Hey, it's Marc.
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Here's what matters in digital assets this week:
Let’s unpack. 👇
By the end of 2027, who keeps the best stablecoin margins?
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I’m sitting down with the people advising the banks and building the stablecoin rails those banks will plug into. For CEOs, board members, and heads of strategy at banks, FMIs, asset managers, and custodians.
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01 / TOKENNIZED EQUITIES
Nasdaq buys a seat
What's going on here?
Nasdaq Ventures agreed to invest $100 million in Payward, Kraken's parent, on September 10. The firms expect Nasdaq Equity Tokens, or NETs, in Q2 2027. The design aims to keep share ownership and voting rights.
Payward will also use Nasdaq's trade checks across crypto, stocks, tokenized stocks, futures and options. That reaches well beyond the new tokens.
What does this mean?
Nasdaq gets a stake in Payward and a role in the software its venues need. NETs could take time to find users while the trade checks still have a job to do. The $100 million headline catches the eye. The scope of the software deal explains why the bet can work in more than one way.
Why should I care?
Zooming in: A wallet needs to deliver more than a share-price chart. In Q2 2027, I would look for holders casting votes and getting payouts. We examinedthose rights in our earlier Nasdaq Note.
02 / BANKING
A dollar with brakes
Public chain, bank rules.
What's going on here?
U.S. Bank announced a live USBDC test on September 9. It was an internal pilot on public Stellar. Dollars moved between its own firms in North America and Europe. The bank tested minting and redemption, plus freezing and clawback. It gave no payment size or client launch date.
What does this mean?
The bank is testing how to stop or recover a payment as well as send it. A public chain still has to work with the teams that handle a court order or a disputed transfer. Both ends of this pilot sat inside U.S. Bank. Adding another firm's clients and rules makes the next step harder.
Why should I care?
Zooming in: Before a client launch, look for terms on who can hold USBDC and how they redeem it. The release calls it a stablecoin; it does not establish insured-deposit status.
Related Pro story: 21 globally systemic banks to launch stablecoin
03 / PAYMENTS
Circle pays for the last mile
What's going on here?
Circle agreed to acquire Tazapay for about $400 million in stock. The deal was announced September 8. It is expected to close in 2027, subject to MAS and other approvals.
Tazapay reports a payment run rate above $25 billion. Stablecoins touch roughly 60% of that flow. As of July 31, it had over 60 bank and fintech partners. It offers local payouts in more than 100 markets.
What does this mean?
The supplier needs usable cash at the other end. Tazapay gives Circle a role in that payout and a link to the business choosing how to pay. Stablecoins already touch most of Tazapay's flow. Circle can earn payment fees without first having to persuade those customers to use a token.
Why should I care?
Zooming in: Circle's $310 million to $330 million forecast for 2026 other revenue includes Arc Token presales. Payment fees could reduce Circle's reliance on the interest it earns on reserves.
Zooming out: Arc targets public mainnet on September 16. That can show the network works. The Tazapay deal needs a different proof: fees left after partner costs. That's the margin question in our August Note.
Related Pro story: Circle Built a $73 Billion Dollar and Keeps a Quarter of a Cent
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\04 / POLICY
More pages, same hurdle
What's going on here?
Senate Republicans shared a new Clarity draft on September 10, Punchbowl reports. It runs to roughly 630 pages. The text adds CFTC rules for DeFi protocols with people in control. It also gives credit unions clearer powers.
The motion to open debate reaches its vote window on Tuesday, September 15, at 2:15 p.m. ET. This is a procedural vote. It needs 60 votes under the normal threshold.
What does this mean?
A yes would let the debate move forward. It would not pass the bill or give a firm new rights to launch. An ethics deal remains unresolved. Bank groups still seektighter limits on stablecoin rewards.
Why should I care?
Zooming in: Lummis says over 114 provisions reflect Democratic requests. That is no count of votes secured. We have no verified public whip count.
Zooming out: A 2027 budget still needs a plan under today's rules. A duty to register can change hiring needs and launch costs. Keep the Clarity case separate until a final law settles those terms. Our earlier Note follows the bill's stakes. Tuesday cannot settle a product roadmap.
Related Pro story: 4.5% broke Congress
Quick Hits
Visa reports stablecoin settlement above a $20B annual run rate, up more than 15x in a year. It is also adding onchain finance for card settlement.
Consensys plans to split in two by year-end. MetaMask keeps the consumer business; the new Consensys gets protocols and services for finance firms.
DBS and Citi sent dollars from Singapore to New York over the weekend of September 5. They used tokenized deposits and Swift's ledger.
Coinbase and Moov plan stablecoin payments and custody through Moov. Its platform serves over 1,000 community banks and credit unions.
Block applied for an OCC national trust-bank charter for Builders Bank & Trust; approval is pending.
MoneyGram launched a virtual Visa card backed by stablecoins in Colombia. A physical card is planned for late 2026.
SEBI launched India's Demat 2.0 bond pilot. The tokens keep the same bond rights; the cash leg uses CBDC.
SIX and TWINT joined the UBS-led Swiss-franc stablecoin sandbox. It remains a test, with no public rollout.
Broadridge launched DLX for tokenized assets. Its existing repo platform handles over $350B a day, the firm says.
Circle will end new USDC minting on Noble on October 13. Its USDC contract and CCTP routes pause January 12, 2027; holders must migrate.
Money Moves
TRM Labs extended its Series C at a $2B value. It did not say how much it raised.
Tether and Fasanara backed StableFund with $400M of their own money. They seek up to $3B from outside investors.
Robinhood agreed a deal for stakes in Crypto.com and OG.com; the OG stake follows its spin-off. Prices were not disclosed.
Boardroom Reads
New Forms of Money and the U.S. Monetary Aggregates (Federal Reserve, Sep 4). Staff examine how tokenized money fits the 2 main money measures, without proposing a policy change.
Cyber resilience toolkit for FMIs (CPMI-IOSCO, Sep 8). A draft toolkit on how market infrastructure can test its defenses, with comments due December 1.
When machines attack (BIS, Sep 9). FSI Paper 28 examines how AI helps attackers find flaws and gives defenders less time.
Artificial intelligence, growth and financial stability (BIS, Sep 10). Five tech firms plan over $1 trillion in AI spending across 2025 and 2026.
Financial services back-to-school report 2026 (Deloitte, Sep 8). Four themes link AI, digital assets, client protection and resilience to UK and EU policy steps.
On the Calendar
Sep 15 to 16: The Fed meets, with its rate decision due September 16 at 2 p.m. ET.
Sep 18: Stock and index contracts expire in the quarterly triple-witching session.
Sep 30: The BEA releases August PCE inflation at 8:30 a.m. ET on quarter-end day.
Sep 15: The Senate's Clarity motion reaches its procedural vote window at 2:15 p.m. ET.
Sep 16: Arc targets its public mainnet launch.
Sep 29 to 30: Robinhood holds HOOD Summit, with its keynote on September 29.
That’s all for now, folks.
Take care
– Marc & Team
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