Global Markets, Asian Flows: Stablecoins and Tokenized Assets in 2026
- Usage is outpacing supply: Stablecoin market cap rose just 1.0% to $306B through September, while adjusted monthly transfer volume climbed 41.4%. Transaction volume reached $2.33T, up 48.6% year over year, driven by more active use of existing balances rather than new issuance.
- Dollars still dominate: U.S. dollar tokens make up 99.5% of supply, and USDT and USDC together hold 84.6%. Newer issuers (USD1, USDG, PYUSD, RLUSD) hold just 4.1% and are competing on distribution, banking access and redemption, which points to a market split by use case.
- Asia carries the flow, not the issuance: APAC-to-APAC transfers totalled $55.7B, or 50.8% of tracked corridor volume. Yet APAC local-currency stablecoins total just $261M, about 0.09% of global supply, so regional activity runs mostly on dollar tokens.
- RWA growth still rests on Treasuries: Tokenized RWAs rose 51% to $38.6B, led by U.S. Treasury debt at $14.7B. September’s first monthly contraction, a $417M drop, came from government debt, while tokenized stocks (up from $678M to $3.19B) and active strategies kept growing.
- Asia’s edge is distribution and settlement: Asia-issued RWA value fell in 2026, but regulators are building the rails. Examples include Hong Kong’s HK$20B digital green bond, Singapore’s Project Guardian and Korea’s on-chain securities registries from February 2027. Settlement adoption, not local issuance, will decide whether Asia becomes the hub.
