DATA: $USDT still accounts for 91% of Asia-Pacific's stablecoin payment volume, down from 98% at the start of 2025.
As Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan and Australia tighten the rules, compliance-first models like @Ripple's $RLUSD are gaining ground.
@Ripple’s established APAC presence gives $RLUSD a stronger foundation than a standalone entrant.
With Singapore operations since 2017, SBI Ripple Asia since 2016 and regional partnerships across payments, custody and tokenization, it has potential channels for future integration.
For $RLUSD, the key question is whether market access can translate into recurring institutional activity.
@Ripple Payments, Prime, Treasury and Custody create potential routes into payment orchestration, liquidity, collateral, custody and treasury workflows.
Stablecoin use cases in APAC are expanding beyond exchange trading.
Tokenized RWA market cap reached $27.9B at the end of Q2 2026, up 52.3% YTD and 137% YoY, increasing the need for a reliable digital cash leg for settlement.
RESEARCH: $RLUSD market cap reached $2.37B in September 2026.
In June, XRPL overtook Ethereum for the first time, accounting for 52.0% of supply versus 48.0% on Ethereum, showing more liquidity moving onto @Ripple’s native settlement infrastructure.
In today’s Crypto for Advisors newsletter:
🟡 @JdvXbt and @jacobjoseph97 of @CoinDeskData on how digital assets turned around in Q3, outperforming stocks and gold
🟡 Kevin Tam on how an idea for hedging real estate from 1993 became a CFTC-regulated crypto product
Edited by @MortonInsights. Dive in 👇
coindesk.com/newsletters/cry…
GoPlus’s long-term model links this activity to $GPS:
more agents → more actions → more security checks → greater security-service consumption → more $GPS denominated settlement → stronger network economics.
This comes as the security environment becomes more complex.
Web3 recorded 165 hacks in H1 2026, while AI is making vulnerability discovery, social engineering and fraud cheaper, faster and more scalable.
That architecture spans several layers:
SafuSkill addresses AI software supply-chain risk, Axora governs agent information flows and actions, DeepScan provides continuous smart-contract security, while GoPlus Intelligence adds on-chain risk context.
RESEARCH: @GoPlusSecurity’s H1 2026 strategy reflects a broader shift in security: from protecting Web3 users and transactions toward securing autonomous execution.
As AI agents gain access to tools, data and financial infrastructure, security moves closer to the point of action.
RESEARCH: Stablecoin adoption in APAC increasingly a question of regulatory access.
For compliance-first stablecoins like @Ripple's $RLUSD, relevance depends on operating across markets with different rules for distribution, custody and redemption.
RESEARCH: APAC accounts for 51.2% of identified stablecoin payment volume, making it the largest regional hub. As use moves beyond trading, APAC is becoming a proving ground for regulated payments, treasury and settlement where compliance-first stablecoins, including @Ripple’s $RLUSD, gain relevance.
The APAC liquidity map remains concentrated, but is starting to diversify. USDT’s identified payment-volume share fell from 98% in early 2025 to 91% in July 2026. For compliance-first stablecoins like RLUSD, relevance will depend on distribution, custody and regulated use.
APAC’s stablecoin market is an infrastructure stack, not a single-token market. Issuers create stablecoins, but exchanges, custodians, payment firms, treasury platforms and capital-market infrastructure determine access, distribution and use.
Stablecoin activity has accelerated materially in 2026. Adjusted volumes reached $37.2T in H1, already exceeding the full-year total recorded in 2025, while market capitalization reached a new high of $321B in May.
RESEARCH: APAC accounts for 51.2% of identified stablecoin payment volume, making it the largest regional hub. As use moves beyond trading, APAC is becoming a proving ground for regulated payments, treasury and settlement where compliance-first stablecoins, including @Ripple’s $RLUSD, gain relevance.
Binance strengthened its derivatives lead in August.
Volumes rose 13.1% to $1.59T, lifting market share to 46.9% - the sixth consecutive monthly increase and the highest level since November 2023.
Read the full August Exchange Review, supported by @Gate: coindesk.com/research/exchan…