Onchain Finance: BNY tokenized deposits | Visa expands USDC settlement | JPM Coin heads to Canton in 2026
Onchain Finance - Edition 1: January
This month in onchain finance felt like a line in the sand. 🏁
A central bank approved a USD stablecoin, global payment rails started treating stablecoins like a real payout layer, and the tokenization story came roaring back with fresh capital and renewed exchange appetite.
✔️ Stablecoins moved from “crypto tool” to regulated settlement instrument
✔️ Tokenization regained momentum as capital + distribution lined up
✔️ Trading, yield, and lending started to look deployable at scale
Ready for the signals that mattered in January? 🔍⚡
🚨 Featured Story of the Week:
UAE’s USDU Gets the Green Light 🟢🏁
The UAE Central Bank approved/registered USDU, making it the country’s first USD-backed stablecoin recognized under the Payment Token Services Regulation (PTSR). The token is issued by Universal Digital, a firm regulated in ADGM by the FSRA, giving institutions an onshore, rules-based route to use USD stablecoin settlement in the UAE.
What changes now
Regulated USD settlement option: PTSR explicitly sets a framework for licensing/registration around payment token services and foreign payment tokens- USDU is the first major proof point that this pathway is operational.
Institutional confidence boost: Being issued by an ADGM-regulated entity (FSRA) shifts stablecoin usage from “offshore workaround” to onshore-compliant settlement infrastructure.
Foundation for tokenized markets: A locally recognized USD stablecoin can make issuance/secondary trading of RWAs and derivatives simpler by reducing fiat settlement friction (cut-offs, correspondent delays, reconciliation).
How this fits UAE’s broader playbook
The UAE has been steadily building rails for tokenized money and settlement:
2019: UAE + Saudi launched Project Aber to test wholesale CBDC rails for cross-border settlement.
June 2024: The Central Bank published the Payment Token Services Regulation (PTSR) and later made it effective from 31 Aug 2024, creating formal rules for stablecoin/payment token services.
June 2024: UAE helped launch mBridge MVP, pushing multi-CBDC cross-border settlement from pilot into early-adopter readiness.
Jan 2026: The Central Bank registered USDU- turning the framework into a live, regulated USD stablecoin settlement option
If stablecoins are the new settlement layer, the UAE just signaled it wants to be where that layer gets regulated, issued, and scaled!
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🚀 Startup Spotlight: BlindPay
This edition, we’re shining a light on BlindPay, a startup building compliant infrastructure to help businesses move money on-chain without sacrificing regulatory clarity.
BlindPay is focused on making stablecoin payments and on/off-ramps usable for real businesses, bridging traditional finance expectations with blockchain-native rails. As onchain finance matures, platforms like BlindPay are tackling the unglamorous - but critical - plumbing that turns stablecoins into everyday payment tools.
BlindPay is working on the kind of infrastructure that quietly makes stablecoins usable in real-world payment flows.
Building something interesting in onchain finance? We’d love to feature you next- drop us a note at hello@whitesight.net 👋
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What’s on the onchain menu today?
🏁 Onchain Highlights: Biggest moves across money, markets, and tokenization
🧩 ‘Byte’ Buzz: Onchain Finance updates, sorted by segment
🔗 Link Up: A curated set of reads worth your time
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Edition 1 brings you the onchain finance stories that shaped how money, markets, and assets moved in January »
January’s Top Onchain Tea!♨️
Tokenized Settlement Rails
⤷ Société Générale partnered with SWIFT to settle and tokenize bonds using both cash and stablecoins.
⤷ J.P. Morgan (Kinexys) plans to issue JPM Coin (JPMD) natively on the Canton Network to enable 24/7 institutional settlement.
TradFi Goes Onchain
⤷ Fidelity Investments launched its first stablecoin Fidelity Digital Dollar (FIDD) on Ethereum.
⤷ Robinhood invested $45M in institutional crypto trading platform Talos, valuing it at $1.5B.
Stablecoins in Daily Spend
⤷ OKX partnered with Mastercard to enable stablecoin payments for European cardholders with crypto-to-fiat conversion at checkout.
⤷ Maple Finance launched yield-bearing stablecoin syrupUSDC on Base, seeking to list it as collateral on Aave V3 Base.
Onchain Access, Under Rules
⤷ The SEC clarified tokenized stocks remain subject to existing securities and derivatives rules even when issued on-chain.
⤷ Kraken rolled out DeFi Earn in Canada, the EEA, and most U.S. states, offering onchain yield via a centralized exchange experience.
Now, for the ‘byte’-sized onchain buzz -
Onchain Money saw licenses meet liquidity this month, as regulated rails and stablecoin payouts pushed onchain money closer to everyday utility.
Ripple Secures EU Licensing
Ripple obtained preliminary EMI clearance in Luxembourg to expand regulated crypto payment services across Europe.
⤷ Implication: Licensing momentum shows onchain payment rails are being shaped to fit regional regulatory frameworks, not bypass them.Visa Expands Stablecoin Payouts
Visa partnered with BVNK to enable stablecoin payouts via Visa Direct for businesses.
⤷ Implication: Stablecoins are being embedded directly into global payment networks as an always-on settlement layer.
Onchain Assets got a second wind, as Wall Street capital and renewed exchange interest reignited the stock-onchain play.
Binance Reconsiders Stock Tokens
Binance explored a return to tokenized stocks after abandoning the product in 2021.
⤷ Implication: Improved regulation and infrastructure are reviving tokenized equities as a viable market again.Superstate Funds Wall Street Onchain
Superstate, a tokenization platform building on-chain versions of traditional securities, raised $82.5M to scale its infrastructure for issuing and managing regulated real-world assets.
⤷ Implication: Investor capital is backing platforms that turn tokenization from pilots into production-grade market infrastructure.
Onchain Markets went “trade-first” as wallets pulled derivatives on-chain and public-market vehicles queued up for crypto M&A.
Binance Wallet Adds Perps Trading
Binance Wallet integrated Aster to enable in-wallet leveraged perpetual futures trading.
⤷ Implication: Exchanges are collapsing the gap between custody and trading, keeping users on-chain and in-app.Kraken-Backed SPAC Files IPO
Kraken-backed SPAC KRAKacquisition Corp. filed for a $250M initial public offering.
⤷ Implication: The move represents another effort by the crypto exchange to grow its presence in public markets through a blank-check company targeting digital asset businesses.
Onchian Yield products evolved beyond basic staking, moving toward modular infrastructure and regulated investment wrappers.
Lido Launches stVaults
Lido introduced stVaults to let builders create custom Ethereum staking products using its infrastructure.
⤷ Implication: Staking is shifting from single-token yield to composable, institution-friendly infrastructure.21Shares Launches JitoSOL ETP
21Shares launched a JitoSOL-based Solana staking ETP for European investors.
⤷ Implication: Regulated yield products are making onchain rewards accessible through familiar investment vehicles.
Onchain lending shifted toward protocol-native and stablecoin-driven credit models.
World Liberty Expands USD1 Lending
World Liberty Financial launched its Markets web app to expand USD1 utility via Dolomite.
⤷ Implication: Stablecoin lending is being packaged into consumer-ready products beyond DeFi-native users..XRPL Advances Native Lending
XRPL’s native lending protocol moved closer to activation through validator voting.
⤷ Implication: Ledger-level lending could attract institutions seeking simpler, built-in credit primitives.
And that’s a wrap 👋
We hope you enjoyed this edition of the Onchain Finance Brew!
As a reward for making it this far, here’s a curated set of onchain resources to keep your curiosity (and conviction) topped up. Cheers to continuous learning!
🔗 Link Up! –
Stablecoin Payments: The Truth Behind the Numbers Whitepaper – BCG
Crypto Adoption: What Consumers Told Us in 2025 Report – Deutsche Bank Research
Global Crypto Regulation Report 2026 Report – PwC
The 2026 Stablecoin Momentum Report Report – Zero Hash
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