eligible purchases, with 1% cashback for Basic users and 2% for Plus users. Tangem plans to showcase the first batch of physical cards during Token2049 in Singapore. (Cointelegraph)
Gate Card's automatic top-up feature has been upgraded, connecting four major accounts and 14 types of assets, expanding digital asset payment scenarios
according to an official announcement, Gate Card's automatic top-up feature has been comprehensively upgraded. It now connects spot accounts, Gate Money, Simple Earn, and stock accounts, supporting automatic transfers of 14 types of cryptocurrencies and tokenized stock assets. Users can customize the deduction order of accounts and assets, and when the card balance is insufficient, the top-up will be completed automatically, improving fund allocation efficiency and daily payment experience. Combined with the Gate Card points reward system, users can also use cryptocurrencies, gold-related assets, and tokenized stock assets redeemed through spending points for automatic top-ups, forming a complete closed loop of spending, points redemption, and asset utilization.Previously, Gate announced a partnership with Visa to launch a crypto-linked card, with plans to expand related services to more than 40 markets worldwide. Users can use digital assets for payments at online and offline merchants that accept Visa, further exploring everyday use cases for digital assets. Visa's digital payment network covers more than 200 countries and regions, with over 175 million merchant acceptance locations.This upgrade also enriches the integrated financial services scenarios of Gate Money. Gate Money integrates digital assets, fiat currency, stocks, ETFs, gold, bank accounts, and payment services into the Gate App, supporting eligible users in applying online for global bank electronic account services and completing fund receipts and payments, asset exchanges, and other operations. By connecting account funds, asset management, and consumer payments, Gate continues to expand the real-world application of digital assets, improving the service chain from account opening and fund management to asset allocation and daily spending.
Tangem launches Visa physical card, first batch limited to 5,000, unavailable in about 20 countries
Odaily reports: Crypto wallet provider Tangem has announced the launch of its first physical Visa card, supporting in-store and online purchases as well as ATM withdrawals, with an initial limited release of 5,000 cards. Users can top up the card directly from their self-custodial wallet, and if the card is suspended or closed, funds can be transferred back to the wallet.More than 40% of Tangem Pay payments come from Latin America, and over 30% from the United States. Tangem stated that the physical card currently cannot be shipped to approximately 20 countries and regions, including China, Russia, North Korea, and Palestine, with these restrictions affected by KYC, sanctions, banking rules, and card issuance compliance requirements.Tangem Pay will also offer USDC cashback on eligible purchases, with 1% cashback for Basic users and 2% for Plus users. Tangem plans to showcase the first batch of physical cards during Token2049 in Singapore. (Cointelegraph)
PolyFlow App Officially Launches, Integrating Fiat, Stablecoins, and Global Payment Features
According to information provided, the PolyFlow App supports assets such as USD, USDT, and USDC, with stablecoin deposits and withdrawals covering multiple networks including BSC, Ethereum, Tron, and Solana; users can perform in-platform transfers via their PolyFlow UID or registered phone number. Additionally, the PolyFlow Card has been integrated into the app for global spending scenarios supported by the Visa network.
Monad: Stablecoin Transaction Volume Nears 1 Million in August
Monad announced that it has been added to the Visa on-chain analytics dashboard, with stablecoin transaction volume reaching nearly 1 million in August, marking its highest month to date.
Grayscale CEO: The crypto winter is over, yet the market still overlooks the long-term value of digital assets
As reported by Fortune, Grayscale CEO Peter Mintzberg authored an article stating that Bitcoin rallied nearly 20% last week, recording its strongest three-day gains since 2023 as the crypto winter slowly thaws. However, he cautioned that market participants remain overly focused on short-term price fluctuations, overlooking the long-term structural growth of digital assets. Mintzberg highlighted two key drivers: first, sustained expansion in institutional demand. In 2025, the daily average capital inflow into spot Bitcoin ETPs exceeded $500 million, roughly 12 times the daily new supply from miners. Additionally, a 2026 EY survey revealed that 73% of institutional investors plan to increase their digital asset allocations. Second, accelerated enterprise blockchain adoption. In 2025, approximately 60% of Fortune 500 executives stated that their companies are actively advancing blockchain initiatives, with major players like Fidelity, Visa, and Stripe all positioning themselves in the stablecoin sector. He also noted the complementary nature of AI and public chain technologies, adding that emerging demands such as machine-native micro-payments and cross-border instant settlements will further drive real-world blockchain adoption. As regulatory frameworks grow increasingly clear, digital assets are rapidly integrating into the mainstream financial ecosystem.
Stablecoin card cumulative top-ups reach $13.8 billion, with USDC leading consumer spending volume
Odaily News: As of August, cumulative top-ups on USDC- and USDT-linked stablecoin cards have reached $13.8 billion, an increase of nearly $10 billion over the past 12 months. Stablecoin cards are shifting USDC and USDT from trading balances toward everyday consumer use cases.USDC currently leads in tracked card spending, while USDT is accelerating its catch-up. The two follow different adoption paths: USDC benefits more from fintech integrations and payment infrastructure, whereas USDT is more active across exchanges, remittances, and emerging markets.On-chain settlement also reflects a multi-chain distribution, with Base leading at approximately $1.2 billion, followed by Solana at $635 million, Polygon at $544 million, and Optimism at $509 million. Networks such as Arbitrum, Scroll, Ethereum, and Stellar are also carrying significant activity.Stablecoin cards still rely on traditional payment networks like Visa and Mastercard, shifting the competitive focus toward custody, FX costs, cashback, and capital efficiency. Meanwhile, Circle has renewed its USDC partnership with Coinbase under the original terms, excluding any dividend arrangements. (Bitcoin.com News)
Visa to Close Meme Coin Credit Card Rewards Loophole
Visa is closing a checkout loophole supported by crypto payment infrastructure company Crossmint. The loophole previously allowed users purchasing Meme coins with credit cards to have transactions classified under a merchant category code intended for digital media such as e-books, movies, and music.Visa has notified payment processors, including Checkout.com, that it will no longer accept that code for Meme coin transactions, giving processors a grace period to stop the practice, which is expected to end next week. Thereafter, Meme coin purchases must be processed as cryptocurrency transactions and are subject to Visa's corresponding rules.Chase had disputed a Visa transaction that was not flagged as a cryptocurrency transaction, arguing that its merchant category code was incorrect and that it should not have earned credit card rewards. The New York State Attorney General's Office is also aware of and reviewing the matter. (Decrypt)
CLARITY Act Stumbles in Senate, SEC and CFTC Continue Push for Crypto Regulation
According to Crypto in America, the US Senate failed to advance the crypto market structure bill known as the "Clear Act" this week with a 49-50 vote, with Democrats voting as a bloc against it and Republican Senators Collins, Hawley, and Moran joining the opposition. Following the setback, the focus of crypto regulation shifted from Congress to regulatory agencies: the SEC subsequently issued innovation exemption measures, paving a limited pathway for on-chain trading of tokenized US stocks, while the CFTC adopted a no-action stance regarding passive software providers and submitted a broader proposal for crypto market rulemaking to the White House. Meanwhile, Visa announced the closure of a loophole that allowed purchasing memecoins with credit cards in exchange for standard loyalty points, with related processors granted a grace period expected to expire next week. Some Democratic senators involved in the negotiations stated that the "Clear Act" is not "dead," with efforts to restart talks still underway.
Due to sanctions, NoOnes will gradually wind down its operations
Odaily News: Peer-to-peer cryptocurrency trading platform NoOnes announced that it will begin gradually winding down operations after running for over three years. The company stated that it had been continuously seeking to resolve and lift the sanctions imposed on NoOnes, but ultimately failed. The sanctions caused the platform to lose key partners, and blockchain monitoring firms also flagged transactions associated with NoOnes as high-risk, making it increasingly difficult for the platform to continue normal operations. According to the plan, the business contraction began on August 17, and the P2P marketplace will close at 23:59 UTC on August 21. Services such as Swap, NoOnes Visa, fiat withdrawals, the gift card store, and the Bitcoin Lightning Network will also be discontinued progressively. After that, the platform will only support withdrawals, and users will still be able to log in, view balances, and withdraw remaining assets. The company advises users to complete asset withdrawals as soon as possible, no later than August 23. Previously, on January 26, 2025, NoOnes revealed that the platform had suffered a major security breach earlier that month, resulting in losses of approximately $8 million in crypto assets. CEO Ray Youssef confirmed the news after on-chain detective ZachXBT disclosed the hacking incident on his Telegram channel.
One week after the NVIDIA-led AI Safety Alliance OSAA was established, it has already gathered over 120 companies.
According to TechCrunch, the Open Safety AI Alliance (OSAA), led by Nvidia, has exceeded 120 member companies just one week after its establishment, including tech and financial giants such as Adobe, BlackRock, Cisco, Intel, Microsoft, and Visa. During the Black Hat Cybersecurity Conference held in Las Vegas this week, the alliance established a working group named "Shared AI Findings Exchange" (SAFE) and has submitted multiple proposals open for public comment, managed by the Linux Foundation. The proposals cover confidential reporting mechanisms for AI cybersecurity incidents, alert processes for affected parties, and no-fault attribution analysis frameworks. Meanwhile, member companies are also actively contributing open-source technologies: Nvidia open-sourced the LLM vulnerability scanning tool Garak, Amazon contributed the agent building tool Strands Agents and authorization language Cedar, and Okta and Red Hat are advancing agent identity authentication and governance technologies respectively. Notably, Anthropic, OpenAI, and Google have not yet joined the alliance, although OpenAI and Google previously co-signed the open letter that spurred the creation of the alliance.
Robinhood Chain Adds 8 Stock Tokens
According to official announcements, Robinhood Chain has added 8 new stock tokens: J.P. Morgan, Visa, PayPal, BMNR, McDonald's, Disney, Uber, and the VanEck Gold Miners ETF.
MSX to List V (Visa) US Stock Token Contract
According to an MSX announcement, MSX will list the V (Visa) US stock token contract on October 27, 2026 (UTC+8).
Thailand launches app for converting stablecoins to QR code payments
According to Bitcoin.com News, a collaborative project in Thailand has launched a digital wallet app called WORPT, which allows foreign tourists to exchange stablecoins such as USDT and USDC for Thai baht and make payments to local merchants via Thailand's QR Promptpay network. Launched under the Securities and Exchange Commission of Thailand’s (SEC) tourist Digipay regulatory sandbox initiative, the app is jointly developed by Waan Exchange and Wipay, in partnership with the USDT issuer, The Mall Group, and Visa. Designed within the sandbox framework, local merchants will not receive cryptocurrency directly; instead, payments are settled in Thai baht through standard payment channels. WORPT also plans to introduce physical and virtual Visa prepaid cards, allowing users to draw from a shared Thai baht balance for both QR code scans and card transactions. The project is slated to hold its official launch event in November 2026.
Mesh partners with Visa, allowing users to spend cryptocurrency directly without a separate card.
According to The Block, crypto payment infrastructure company Mesh announced a partnership with Visa, allowing users to directly use cryptocurrency and stablecoin balances in their wallet apps for offline and online payments at over 175 million merchant locations worldwide, without having to sell or transfer assets beforehand. The solution utilizes Visa credentials configured on the backend, with Mesh responsible for transaction fund settlement and currency conversion; users do not need to transfer assets, and merchants are required to make no changes. Bam Azizi, co-founder and CEO of Mesh, stated that the bottleneck in the crypto industry lies in the "last mile" problem, which previously often required obtaining a separate card to solve. The partnership's launch date, supported devices, and participating platforms have not yet been announced.
Polygon Labs Completes Acquisition of Coinme, Entering the Payments Market with Stablecoin Infrastructure
Odaily reports: Polygon Labs has announced the completion of its acquisition of Coinme, a US-regulated crypto payment service provider, with plans to leverage stablecoin infrastructure to enter the payments market dominated by Visa and Stripe. Polygon Labs CEO Marc Boiron stated that the acquisition will help Polygon Labs own customer relationships and capture revenue that previously flowed to intermediaries; Polygon Labs has now become a payments-focused company that uses blockchain to move money. In January, Polygon Labs launched Open Money Stack to support stablecoin payments and cross-border transfers, and to charge fees for currency exchange and money transfers. Marc Boiron said the regulated payments business is expected to become profitable by 2027. Data shows that Visa's payment volume exceeded $12.3 trillion in fiscal year 2025, while Stripe's payment volume reached $1.9 trillion. Through the acquisition of Coinme, Polygon Labs will control more business processes in areas such as crypto asset, stablecoin, and fiat currency conversion, rather than handing customers over to third parties. Polygon Labs' unified payments platform is currently still in technical preview and not yet fully open; early users include Tazapay, Mesh, Toku, and Kira.
Visa Direct Shifts Stablecoin Pre-Funding from Pilot to Commercial Deployment, Inyo Global Among the First to Integrate
According to official announcements from Visa, Visa Direct's stablecoin pre-funding capability has moved from the pilot phase to commercial deployment. Payment infrastructure provider Inyo Global has become the first provider to bring this capability into production, enabling support for eligible Visa Direct customers and partners.
Related news
Monthly Volume Exceeds Full-Year 2024, September Stablecoin Payment Card Spending Reaches $1.231 Billion, RedotPay Share Drops to 33%
in September 2026, global stablecoin payment card spending reached approximately $1.231 billion, with single-month volume surpassing the full-year 2024 level, and cumulative third-quarter spending of about $3.394 billion. RedotPay's spending for the month was approximately $403 million, with its market share dropping from an early ~85% to about 33%. Stablecoin payment card transactions remain highly dependent on traditional card networks, with Visa processing the vast majority of transactions.
Robinhood Chain Adds 8 Stock Tokens
According to official announcements, Robinhood Chain has added 8 new stock tokens: J.P. Morgan, Visa, PayPal, BMNR, McDonald's, Disney, Uber, and the VanEck Gold Miners ETF.
MSX to List V (Visa) US Stock Token Contract
According to an MSX announcement, MSX will list the V (Visa) US stock token contract on October 27, 2026 (UTC+8).
Thailand launches app for converting stablecoins to QR code payments
According to Bitcoin.com News, a collaborative project in Thailand has launched a digital wallet app called WORPT, which allows foreign tourists to exchange stablecoins such as USDT and USDC for Thai baht and make payments to local merchants via Thailand's QR Promptpay network. Launched under the Securities and Exchange Commission of Thailand’s (SEC) tourist Digipay regulatory sandbox initiative, the app is jointly developed by Waan Exchange and Wipay, in partnership with the USDT issuer, The Mall Group, and Visa. Designed within the sandbox framework, local merchants will not receive cryptocurrency directly; instead, payments are settled in Thai baht through standard payment channels. WORPT also plans to introduce physical and virtual Visa prepaid cards, allowing users to draw from a shared Thai baht balance for both QR code scans and card transactions. The project is slated to hold its official launch event in November 2026.
AI startup Overwatch has completed a $15 million Series A funding round led by Mouro Capital.
As reported by Fortune, digital threat detection startup Overwatch has completed a $15 million Series A round led by Mouro Capital, with participation from Visa Ventures and Capital One Ventures. PruVen Capital, New Era Capital Partners, and Y Combinator also participated. Founded in 2022 by Arjun Bisen and Zara Perumal, the company is headquartered in New York and leverages technologies such as AI agents to help businesses defend against digital threats. Visa, Capital One, Cash App, SoFi, Stripe, and DoorDash are all its clients.
BLOOM Cross-Border Digital Currency Settlement Initiative Expands with Malaysia and Thailand Central Banks Joining
the Monetary Authority of Singapore has announced the expansion of the BLOOM cross-border digital currency settlement initiative, with Bank Negara Malaysia and the Bank of Thailand joining as policy-making members. BLOOM is a public-private partnership initiative covering regulated stablecoins and tokenized deposits, with participants including Mastercard, Visa, Nium, Ripple, Circle, Coinbase, Airwallex, Maybank, Monee, Shopeepay, and the World Bank Group. The initiative will study the acceptance of different forms of currency, inter-institutional contracting, settlement, and system connectivity, and will implement identity verification and sanctions screening through programmable controls, with applications spanning payments, corporate treasury, and trade finance.