The Daily Peg
A round-up of stablecoin and CBDC news. Key story today? Japan is turning to stablecoins.
Industry News:
OKX Launches Crypto Payments Card in Europe, Expanding Real-World Spending Rails That Compete With Stablecoins
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260128534008/en/OKX-Card-Launches-in-Europe-to-Remove-Friction-from-Everyday-Crypto-Payments-at-Retailers-Worldwide
Tether Mints Roughly $1.5B in New Tokens, Expanding Stablecoin Supply
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/tether-minted-around-15-billion-124310042.html
Fidelity Enters Stablecoin Race With Ethereum-Based FIDD Token
https://www.theverge.com/news/870066/fidelity-stablecoin-fidd-ethereum
Talos Raises Total Funding to $150M With Robinhood and Sony on Cap Table, Boosting Institutional Crypto Infrastructure
https://www.theblock.co/post/387652/talos-robinhood-sony-cap-table-funding-hits-150-million?
Tether Launches U.S.-Regulated ‘USAT’ Product, Expanding Compliance-Focused Stablecoin Footprint
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/tether-launches-us-regulated-usat-161314419.html
NYSE Plans Tokenized Securities Trading Platform, Expanding On-Chain Markets Alongside Stablecoin Settlement Rails
https://www.dlnews.com/articles/markets/nyse-to-launch-tokenised-securities-trading-platform/
Regulation:
House of Lord’s Financial Services Committee Launches a Stablecoin Inquiry
U.S. Senate Releases New Draft Stablecoin Bill, Signaling Renewed Push on Regulation
https://www.theblock.co/post/385303/senate-unveils-new-draft-bill-stablecoin-reward
Statecraft
Japan Weighs Allowing Government Bonds as Backing for Stablecoin Reserves
https://www.theblock.co/post/387171/japan-bonds-stablecoin-reserves-consultation
Trump’s Expanding Crypto Ties Draw Political Scrutiny as Digital Assets, Including Stablecoins, Gain Influence
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/01/29/donald-trump-crypto-currency-00753616
Trump Jr. Promotes USD1 as $5B U.S.-Built Stablecoin Targeting Institutional Adoption
World Liberty Financial’s USD1 Stablecoin Surpasses $5B Market Cap as Trump Meme Coin Momentum Fades
https://decrypt.co/356279/world-liberty-financials-usd1-tops-5b-market-cap-as-trump-meme-coin-stumbles
Tether Quietly Builds $24B Gold Hoard, Reinforcing Backing Narrative Beyond USDT Stablecoin Reserves
Tether CEO Envisions Firm as “Gold Central Bank” in Post-Dollar World, Extending Stablecoin Strategy Into Hard Assets
https://www.zerohedge.com/precious-metals/tether-become-gold-central-bank-post-dollar-world-ceo-ardoino-says
Nothing new under the sun
River Introduces satUSD, a Chain-Abstracted Stablecoin System Linking Liquidity Across Blockchains
Market Analysis
Stablecoin Growth Slows After Market Shock, While Coinbase’s Base Leads Transaction Volume: ARK Invest
https://www.theblock.co/post/387650/stablecoin-growth-stalls-after-october-shock-as-base-leads-transaction-volume-ark-invest?
Perpetuals
CoinFund President Highlights Perpetuals Growth, Signaling Deeper Markets Around Assets Like Stablecoins
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/coinfund-president-says-crypto-perpetuals-235048892.html
Regional
UAE Central Bank–Sanctioned U.S. Dollar Stablecoin Launches for Digital Asset Settlement
https://www.theblock.co/post/387501/uae-central-bank-sanctioned-us-dollar-stablecoin-launches-digital-asset-settlement?
Digital euro
Bundesbank Official Stresses Cash Acceptance Mandate as Digital Euro Advances
https://www.bundesbank.de/en/press/interviews/the-man-for-the-digital-euro-there-will-be-an-obligation-to-accept-cash--988636
Tokenized Treasuries
Circle Overtakes BlackRock in $10B Tokenized Treasury Market, Strengthening Stablecoin Issuer’s Position in On-Chain Yield
https://cryptoslate.com/blackrock-just-lost-control-of-the-10b-tokenized-treasury-market-to-circle-for-one-simple-mechanical-reason/
T+0 Settlement Emerges as ‘Invisible Upgrade’ Powering Tokenized Securities Infrastructure
https://cryptoslate.com/t0-settlement-invisible-upgrade-tokenized-securities/
Solid roundup! The Japan angle is really interesting because allowing government bonds as backing basically turns stablecoins into a quasi-public infrastructure play. I've been following how different countires are positioning themselves in this space and it seems like Japan's trying to thread the needle between innovation and control. The Tether gold accumulation story alongside this is kinda wild tho.