Digital assets struggled in Q1 2026, driven down by tight macro, geopolitical uncertainty, and weak institutional flows. Our report examines what went wrong, what went right, and what's next – including the growing institutional appetite for crypto.

Digital Assets: Quarterly Review and Outlook Q1

Blockchain network Injective has entered into a memorandum of understanding with South Korean digital asset custodian BDACS to bring a won-backed stablecoin to its tokenized asset markets, potentially allowing institutions to settle transactions without relying on US dollar stablecoins.

According to a Tuesday announcement, BDACS’s KRW1 stablecoin would serve as the exclusive won-denominated settlement asset for real-world assets (RWAs) on Injective, allowing institutions to trade and settle tokenized assets directly in Korean won.

BDACS says KRW1 is fully backed by Korean won reserves. Minting and redemption would initially be limited to approved institutional partners, subject to regulatory approval.

The agreement comes as South Korea develops rules for won-backed stablecoins under its proposed Digital Asset Basic Act, which the government aims to finalize by the end of 2026. In the meantime, the country’s five largest crypto exchanges recorded net stablecoin outflows for 18 consecutive months through June, according to industry data cited by Cointelegraph.

Injective is a layer-1 blockchain that has increasingly focused on tokenized assets. In August, its institutional services arm registered with the US Securities and Exchange Commission as a transfer agent, allowing it to maintain ownership records and facilitate securities transfers. Injective’s native token has a market capitalization of roughly $887 million, according to CoinMarketCap data.

Related: China’s P2P stablecoin wallets surge 43x, Korea’s $450B crypto economy: Asia Express

South Korea moves toward won-backed stablecoin regulation

South Korea is still debating who can issue won-backed stablecoins as lawmakers work on the Digital Asset Basic Act.

A July policy report by Hashed Open Research and the Solana Policy Institute called for greater flexibility in stablecoin issuance and interim licensing guidance while the legislation is being developed. The proposed law would establish a broader framework for digital assets, covering stablecoin issuance, disclosures and market rules.

South Korea’s efforts follow the passage of the US GENIUS Act, which established a federal regulatory framework for payment stablecoins, and the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA), which includes rules governing stablecoin issuers.

Industry data shows the stablecoin market remains overwhelmingly dollar-denominated, with US dollar-backed tokens accounting for more than 99% of the total supply.

Related: Mastercard launches stablecoin risk screening for banks and payment providers





Injective, BDACS Plan Korean Won Stablecoin for RWAs

Stablecoins moved more than $400 million an hour in adjusted transfer volume during the third quarter of 2026, as quarterly activity reached $891 billion, more than quadrupling since early 2023, according to a new report commissioned by Coinbase.

The report found that 73% of screened stablecoin transfer volume occurred outside US banking hours, including nights, weekends and holidays.

Distribution of stablecoin transfer volume by time of day. Source: Coinbase and The Block Research, via Dune Analytics

Seven of the 10 largest US banks have tested stablecoins or tokenized deposits for settlement, while 30% of mid-market companies conducting cross-border business are using or piloting stablecoins, up from 10% in 2024. Business-to-business payment volume also rose 36% year over year.

Conducted by The Block Research, the findings identified 293 million blockchain addresses holding stablecoins, exceeding the combined number of cards issued by American Express and Discover, though researchers cautioned that addresses do not necessarily represent individual users.

The report also estimated that moving 80% of international transactions onto stablecoin networks could add $155 billion to global GDP annually and free up roughly $3 trillion in liquidity currently held by banks to support cross-border payments.

Those projections are based on hypothetical adoption scenarios rather than observed economic gains. Researchers also acknowledged that widespread stablecoin adoption could reduce bank lending, potentially offsetting some of the benefits of faster and cheaper payments.

Related: Visa, Mesh partner to enable crypto spending at 175M merchant locations

Survey finds growing demand for crypto services at US banks

A separate survey released Monday by the National Cryptocurrency Association found that 42% of US adults, representing approximately 112 million people, would be more likely to open an account with a bank offering crypto services or use that institution for more of their financial needs.

The survey found that 18% of US adults would like to buy or use stablecoins through their primary bank or financial institution. However, 64% said their bank, credit union or financial advisor had never raised the topic of cryptocurrency, while 43% did not know whether their bank offered crypto services.

Americans’ interest in crypto banking services by demographic group.

Source: National Cryptocurrency Association, 2026 Crypto at the Bank Report

Stablecoin market cap remains flat despite rising transaction volumes

Despite increasing transaction activity, the stablecoin market capitalization stood at $301.42 billion on Tuesday, a decline of about 0.6% from $303.14 billion on Oct. 20, 2025, according to DefiLlama data.

Last week, Standard Chartered pushed back its forecast for the stablecoin market to reach $2 trillion from 2028 to 2030, citing slower supply growth. Citi, meanwhile, has projected a $1.9 trillion market by 2030 in its base case, with a bullish scenario reaching $4 trillion.

Magazine: Agents can trade 24/7 — but Yat Siu warns you could lose access at any time

Stablecoin Transfers Quadruple to $891B in Q3 2026

More companies are formally objecting to having tokenized versions of their shares available on the stock platform proposed by cryptocurrency exchange OKX and the New York Stock Exchange’s parent, the Intercontinental Exchange.

In a notice updated Monday, the joint venture between OKX and the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), called OKXICE, reported receiving 16 notices of issuer objection from companies including Microsoft, Google’s parent company Alphabet and Goldman Sachs. The objections did not include specific reasons for the notice to OKX, but one expert told Cointelegraph that they could relate to “not knowing what happens to their price” on the proposed platform.

Speaking to Cointelegraph on Tuesday, OKXICE co-chair and former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said that these notices were “not objections,” citing the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) “opening up to a global 24/7 marketplace.” He characterized objections as some companies standing on the side of a pool while letting others jump in and test the waters for OKXICE’s tokenized stock model.

Cuomo added:

“There are going to be a lot of companies that say ‘we don’t want to be the first, we wanna see how it goes’ [...] that is 100% to be expected, and there will be more.”

Cuomo said earlier this month, when OKX and ICE filed with the SEC, that the proposed tokenized stock trading platform would offer shares for more than 60 companies listed on US exchanges. Of the 62 proposed companies, about 25% have issued objections.

According to OKXICE, the proposed platform would operate 24/7 using permissioned Uniswap v4 liquidity pools deployed on XLayer. Each tokenized stock would be paired with one of three payment stablecoins: Tether’s USDt (USDT), Circle’s USDC (USDC) or Global Dollar (USDG).

Related: JPMorgan projects Bitcoin to outperform US stocks and gold over next decade

’There will be more’ — OKXICE Co-Chair on Companies Objecting to Tokenized Stock Venture

How Stable is building a payments network like Venmo

Crypto traders can put AI agents to work around the clock, but Animoca Brands chairman Yat Siu warns that users risk building their trading routine around a service they don’t control.

An agent can keep searching for new information and alert its user to developments they might otherwise miss, Siu tells Cointelegraph on the sidelines of Token2049 Singapore.

He uses conference planning as an example. A chatbot could supply a list of events when asked, but an autonomous agent would be on the lookout for new announcements and suggest attendance when a worthy event popped up.

But the technology still has teething problems. Siu’s own agent became so focused on crypto trading and investment management that it tried to interpret unrelated questions as being about crypto. The solution is to run multiple, specialized agents instead.

In a 2025 survey, 14.5% of respondents said they would let AI agents manage their entire crypto portfolio. Source: CoinGecko

“If you have one agent that handles your personal schedule, that handles your family schedule, that handles your trips … and on top of it gives you advice on your crypto, that’s not just going to be confusing for the agent. It’s going to be confusing for you,” Siu says.

The questions that set trading strategies apart

It’s also worth noting that running an agent won’t necessarily give you edge. A thousand people asking AI about the same trade could receive roughly the same answer, Siu says.

Regulators have taken note of the possibility that AI-driven traders can pile into the same positions. The Bank of England’s Financial Policy Committee warned in April 2025 that widespread use of similar models could lead investors to take related positions during periods of stress and amplify market shocks.

Related: Tech chief says EU can fend off rogue AI risk: Report

Responses diverge when users ask follow-up questions rooted in their own knowledge and concerns.

“Suddenly you query and you ask, and then your taste or your ideas or your thinking starts forming into it,” he says.

Over time, an agent can learn what its user prefers and begin trading along those lines. Those inputs help shape personalized crypto trading strategies.

AI agents receive wallets and trading tools

Crypto firms are already giving AI agents the tools to handle money alongside information.

Coinbase introduced Agentic Wallets in February, allowing agents to spend and trade crypto within limits set by users. Binance launched AI Agent Skills in March to give agents access to live market data and the ability to place and manage spot orders.

Related: AI potential to drive crypto demand remains ‘underappreciated’: BlackRock

Such tools allow users to delegate to agents more of the work required to follow markets 24/7 and potentially capture opportunities during the wee hours, without compromising sleep.

Siu sees human input continuing through the ideas and questions that guide an agent. AI can learn a user’s preferences over time, he says.

“By human input, I don’t mean human in the loop that approves it,” he says. “But the human is the one that ultimately is going to say, ‘Wait, you should look at this.’”

The privacy cost of an AI that knows you

Siu suggests treating an AI assistant like a third-party adviser. He says that before handing over a document, consider what information the agent needs to answer the question and what can be left out.

“What about your personal finances, what income you make, who your closest friends are?” Siu asks. “These are small little details that they don’t know about you, and now they have permission to know that about you.”

A trader might spend months teaching an agent which markets to follow and what information to digest before making a decision. An agent can remember the conversations to save the user from having to explain the same preferences over and over again.

Some 71% of US adults believe increased AI use will make their personal information less secure, according to a 2026 survey. Source: Pew Research Center

The danger is that the company running that service would still control access and an account suspension could interrupt everything you’re doing all at once.

Siu asks users to imagine an assistant that has learned about them over years, only to disappear one morning.

“At minimum, you have the right to download your data so that you can basically transfer it somewhere else so that another agent might be able to take over,” Siu says.

Magazine: Capital starting to rotate back to crypto from AI: Raoul Pal

Yat Siu Warns of Losing Access to Your AI Trading Agent

The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) approved what it said is the country’s first Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) that invests directly in Bitcoin and is accessible to retail investors.

The financial regulator’s Tuesday announcement cited a “growing interest” in cryptocurrency investments, particularly Bitcoin (BTC).

While no fund issuer was identified by the regulator, it said multiple providers have submitted or announced Bitcoin ETF applications.

SIX Swiss Exchange announced in August 2025 that iShares would begin trading a Bitcoin exchange-traded product, fully backed by BTC held in cold storage by Coinbase Custody International Limited.

The approval clears a significant regulatory hurdle for the launch of Switzerland’s first retail-accessible ETF that invests directly in Bitcoin. The announcement did not specify a launch date.

In 2021, FINMA first authorized a fund for qualified investors that invests primarily in a basket of cryptocurrencies. The regulator said it granted an exemption from standard risk-diversification requirements, citing Bitcoin’s “long trading history and a particularly high trading volume” compared with other digital assets.

Still, the regulator emphasized that BTC investments carry market risks, such as the possibility of the invested capital losing a significant amount of its value, citing the high volatility of cryptocurrencies.

Switzerland is regarded as one of the most crypto-friendly European countries. In 2023, the Swiss city of Lugano adopted Bitcoin and Tether USDt (USDT) payments for all municipal fees, one of the world’s first city administrations to do so.

Related: Spar supermarket in Switzerland starts accepting Bitcoin payments

FINMA approves Switzerland’s first Bitcoin ETF for retail investors

A wallet linked to the Drift Protocol hack sent about $61 million in Ether (ETH) to Tornado Cash, a service that obscures transaction trails.

The wallet deposited 25,700 ETH to the cryptocurrency mixer over two hours on Tuesday after two months of inactivity, blockchain analytics platform Lookonchain said in an X post.

The exploiter’s addresses held about 81,454 Ether, worth roughly $194 million, according to Arkham. Crypto mixers pool funds from multiple addresses and obscure fund trails, making tracing harder.

Drift, a Solana-based decentralized exchange, reported about $295 million in losses from the April 1 hack. Drift said in June that a forensic investigation by cybersecurity firm Mandiant attributed the attack to UNC6862, a North Korean threat group.

Drift opened claims and redemptions for DFX recovery tokens on Oct. 1. The tokens give affected users a claim on a recovery pool, which held about $3.1 million at launch and receives exchange revenue and any recovered funds.

Drift exploit ranks as the third-largest crypto hack of 2026, according to DefiLlama. Other notable exploits include the $387 million Bitget hack and the $320 million Liquid Network exploit.

Related: Anthropic warns ‘AI worms’ may autonomously spread across devices like a virus

Drift Exploiter Sends $61M in Ether to Tornado Cash

The U.S. dollar has lost at least 20% of its purchasing power in just five years, using the Fed’s own favorite inflation gauge. Sam Callahan explains why financial repression is already happening, from core PCE averaging 3.7% to the U.S. bond market’s steepest drawdown in history. He argues the policy is “working great. It’s just not working for the people.”

Chapters:

0:00 – Sam Callahan on Why Brazil Was Ready for a Bitcoin Treasury Company

2:05 – MSCI’s Exclusion: Why “Bitcoin Is Permanent”

4:18 – The Global Debt Binge and Why Debasement Is the Easy Way Out

5:55 – The Dollar Lost 20% of Its Purchasing Power in Five Years

7:03 – Financial Repression: Working for the Government, Not the People

8:17 – The BIS, Gold’s “Monetary Protest” and Central Bank Credibility

12:13 – When Will Central Banks Adopt Bitcoin?

14:10 – Gold, Bitcoin and the Dollar: The Three Pillars of Reserves

16:50 – Does Bitcoin Need Lower Rates? Why Fiscal Dominance Matters More

19:00 – Why All Roads Lead to Currency Debasement

DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed in this show are those of the participants and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of BTC Inc., Bitcoin Magazine, or any affiliated entities. This content is provided for informational and educational purposes only and should not be construed as investment, legal, tax, or accounting advice. Nothing contained in this show constitutes a solicitation, recommendation, endorsement, or offer to buy or sell any securities or financial instruments. Viewers should consult their own advisors before making financial or business decisions.

Sam Callahan: Bitcoin Doesn’t Need Rate Cuts to Succeed

Real-world asset (RWA) platform tx has launched USTX, a dollar stablecoin for its wallet and planned marketplace for tokenized stocks.

Users will need USDC to mint USTX, which can also be redeemed for USDC, the company said in a Tuesday announcement shared with Cointelegraph. The platform accepts deposits from eight blockchains, including Ethereum, Solana and Base.

“It is not a USDC-backed wrapper or synthetic representation of USDC,” Ashley Ebersole, tx’s co-founder and chief legal officer, told Cointelegraph. USDC provides a way to mint USTX, which has its own 1:1 reserve structure through Brale, he said.

Fintech platform Brale issues USTX, manages its reserves and facilitates minting and redemption. According to tx, each token is backed by $1 in assets, including cash, bank deposits, government money market funds and short-term US Treasury bills.

Brale said in June that it was working with Visa to improve the speed and programmability of blockchain-based stablecoin settlement in environments where privacy, compliance, and operational control are essential.

Blockchain networks and trading platforms are launching their own dollar stablecoins through outside providers that handle issuance and reserve management. Native stablecoins provide a common dollar balance for buying assets, settling trades and posting collateral across a network.

Some stablecoin providers also share reserve earnings with clients. Eligible USTX users may also receive rewards through tx’s wallet programs.

The GENIUS Act prohibits stablecoin issuers from paying holders interest or yield solely for holding, using or retaining a payment stablecoin.

“The overall rewards program was designed based on legal advice to ensure it falls within what’s permissible under the law,” Ebersole said when asked how the rewards comply with the restriction.

Related: Mastercard launches stablecoin risk screening for banks and payment providers

Tx Launches USTX Dollar Stablecoin for Tokenized Asset Trading

Gold or Bitcoin? Michael Howell says you need both. He calls Bitcoin “the most liquidity sensitive asset on the planet by far” and recommends a basket weighted by volatility, one where Bitcoin’s share grows as it becomes more institutional, possibly reaching 50/50 someday. He also flags $70K as key Bitcoin support and explains why Kevin Warsh’s Fed may keep liquidity from slumping.

Chapters:

0:00 – Michael Howell on a “Gangbusters” Economy and Rising Bond Yields

1:18 – How the AI Trade and the Real Economy Are Crowding Out Markets

3:23 – What a Flattening Yield Curve Says About the Liquidity Cycle

4:38 – The Debt Maturity Wall and Why Governments Will Print Big Time

5:42 – From Fed QE to Treasury QE: How the U.S. Is Monetizing Its Debt

7:45 – China’s Bond Market, the Yuan and Why Beijing Has to Print

12:33 – Why Governments Can’t Cut Spending: Monetization Is the Name of the Game

14:25 – Gold vs. Bitcoin: Building a Monetary Inflation Hedge Basket

15:32 – Bitcoin vs. Equities in a Debt Monetization World

19:29 – Kevin Warsh, Money Market Liquidity and Bitcoin’s Next Catalyst

DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed in this show are those of the participants and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of BTC Inc., Bitcoin Magazine, or any affiliated entities. This content is provided for informational and educational purposes only and should not be construed as investment, legal, tax, or accounting advice. Nothing contained in this show constitutes a solicitation, recommendation, endorsement, or offer to buy or sell any securities or financial instruments. Viewers should consult their own advisors before making financial or business decisions.

Michael Howell: Bitcoin as the Apex Liquidity Asset

Some of the biggest banks in the United Kingdom are facing fresh scrutiny over cryptocurrency transfer restrictions after thousands of customers reported difficulties moving money to crypto platforms.

Crypto advocacy group Stand With Crypto said 9,803 people submitted 10,092 complaints to UK banks over restrictions on transfers to crypto platforms during a 90-day period between May and August 2026. The complaints were submitted through the group’s online tool, according to a report reviewed by Cointelegraph on Tuesday.

Lloyds Banking Group, one of the UK’s largest banking groups, received the most complaints at 2,297, followed by Barclays with 1,569 and NatWest Group with 1,278, the report found.

The complaints raise questions about access to crypto services in the UK as the country prepares to introduce a new regulatory regime for digital assets in 2027.

UK banks differ on crypto transfer limits

Barclays and HSBC UK were listed as limiting crypto transfers to 2,500 British pounds ($3,300) per transaction and 10,000 pounds ($13,300) over 30 days.

Six banks, including Starling Bank, TSB and Chase UK, were listed as banning crypto-related transfers entirely.

Source: Stand With Crypto

Meanwhile, Lloyds Banking Group and Revolut were classified as having no published crypto transfer restrictions, despite receiving customer complaints.

Revolut’s official support page, however, states that transfers to “some cryptocurrency exchanges” are unsupported. A Stand With Crypto spokesperson said this appeared to be a technical issue rather than a stated policy.

Banking restrictions threaten UK crypto hub ambitions

Nick Jones, founder and CEO of Zumo, told Cointelegraph that banking restrictions are a common problem among UK crypto founders and could undermine the country’s ambitions to become a global crypto hub.

“This issue of restricted access to banking services needs to be urgently addressed in order for UK crypto firms to have a level playing field where they can grow and scale,” Jones said.

Related: Advocacy group pushes back on banks’ lawsuit against OCC over charters

Jones also warned that the UK’s incoming crypto regulatory regime may not resolve the problem. Although companies are preparing for mandatory Financial Conduct Authority approval in October 2027, access to a business bank account falls outside that framework, he said.

Without coordinated action, companies could obtain full authorization yet remain unable to open a UK business bank account, Jones added.

Magazine: Made an ‘honest’ mistake with crypto taxes? New bill offers way out

UK Banks Face Complaints Over Restricted Crypto Transfers

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Digital Assets: Quarterly Review and Outlook Q1

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