RWA Weekly: Hong Kong SAR Government Introduces HKD Tokenized Deposits; Stripe-led USD Stablecoin OUSD Officially Launched

Highlights of This Issue

This week's report covers the period from September 25, 2026, to October 2, 2026.

This week, the RWA sector slightly declined to $38.55 billion, a decrease of 0.94% compared to the previous period, but the total number of asset holders continued to rise to 5.0182 million, reflecting a 51.6% increase. This indicates an acceleration of new user entry, creating a divergence with asset market value; the total market capitalization of stablecoins reached $294.04 billion, with a continuous expansion of the user base, although monthly transaction volumes have declined, showing a pattern of existing users consolidating and a marginal cooling of on-chain transaction activity.

On the regulatory front, the U.S. SEC plans to optimize the KYC mechanism for tokenized securities, exploring ZK identity to achieve one-time authentication across multiple platforms. The CFTC recognizes tokenized assets as compliant customer funds and the validity of blockchain records; the European Central Bank proposed three settlement models for currency on-chain; South Korea plans to expand the coverage of tokenized securities to include stocks and bonds; Hong Kong introduced HKD tokenized deposits in the primary issuance of digital green bonds, with HSBC's HKD stablecoin HSBC RedCoin also disclosing related research and implementation plans.

In project developments, Aave V4 launched the Equities Hub on the Base network, supporting tokenized U.S. stocks as collateral for lending USDC, thus opening a pathway from RWA to DeFi lending; Ethena incorporated tokenized stocks into the yield support strategy of USDe, completing delta-neutral hedging through stock perpetual contracts; Open Standard's USD stablecoin OUSD was officially launched, seen as Stripe's own stablecoin.

In financing, DTCC strategically invested in iCapital, and both parties will jointly explore the application potential of DLT and tokenization in the private market.

Data Insights

RWA Sector Overview

According to the latest data from RWA.xyz, as of October 2, 2026, the total on-chain market capitalization of RWA decreased to $38.55 billion, down 0.94% from the same period last month. The total number of asset holders surged to 5.0182 million, a significant increase of 51.6% from the same period last month. In the short term, while asset scale slightly adjusted downwards, the number of holders has significantly increased, indicating a notable acceleration in new user entry.

Stablecoin Market

The total market capitalization of stablecoins reached $294.04 billion, up 0.71% from the same period last month; monthly transaction volume recorded $6.82 trillion, down 7.67% from the same period last month; the total number of active addresses reached 60.34 million, up 5.81% from the same period last month; the total number of holders increased to 293 million, a growth of 3.04% from the same period last month. Overall, there is a continuous expansion of market capitalization and user base, but the monthly on-chain transaction settlement demand is marginally weakening, reflecting a trend of stablecoin underlying users consolidating and new addresses steadily entering, while short-term on-chain trading and fund transfer activity has cooled.

The leading stablecoins are USDT, USDC, and USDS, with USDT's market capitalization increasing by 0.45% compared to the same period last month; USDC's market capitalization slightly increased by 0.02%; and USDS's market capitalization significantly rose by 5.3% compared to the same period last month.

Regulatory News

Sources: U.S. SEC Plans to Revise KYC Requirements, Users Only Need One Identity Verification to Access Tokenized Securities on-chain

Andy, founder of The Rollup, tweeted that sources revealed the U.S. SEC is preparing to revise KYC requirements so that users only need to perform KYC verification once to access tokenized securities on-chain. This move will enable composability between different on-chain trading venues and tokenized platforms, allowing users to utilize a zero-knowledge proof (ZK)-based identity system to split orders across multiple venues for larger-scale transactions.

CFTC: Allows Tokenized Assets for Customer Fund Compliance, Recognizes Blockchain Record Keeping

According to an official announcement from the CFTC, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) recently updated its FAQ on crypto assets, clarifying that registered derivatives firms can treat tokenized money market fund shares as compliant customer fund investments, similar to traditional asset holdings. CFTC staff stated they do not oppose relevant entities using blockchain and other distributed ledger technologies to maintain records to meet federal record-keeping requirements.

European Central Bank Proposes Three Models for Central Bank Currency on-chain, Supporting Tokenized Securities and Stablecoin Transaction Settlement

The European Central Bank proposed three models for introducing central bank currency on-chain, including direct issuance, establishing bridging mechanisms, and achieving this through private intermediaries. These models can provide settlement support for tokenized securities, bank deposits, and stablecoins on distributed ledger technology networks.

South Korean Financial Commission Plans to Relax Tokenized Securities Scope: May Allow Traditional Securities like Stocks and Bonds to Go on-chain

According to Yonhap News, the South Korean Financial Services Commission (FSC) announced a preview of amendments to lower-level regulations related to the institutionalization of token securities, planning to expand the scope of securities that can be tokenized to include traditional securities such as stocks, bonds, and funds.

Under the amendments, traditional securities can also be tokenized, except for fragmented investment securities (non-monetary trust beneficiary securities, investment contract securities). The relevant electronic securities regulations will also clarify distributed ledger requirements, stipulating that participants must include electronic registration agencies and at least two account management institutions, and prohibit the use of distributed ledgers for direct payment of registration fees.

Additionally, the South Korean Financial Commission plans to allow securities issuers to become "issuer account management institutions," but they must meet minimum capital requirements of 40 billion KRW and have account management, internal control, and IT professionals.

Regarding the circulation of tokenized securities, the amendments propose establishing an over-the-counter trading system, setting the annual net purchase limit for ordinary investors at 100 million KRW at various over-the-counter trading venues. The relevant regulations are expected to be officially implemented on February 4, 2027.

Hong Kong SAR Government Issues HKD 20 Billion Equivalent Digital Green Bonds and Introduces HKD Tokenized Deposits

According to a press release from the Hong Kong SAR Government, approximately HKD 20 billion equivalent digital green bonds were successfully priced under the sustainable bond program, covering HKD, RMB, USD, and EUR. In addition to continuing traditional settlement methods and the previously introduced tokenized central bank currency settlement options, this time, HKD tokenized deposits were introduced in the primary issuance settlement process of HKD bonds through EnsembleTX, making it one of the first digital bonds to introduce HKD tokenized deposits, further improving the digital ecosystem and laying the foundation for exploring the programmability of digital currencies.

Local Insights

Digital RMB Cross-Border Connectivity Cooperation Scope Steadily Expands

According to Xinhua News Agency, the Digital RMB International Operation Center recently reported that after the first batch of 26 financial institutions signed contracts, by the end of September, an additional 39 domestic and foreign financial institutions submitted applications to directly participate in the "Digital Currency Cross-Border Settlement Comprehensive Service Platform (CBETS)."

Since the beginning of this year, the Digital RMB International Operation Center has continued to optimize CBETS services, steadily expanding the scope of cooperation, supporting bilateral connections with foreign currency authorities' payment systems and legal digital currency systems, as well as allowing foreign financial institutions to connect directly. Relying on this underlying platform, digital RMB cross-border services cover trade and support personnel cross-border exchanges.

HSBC's HKD Stablecoin Named "HSBC RedCoin"

HSBC's upcoming HKD stablecoin will be named "HSBC RedCoin," and a survey covering over a thousand local customers revealed that local consumers are ready for the launch of stablecoins. Among the respondents, 74% recognized at least one application scenario for stablecoins. Digital asset trading and tokenized investments (57%) ranked first, followed by person-to-person (P2P) transfers (53%), cross-border remittances (52%), and merchant payments (52%). In terms of core understanding, 60% of respondents could accurately define stablecoins as digital assets backed by fiat currency. However, there were some misconceptions: 26% of respondents mistakenly believed stablecoins were issued by the government, and another 10% thought they had interest-earning features, which are not included in Hong Kong's current regulatory framework.

HSBC stated that the first phase will focus on person-to-person (P2P) and person-to-merchant (P2M) payments, starting with direct and everyday use cases, and gradually expanding to business finance and corporate levels, closely aligning with the development of digital assets and currencies in Hong Kong. In April this year, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority granted the first batch of HKD stablecoin issuer licenses to HSBC and Standard Chartered. HSBC previously stated that it would officially launch the HKD stablecoin in the second half of this year.

Project Progress

Aave V4 Supports Tokenized U.S. Stocks as Collateral for Borrowing USDC, Seven Stock Tokens Launch First

According to The Block, Aave V4 launched the Equities Hub on Base, supporting eligible non-U.S. users to use seven U.S. stock tokens issued by Coinbase as collateral to borrow USDC, covering Apple, Amazon, Alphabet, Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Tesla. This means that tokenized stocks can be used as collateral in the Aave lending market for the first time, rather than just for holding or trading.

It is reported that the market adopts the Aave Hub and Spoke architecture, incorporating the seven stock collateral into the same USDC liquidity pool while setting independent risk parameters for different stocks and isolating risks that may arise from a single stock. Chainlink will provide on-chain price data for these tokenized stocks. The initial total collateral cap for the market is approximately $29 million, with a USDC supply cap of $32 million and a borrowing cap of $21 million, with collateral rates for different stocks ranging from 65% to 79%. Currently, the seven stocks can only be used as collateral, and Aave stated that more Coinbase tokenized stocks may be added in the future after governance and risk assessments are approved, and GHO may also be included as a borrowable asset.

Ethena Incorporates Tokenized U.S. Stocks into USDe Support Strategy, Plans to Hedge Through Binance Stock Perpetual Contracts

According to The Block, Ethena is incorporating tokenized U.S. stocks and Binance stock perpetual contracts into the basis trade support strategy of USDe. Binance bStocks will serve as the tokenized spot support asset, while Ethena will hedge through Binance stock perpetual contracts to maintain delta neutrality. Ethena's risk committee previously approved the inclusion of tokenized stock basis trades into the allocation strategy. Ethena stated that the open interest of Binance stock perpetual contracts currently exceeds $2.9 billion, with an average monthly compound growth rate of 105% this year, and the average annualized yield for stock basis trades over the past six months has been 3.56%. The company expects that as more stock market assets go on-chain, the opportunity size for stock perpetual contracts will eventually significantly exceed that of the cryptocurrency perpetual contract market. Guy Young, founder of Ethena Labs, stated that this is the most significant expansion of USDe's funding mechanism since its launch.

Chainlink Assists Financial Institutions in Accessing Swift Blockchain Ledger, Supporting 24/7 Tokenized Payments

According to an official announcement from Chainlink, Chainlink is assisting financial institutions in connecting their systems and key signing infrastructure to the Swift blockchain ledger through its runtime environment (CRE). Banks can retain control over transaction authorization keys while adopting a 24/7 tokenized payment workflow, all while continuing to use existing security governance and approval processes. The Swift ledger facilitates interbank fund transfers based on tokenized deposits, covering overnight and weekend periods, with final settlements still completed through existing mechanisms such as the Real-Time Gross Settlement System (RTGS). The Swift ledger was announced at Sibos 2025 and is connected to over 11,500 financial institutions across more than 200 markets worldwide.

Ondo Finance Partners with KakaoPay Securities to Explore Global Access to Korean Stocks

According to The Block, Ondo Finance has partnered with KakaoPay Securities to explore establishing a global gateway to Korean stocks.

Lloyds Bank and Visa Complete $750,000 Stablecoin Cross-Border Settlement Pilot

Visa has officially announced that Lloyds Banking Group and Visa have completed a pilot for cross-border settlements using stablecoins worth approximately $750,000, with funds arriving within about one hour, including weekends. During the seven-day pilot, Lloyds purchased USDC through the UK-regulated exchange Archax to settle with Visa, and verification was completed on the Canton private and public chains, testing cross-chain interoperability. This marks the first stablecoin settlement experiment between Visa and a major UK banking group.

European Stablecoin Issuer AllUnity Launches USD-Pegged Stablecoin USDAU

According to Cointelegraph, European stablecoin issuer AllUnity is launching its fourth fiat-backed stablecoin, USDAU, to expand its product offerings compliant with MiCA regulatory standards. Previously, it has launched euro, Swiss franc, and Swedish krona stablecoins. The new token, USDAU, will maintain a 1:1 peg to the US dollar through isolated reserves and will debut on Ethereum, Solana, Base, Tempo, Arc, and Polygon networks.

StraitsX Plans to Launch XSGD and XUSD Natively on Monad in Early 2027

The Monad Foundation has announced that StraitsX plans to natively deploy the Singapore dollar stablecoin XSGD and the US dollar stablecoin XUSD on Monad in early 2027, exploring the network's support for stablecoin payments and financial services. The deployment is still subject to meeting technical, regulatory, compliance, and partner requirements and has not yet gone live.

Open Standard's USD-Pegged Stablecoin OUSD Officially Launches on Base, Ethereum, Solana, and Tempo Chains

According to an announcement from Open Standard, the USD-pegged stablecoin OUSD, supported by over 100 companies including Visa, Stripe, and Mastercard, has officially launched and is deployed on Base, Ethereum, Solana, and Tempo chains. Businesses can access it through channels like Visa and Stripe, with Coinbase set to follow on October 1, supporting free minting and redemption at a 1:1 dollar ratio. OUSD is issued by Bridge, a subsidiary of Stripe, with reserves held by BlackRock, Lead Bank, and BNY Mellon. According to Bloomberg, Visa, Stripe, BVNK, Coinbase, and Shopify have collectively committed to minting approximately $1 billion OUSD.

Open Standard CEO Zach Abrams stated: "Trading platforms include Kraken, CB, Uniswap, and Orca. We have dozens of products integrated that will be launching soon, such as Ramp, Deel, Securitize, Meow, and more."

US Stock Token Trading Platform MSX Launches New US Stock Token Spot

The US stock token trading platform MSX has launched spot trading for the global online travel platform $EXPE.

Financing Dynamics

DTCC Makes Strategic Investment in iCapital to Explore DLT and Tokenization in Private Markets

According to official news, the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) has announced a strategic partnership with iCapital to jointly advance private market infrastructure, with DTCC also making a strategic investment in iCapital. The two parties will integrate DTCC's market infrastructure, processing capabilities, and network with iCapital's technology platform and investment workflows, connecting data, operations, and market participants in the private investment lifecycle to reduce operational friction.

As an initial area of collaboration, the two plan to further integrate DTCC's Alternative Investment Products (AIP) with iCapital's alternative investment platform and explore the application of blockchain DLT and tokenization technologies in private markets. Talia Klein, DTCC's Head of Wealth and Investment Solutions, will join the iCapital board as an observer.

Insights Highlights

Behind AAVE's Surge: Aave Bets on Tokenized Stocks, US Stocks Can Also Be Borrowed

PANews summarizes: Aave has launched the Equities Hub on Base V4, allowing non-US users to collateralize seven Coinbase tokenized US stocks to borrow USDC, with plans to expand to more RWA assets in the future; this sector has conservative risk control, with a total collateral cap of about $29 million, but the borrowing utilization rate is only 5.34%, facing liquidation risks due to mismatches between US stock market closures and 24/7 on-chain trading.

Aave's lending market share and protocol revenue are being eaten away by Morpho and Spark. Although the AAVE token price has risen about 2.6 times from its low, the protocol needs to prioritize repairing its balance sheet due to the rsETH incident. The founder is considering introducing a burn mechanism in Aavenomics 3.0, but restarting buybacks and burns still depends on revenue improvement. Tokenized stocks entering DeFi lending bring a new source of collateral on-chain, but whether this model can translate into real borrowing demand remains to be seen.

IOSG: Circle Issues, Coinbase Controls Users, Who Profits from Stablecoins?

PANews summarizes: The IOSG report points out that the profit landscape in the stablecoin industry has changed, with issuers relying on reserve interest for profits, but facing profit squeezes from declining interest rates and high channel sharing. Distribution channels that control user entry have strong bargaining power, such as Circle, which, even with a federal license, continues its revenue-sharing agreement with Coinbase until 2029. The "GENIUS Act" prohibits issuers from earning interest on held coins, prompting products like USDG and Open USD to directly pass reserve earnings to channels; public chain transfer fees yield minimal revenue, while the US Treasury indirectly benefits from the demand for US debt generated by stablecoins. The report suggests that stablecoins themselves will move towards commoditization, with more stable profits from deposit, foreign exchange, and compliance custody businesses, and value will shift towards scarce control points like distribution channels and customer relationships, while caution is needed regarding the statistical trap of transaction volume not equating to real income.

Beyond Stablecoins, Banks Are Moving "Money" onto Blockchains

PANews summarizes: As traditional assets like government bonds and stocks move on-chain, the "money" used for on-chain settlements has become a new pain point, with financial institutions in various countries exploring different paths: the US, UK, and Canada are promoting tokenized deposits, with the US planning to launch an interbank network in 2027, the UK has completed conditional payment transactions with tokenized pound deposits for real customers, and Canada is exploring interbank circulation; the European Pontes project is using central bank currency to complete wholesale trading settlements of tokenized assets.

Tokenized deposits are a digital expression of bank deposits that can achieve conditional release of funds, with the core challenge being cross-institution interoperability and integration with traditional payment systems to avoid data silos. It is positioned differently from stablecoins and central bank currencies and will not replace stablecoins in the short term, but will trend towards layered coexistence in the future. The next phase of blockchain finance will focus on achieving reliable settlement of assets, funds, and existing financial systems.