Welcome to Asia Morning Briefing, a daily summary of top stories during U.S. hours and an overview of market moves and analysis. For a detailed overview of U.S. markets, see CoinDesk’s Crypto Daybook Americas.
While stablecoins (USDT, USDC) dominated U.S. headlines last month amid the GENIUS Act and Circle’s (CRCL) blockbuster IPO, Asia’s quieter yet strategic adoption is reshaping the region’s cross-border finance.
Asian banks increasingly see stablecoins like USDT and USDC as defensive tools against deposit flight and lost transaction revenue. Behind the scenes, stablecoins are already playing an important role in the region’s financial plumbing.
Fireblocks’ Head of Asia, Amy Zhang, said in a recent interview with CoinDesk that major banks across Korea, Japan, and Hong Kong are proactively exploring local-currency stablecoins to mitigate these threats.
“If I’m not one of the banks banking Circle or banking Tether, am I going to lose deposits?” Zhang told CoinDesk. “That’s a huge risk for banks.”
In Korea, eight major banks, including KB Kookmin and Shinhan, are forming a consortium to launch a Korean won stablecoin by 2026, a direct response to surging local use of USDT and USDC for cross-border transactions.
Japan’s banking giants MUFG, SMBC, and Mizuho are piloting yen-pegged stablecoins to streamline trade finance and reduce dependence on traditional cross-border rails. Hong Kong’s Bank of East Asia also recently piloted its own USD and HKD stablecoin settlement network.
Payment service providers (PSPs) are aggressively fueling the adoption of stablecoins, shifting away from costly traditional banking channels.
“A year ago, PSPs were asking if they should do stablecoins,” Zhang said. “Now they say, ‘I’m moving a millions of client flows; I need a better wallet.'”
Fireblocks, which processed over $3 trillion in digital assets last year, reports that stablecoins now account for about half its transaction volume.
Zhang cited growing usage among Asian e-commerce giants.
Recent media reports say that China’s JD.com plans to cut supplier-payment costs dramatically using stablecoins, which is an example of what Zhang mentioned.
PSPs such as Hong Kong’s Tazapay use Circle’s USDC to efficiently route cross-border payments into USD and HKD disbursements to help with instant payouts for content creators and gamers in Asia’s emerging markets.
A dashboard from Visa Analytics shows that weekends have 30% higher stablecoin volumes, underscoring their role in retail and gig use.
