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The following is a guest post and opinion from Anurag Arjun, Founder of Avail. The global stablecoin narrative is about to shift fast. What began as a US-dominated experiment in digital liquidity is morphing into a multipolar fight over who controls the rails of tomorrow’s monetary system. And the most consequential moves are unfolding in Asia—quietly, deliberately, and at increasing speed. For a decade, dollar-backed tokens (such as USDT and USDC) have dominated the market. But 2025 is the year that the reign begins to crack. Behind closed doors in Seoul, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Jakarta, a different plan is being built: stablecoins pegged to local currencies, issued under regulated frameworks, and designed for regional commerce, remittances, gaming, and ultimately, financial sovereignty. If the West remains fixated on the next U.S. stablecoin bill, Asia is scrambling to build a stablecoin empire of its own. Why 2025 is the Turning Point Because the changes are concrete, regulatory, and structural—not speculative. In Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) passed a landmark Stablecoins Ordinance in May 2025. As of August 1, any entity issuing fiat-referenced stablecoins or marketing a stablecoin pegged to HKD must have a license from the HKMA, abide by reserve and redemption regulations, and undergo AML/auditing oversight. The licensing race has begun in earnest. Dozens of firms—from fintechs to banks to Web3 companies—are reported to be preparing applications, all vying to become early-licensed issuers. But the real inflection point is not just regulatory. It’s strategic. Global firms are finally realizing they cannot build a worldwide business on USD-only rails without alienating major markets. Exchanges, payment apps, Web3 gaming companies, and fintechs operating across Asia have started to understand the risk: A USD-only offering signals misalignment with local regulators. It caps user adoption in markets where domestic currencies dominate on-the-ground commerce. It creates dependency on U.S. regulatory and banking bottlenecks. It limits participation in Asia’s fast-emerging digital payment ecosystems. Asia isn’t rejecting the dollar outright. It’s building alternatives—quietly and with increasing coordination. What Asia Is Building Instead Hong Kong is only the start. South Korea is now in the advanced stages of developing a legal framework for won-pegged stablecoins, with regulators preparing legislation for submission by the end of 2025, and debates intensifying over the distinction between bank- and non-bank-issued stablecoins and their respective oversight. Major financial institutions and tech firms are already positioning ahead of formal rules. Japan is embracing stablecoin innovation on both the institutional and private fronts: its largest banks are collaborating on stablecoin initiatives for corporate settlements, while private yen-pegged tokens such as JPYC operate under a clear regulatory framework and are gaining traction. Singapore continues to support digital payment tokens and multi-currency stablecoin infrastructure under a calibrated, compliance-first framework that emphasizes risk controls and regulatory standards. See, what’s emerging in Asia isn’t just a collection of local stablecoins. It’s the early formation of an alternative settlement layer—one that reduces reliance on U.S.-centric banking rails, correspondent networks, and dollar-clearing choke points. Digital trade corridors are the endgame. This is where Western narratives begin to fall apart. In the U.S., the debate remains stuck on how to regulate dollar-backed stablecoins domestically. In Asia, the question is already more advanced: how should digital currencies move between jurisdictions, under whose rules, and on whose terms? That is not a crypto question. It is a geopolitical one. Meanwhile in Europe… A Late Awakening Europe’s response adds another twist. In Europe, a consortium of major banks, including ING, UniCredit, and BNP Paribas, formed a company named Qivalis. The emergence of Qivalis (a euro-backed, bank-controlled stablecoin set for 2026) is being spun as a response to U.S. dominance. Wrong. It’s a response to Asian acceleration. Europe doesn’t want a future where the two major non-EU digital currencies are: USD stablecoins, and Asia’s new wave of regulated FX stablecoins. For the first time, Europe is being pulled into a currency-rail arms race it did not expect to fight. These developments show that stablecoins are no longer niche digital assets. They are being woven into the future fabric of regulated, sovereign, or supra-sovereign money systems. Stablecoins Are Becoming State-Adjacent New research focus and hybrid monetary systems—combining CBDCs + stablecoins—signal where this is all going: Stablecoins are becoming state-adjacent. Not anti-state. Not post-state. But parallel-state financial tools. And this is where the questions get uncomfortable: What happens when a KRW or JPY stablecoin becomes more trusted in Southeast Asia than local fiat? What happens when a Singapore-approved multi-currency stablecoin becomes the de facto settlement asset for APAC regional trade? What happens when Western regulators realize they’ve lost the narrative they thought they controlled? What does “dollar dominance” mean when the world’s liquidity moves through programmable, multi-currency rails that no single country controls? What happens when USD stablecoins become just one option—not the default? These are not hypothetical questions anymore. They are emerging realities, forming in slow motion, while geopolitical institutions pretend this is still “crypto.” The Shift Is Already Underway Asia isn’t racing to build stablecoins. Asia is racing to build strategic monetary optionality. And the West is still arguing over definitions. That distinction matters. The future of stablecoins will not be won by the loudest protocol or the largest issuer, but by the jurisdictions that design credible, regulated, interoperable currency rails first. In that race, Asia is already several steps ahead. And by the time the shift becomes obvious, the rules of digital money may have already been rewritten with a logic that America did not write. The post Asia is quietly building a counterweight to the dollar stablecoin empire, and the West isn’t ready appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Story Highlights Galaxy Digital says stablecoins are already handling half of ACH’s transaction volume. Regulatory clarity in 2026 could push stablecoins deeper into everyday U.S. payments. Banks, payment firms, and institutions are moving on-chain faster than many expected. Stablecoins are no longer just a tool for crypto traders. They are on track to challenge one of the most important payment systems in the U.S. financial system. Advertisement --> In its latest annual predictions report, Galaxy Digital said stablecoins could surpass the ACH in transaction volume by 2026, pointing to rapid growth in both usage and adoption. ACH currently powers everyday payments like payroll, bill payments, and bank transfers. Galaxy believes stablecoins are now close enough in scale to seriously compete. Stablecoin Transactions Are Already Closing the Gap Galaxy’s research shows that stablecoin activity has grown quickly over the past few years. Stablecoins already process more transaction volume than major credit card networks like Visa and now handle roughly half of ACH’s volume. “Stablecoin velocity remains remarkably high compared to its traditional counterparts,” said Thad Pinakiewicz, Vice President of Research at Galaxy Digital. “We have seen a continued 30%-40% CAGR in stablecoin supply growth, with transaction volume increasing in tandem.” According to DefiLlama data, the stablecoin market is now valued at around $309 billion, led by Tether’s USDT and Circle’s USDC. Regulation Could Speed Up Growth Galaxy highlighted regulation as a key driver behind its 2026 prediction. The GENIUS Act, expected to be finalized in early 2026, would establish clear rules for stablecoin issuance under FDIC supervision. The framework would require full reserve backing and strong governance standards, giving banks a regulated path to issue dollar-backed stablecoins. “With the GENIUS Act definitions to be solidified in early 2026, we could easily see stablecoin growth accelerate beyond its historical average CAGR,” Pinakiewicz said. Also Read : US Government Shutdown in January Risk Hits 38% Amid Budget Deadlock , Institutions Are Moving In Stablecoins are already gaining traction in traditional finance. Visa has expanded its stablecoin settlement program for U.S. banks using USDC on Solana, allowing faster, around-the-clock transactions. Outside the banking sector, companies like Western Union and Sony Bank have announced plans to launch their own stablecoins, signaling broader acceptance beyond crypto-native firms. Why This Matters If stablecoins overtake ACH, it could change how money moves across the U.S. economy especially for payments, settlements, and cross-border transfers. One thing is clear: stablecoins are moving steadily toward the center of the financial system. Never Miss a Beat in the Crypto World! Stay ahead with breaking news, expert analysis, and real-time updates on the latest trends in Bitcoin, altcoins, DeFi, NFTs, and more. Subscribe to News FAQs Could stablecoin growth affect consumer protections for everyday payments? Yes. As stablecoins move closer to mainstream use, consumer protection rules around error resolution, fraud recovery, and disclosures may need to expand beyond current banking frameworks. What happens if regulation lags behind stablecoin adoption? A regulatory gap could slow institutional participation or create uneven oversight, increasing risk for users and prompting stricter enforcement actions later rather than gradual integration. Who stands to benefit most if stablecoins scale further? Businesses handling high-volume payments, gig workers needing faster payouts, and cross-border users could see lower costs and quicker settlement compared to traditional systems. Tags Crypto news

In a detailed analysis that has captured the blockchain community’s attention, Jay Yu, a research analyst at the prominent crypto investment firm Pantera Capital, has laid out a comprehensive vision for the cryptocurrency landscape in 2026. Released via social media platform X, Yu’s twelve distinct predictions map a future where artificial intelligence, prediction markets, and stablecoins undergo transformative growth, fundamentally reshaping how users interact with digital assets and decentralized finance. This forecast, emerging from one of the industry’s most established investment voices, provides a crucial roadmap for developers, investors, and regulators navigating the next phase of blockchain evolution. Core Crypto Trends for 2026: Efficiency, Specialization, and Automation Jay Yu’s analysis identifies three primary vectors for growth in the coming years. First, he highlights the rise of capital-efficient on-chain credit. Currently, many DeFi lending protocols require over-collateralization, locking up substantial capital. Yu anticipates new financial primitives and layer-2 solutions will dramatically improve capital efficiency, enabling more sophisticated lending and borrowing mechanisms that rival traditional finance. This evolution could unlock trillions in currently idle digital asset value. Secondly, Yu predicts a bifurcation of prediction markets. These platforms, which allow users to bet on future events, will split into specialized segments. One segment will focus on high-stakes financial prediction markets, covering areas like corporate earnings, commodity prices, and election outcomes with deep liquidity. Another will cater to cultural prediction markets, centered around entertainment, sports, and social trends, potentially becoming a new form of social engagement and community building. The third core trend is the proliferation of agent commerce, referred to internally as ‘x402’. This concept envisions autonomous software agents, powered by AI and funded by crypto wallets, executing complex economic transactions on behalf of users. For instance, an agent could automatically rebalance a DeFi portfolio, negotiate the best price for a digital service, or manage a small business’s cash flow, all without direct human intervention after initial setup. The AI Interface Revolution and Real-World Asset Tokenization A particularly striking prediction positions artificial intelligence as the primary interface for crypto. Instead of navigating complex wallet addresses and smart contract interactions, users will increasingly converse with AI assistants. These assistants will execute trades, provide portfolio advice, explain transactions in plain language, and enhance security by identifying risks. This shift could make blockchain technology accessible to billions of non-technical users, acting as the ultimate abstraction layer. Concurrently, Yu forecasts the emergence of tokenized gold as a key real-world asset (RWA). While tokenized U.S. Treasuries have gained traction, gold represents a universal, inflation-resistant store of value. Blockchain-based gold tokens, fully backed by physical bullion in audited vaults, could become a cornerstone of decentralized finance, offering a stable, yield-bearing asset for lending protocols and a hedge within crypto-native portfolios. This bridges the ancient value of gold with modern digital finance. Bitcoin’s Evolving Narrative and Corporate Consolidation The analysis also provides specific insights into Bitcoin’s trajectory. Yu expects discussions around quantum computing risks to Bitcoin’s cryptography to intensify significantly by 2026. As quantum technology advances, media and analyst focus will grow. However, Yu offers a calming perspective, noting the actual threat remains limited in the near term. The Bitcoin development community is already researching post-quantum cryptographic solutions, and any transition would be carefully coordinated, requiring broad consensus. Furthermore, Yu observes a trend toward corporate consolidation regarding Bitcoin treasuries. Following the lead of companies like MicroStrategy, many firms have added Bitcoin to their balance sheets. The prediction suggests this space may consolidate around two or three dominant corporate holders, potentially through mergers, acquisitions, or the outsized growth of early adopters. This could create new, influential entities in the Bitcoin ecosystem. Another fascinating forecast is the continued blurring of lines between tokens and stocks. Security tokens representing equity, revenue-sharing DeFi tokens, and tokenized real estate will create hybrid assets. These assets offer the programmability and 24/7 trading of crypto with the cash-flow characteristics of traditional securities. Regulatory clarity, particularly in jurisdictions like the EU with its MiCA framework, will be a key driver for this convergence. Hyper-Liquid Trading and Stablecoin Infrastructure For decentralized exchanges (DEXs), Yu predicts a reorganization. Perpetual decentralized exchanges, which allow leveraged trading without expiry dates, will coalesce around hyper-liquid models. This likely involves deeper cross-chain liquidity pools, more efficient oracle networks for price feeds, and innovative mechanisms to reduce slippage for large trades. The goal is to achieve parity with, or even surpass, the liquidity found on centralized exchanges. Perhaps the most wide-reaching prediction concerns stablecoins. Yu envisions them expanding beyond a tool for crypto trading to become a genuine global payment infrastructure/strong. Stablecoins like USDC and USDT, operating on fast, low-cost blockchains, are already used for cross-border remittances and business payments. By 2026, this use case could scale massively, challenging traditional correspondent banking networks by offering near-instant, low-cost settlement for everything from freelance wages to international trade invoices. Conclusion Jay Yu’s twelve crypto predictions for 2026 paint a picture of a maturing industry moving beyond speculation toward utility, efficiency, and global integration. The intertwined rise of AI interfaces, specialized prediction markets, and robust stablecoin payment rails suggests a future where blockchain technology becomes seamlessly embedded in both digital and real-world economies. While forecasts inherently involve uncertainty, analysis from experienced firms like Pantera Capital provides a valuable framework for understanding the potent forces—technological, financial, and social—shaping the next chapter of cryptocurrency. The coming years will test these visions, but the direction points toward a more accessible, efficient, and interconnected financial system. FAQs Q1: What is Pantera Capital’s role in the cryptocurrency industry?Pantera Capital is one of the first and largest institutional investment firms focused exclusively on blockchain and digital assets. Founded in 2013, it manages venture capital, hedge funds, and early-stage token funds, making its analysts’ insights highly regarded within the sector. Q2: How could AI become the primary interface for crypto?AI could act as an intermediary that understands natural language commands. Instead of manually signing complex transactions, a user might say, “AI, swap 10% of my ETH for a top-yielding stablecoin on the safest available protocol.” The AI would then find the best route, explain the costs and risks, and execute the transaction upon confirmation. Q3: What are prediction markets in a crypto context?Crypto prediction markets are decentralized platforms where users trade tokens whose value is tied to the outcome of future events. For example, a token might be worth $1 if a certain candidate wins an election and $0 if they lose. They harness the “wisdom of the crowd” for forecasting. Q4: Why is tokenized gold considered an important Real-World Asset (RWA)?Gold is a globally recognized, physical store of value uncorrelated to traditional financial markets. Tokenizing it on a blockchain makes it easily divisible, transferable, and usable as collateral in DeFi protocols, combining gold’s stability with crypto’s programmability and accessibility. Q5: Is quantum computing an immediate threat to Bitcoin?Most experts, including Jay Yu, agree it is not an immediate threat. Breaking Bitcoin’s current encryption (ECDSA) requires a powerful, fault-tolerant quantum computer that does not yet exist. The network would likely implement a post-quantum cryptographic upgrade long before such a machine becomes operational, safeguarding user funds. Disclaimer: The information provided is not trading advice, Bitcoinworld.co.in holds no liability for any investments made based on the information provided on this page. We strongly recommend independent research and/or consultation with a qualified professional before making any investment decisions.

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Key Takeaways: Solflare has also built prediction markets powered by Kalshi into its Solana wallet, eliminating the use of third-party services. The SOL or stablecoins allow users to buy tokenized YES or NO outcomes on real-life events, and have non-custodial control. The relocation emphasizes the increasing interest of regulated prediction market integration with on-chain crypto infrastructure. Solflare has launched a significant upgrade to go beyond the limits of storage and swaps in crypto wallets. Beginning on December 26, the wallet based on Solana will allow users to trade prediction markets that are operated by Kalshi without leaving the app. Table of Contents Solflare Introduces Prediction Markets On Chains Prediction Market Trading Mechanism Full User Control With Tokenized Positions Kalshi’s Strategy of Bridging Regulation and DeFi The Ongoing Momentum of Prediction Markets in Crypto Solflare Introduces Prediction Markets On Chains Kalshi and infrastructure partner DFlow Solflare, one of the most popular wallets in Solana, has formally added prediction markets to support prediction markets with Kalshi and DFlow. The update can be used to speculate on real-life outcomes right in their wallet interface. The difference between Kalshi and others in the prediction market space is that it is regulated by the federal authorities of the United States. The only prediction exchange that is under the regulation of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is it. Through the adoption of the regulated order books of Kalshi, Solflare introduces compliant event-based trading in a non-custodial crypto-environment. The spectrum of markets in which this integration is dealt with is wide. The traders can trade the outcome of sports events, political events, milestones of prices in crypto, technological progress, and macroeconomic news. All this occurs without compelling users to get out of the wallet or injecting them into conventional financial rails. Read More: Phantom Wallet Teams Up with Kalshi for Event Trading Feature Prediction Market Trading Mechanism The additional functionality is designed to be more native, as opposed to being more strapped. Active markets can be visited directly within Solflare, odds are shown real-time, and the user has the choice of YES or NO positions on particular outcomes. Full User Control With Tokenized Positions Every position is released as an SPL token at the Solana blockchain. This architecture will make sure that users have their trades intact in their possession at all times. Positions are not custodial, transferable, or exclusive to other Solana-based decentralized finance applications. Funding can be made easy and crypto-native by making payments in either SOL or supported stablecoins. Upon the completion of an event, winners are automatically determined, and the payments are made according to the confirmed result. One of them is accessibility. Basic access does not require users to open a separate Kalshi account or follow through extra checks of identity. This drastically reduces the entry barriers as opposed to the conventional prediction platforms. Kalshi’s Strategy of Bridging Regulation and DeFi The Solflare integration will be a part of the larger move that Kalshi undergoes to expand into on-chain markets. In early December, Kalshi started to tokenize its event contracts on the Solana blockchain, which opens the possibility of decentralized access to regulated prediction markets. This rollout has been mainly centered on technical partnerships. DFlow offers API and liquidity bridge and Jupiters aggregation infrastructure allows the access via decentralized exchanges. All these elements enable the Kalshi conventional, controlled markets to engage with the Solana fast blockchain. The first large-scale integration of the prediction markets by Kalshi is Solflare, in which the prediction market is displayed directly on the core interface of a wallet. The action comes after a comparable integration by Phantom wallet earlier in the month, indicating the increasing popularity of event-based trading within both daily crypto applications. This will enable Kalshi to increase the number of users without affecting compliance. The Ongoing Momentum of Prediction Markets in Crypto Prediction markets are not new but usually had a problem with regulation, liquidity, or usability. Other new integrations indicate that the walls are dissolving. Some of the larger crypto platforms have started to add prediction markets to wallets and trading applications in 2025. Users can now access these markets using tools that they rely on to hold assets, trade tokens and interact with DeFi, rather than individual platforms. Solana has a significant part in this transition. It has cheap charges and can transact within a short time, which makes it feasible in trading events, such as smaller positions. On Solana, tokenized contracts are also quite compatible with its composable ecosystem, where assets are free to cross applications. Read More: Coinbase Launches Custom Stablecoins, Partners with Kalshi to Bring Prediction Markets Onchain