SMBC, Ava Labs, Fireblocks sign MoU for stablecoin framework in Japan
Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (SMBC), a Japanese banking and financial services conglomerate, along with business systems firm TIS Inc, Ava Labs — the developer of the Avalanche network — and digital asset infrastructure company Fireblocks, have signed an agreement to explore a framework for commercializing stablecoins in Japan.
Under a Memorandum of Understanding, the companies will focus on developing strategies around issuing and circulating stablecoins pegged to the US dollar and Japanese yen, according to a joint announcement.
Additionally, the collaboration will explore stablecoins as a settlement mechanism for tokenized real-world assets such as stocks, bonds, and real estate.
Stablecoins continue to be a major focus of crypto regulatory frameworks worldwide, and one of the sectors venture capitalists are eyeing in 2025 as nation-states push stablecoins to the forefront of their digital asset strategies.
Stablecoin total market overview. Source: RWA.XYZ
Related: Stablecoins, tokenized assets gain as Trump tariffs loom
Stablecoins become central to US digital asset policy
Speaking at the White House Crypto Summit on March 7, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that comprehensive stablecoin regulation was central to President Donald Trump’s stated goal to become the worldwide leader in crypto.
Bessent said stablecoins would help protect US dollar hegemony in global markets by expanding the use and scope of the dollar across the world.
Centralized overcollateralized stablecoins rely on short-term US Treasury instruments and fiat money held in banks to back the value of the tokenized real-world assets.
According to Paolo Ardoino, the CEO of stablecoin issuer Tether, the company is now the seventh-largest buyer of US Treasury bills, beating out sovereign countries such as France, Singapore, Belgium, and the United Kingdom.
Stablecoin issuer Tether is now the seventh-largest buyer of US Treasury bills. Source: Paolo Ardoino
Stablecoin issuers like Tether and Circle accumulate the yield from holding US debt instruments as part of their profit from issuing tokenized fiat assets to buyers.
Recently, calls to share stablecoin yield with customers have escalated, with industry leaders like Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong proposing that stablecoin laws change in the US to allow firms to distribute yield to clients onchain.
US Senator Kirsten Gillibrand disagreed with those proposals and warned against stablecoin issuers sharing yield with clients, arguing that it would displace the banking industry and disrupt home mortgage loans, small business loans, and local bank lending.
Magazine: Unstablecoins: Depegging, bank runs and other risks loom
Crypto tokens are becoming increasingly efficient at capturing value, thanks in part to new regulations and upgrades, which could send prices surging in 2026, according to Bitwise chief investment officer Matt Hougan.
Hougan said in an X post on Saturday that in the chaos of the current market pullback, big news is getting lost, such as the level of value capture in digital assets trending upward.
“Most of today’s tokens were created in a regulatory era where value capture was risky; as a result, they defaulted to vague governance-style design choices,” he said.
“Under the new regulatory climate, that’s being unwound. I think we’ll start to feel this effect in 2026.”
Uniswap rallied after investor-friendly proposal
Uniswap (UNI), the native token behind the crypto protocol of the same name, surged earlier this month after the Uniswap Foundation and Uniswap Labs introduced a proposal to make the token more attractive as an investment.
Among the ideas being floated were a protocol-level fee mechanism to burn the tokens and building a Protocol Fee Discount Auctions system to increase liquidity provider returns.
Hougan said this is one of the most obvious examples of a token trying to capture value, and predicts that if the proposal passes, it could send UNI into the top ten by market cap in the future.
“The big knock on UNI has always been that it is a governance token. Uniswap is great, but activity on Uniswap didn’t benefit UNI tokenholders,” he said.
“Except now, UNI is considering flipping the fee switch. If the vote goes through, ~16% of trading fees will be used to burn UNI. I suspect this will push UNI toward being a top 10 token by market cap over time.”
Fusaka upgrade could see Ether lead rebound
Hougan also pointed to Ethereum’s Fusako upgrade as a catalyst that could “significantly increase token value capture.”
The Fusako upgrade mainnet launch is expected in December and will roll out upgrades to Ethereum’s execution layer and improvements to staking economics, among other upgrades.
“I suspect the market will start to orient around the positive impacts of Fusaka soon, particularly if it’s delivered Dec. 3 as expected. It’s an under-appreciated catalyst and one reason ETH could lead the crypto rebound,” Hougan said.
Related: Bitwise exec says a bet on Solana gives ‘two ways to win’
XRP staking rewards also a boon
Hougan said Ripples XRP (XRP) token is also on the road to increasing its value capture with a possible staking addition.
“You see a growing focus on value capture in XRP as well. The community is starting to consider ideas like staking, which would change the economics for tokenholders,” he said.
“The connecting thread: The level of value capture in digital assets is up only from here. I think people look at token value capture as static. It’s not.”
Magazine: Bitcoin vs stablecoins showdown looms as GENIUS Act nears
Sir Keir Starmer has said he “absolutely” wants Angela Rayner back in his cabinet after she resigned for failing to pay the correct amount of stamp duty.
Speaking from the G20 Summit in South Africa, the prime minister told broadcasters his former deputy is “the best example ever” of social mobility and he is still in touch with her.
Asked if she could make a comeback this side of a general election, Sir Keir said: “I’ve always said I want Angela back. Even back in September at the time I said she is going to be a big voice in the Labour movement.
“Do I want Angela back at some stage? Yes absolutely.
“I think she is the best example ever in the United Kingdom of social mobility – going from a pretty challenging childhood to being deputy prime minister of the United Kingdom. She is the story of social mobility above all other stories.”
Asked if he missed having her around, Sir Keir said: “I’m friends with Angie and I like Angie a lot and we talk a lot. We still do.
“It’s always good to have Angela.”
Ms Rayner’s meteoric rise to the top of Labour came after she left school aged 16, pregnant and with no qualifications.
She was elected deputy Labour leader by the membership in 2020, and was made deputy prime minister then housing secretary by Sir Keir.
She resigned from all of those positions in September, after it emerged she had not paid the higher rate of stamp duty on a second home she bought in Hove, East Sussex, saving her about £40k.
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Rayner admits she didn’t pay enough tax
It followed a tearful interview with Sky’s political editor Beth Rigby about the “complex living arrangement” regarding her first home, which was sold to a trust following her divorce to provide stability for her teenage son, who has lifelong disabilities and is the sole beneficiary of the trust.
An investigation by the prime minister ethic’s watchdog found she breached the ministerial code by failing to get correct tax advice, but that she acted “with integrity”.
Ms Rayner is still a backbench MP and recently did not rule out a return to the front bench herself – telling the Daily Mirror during a visit to a care centre in her constituency that she had “not gone away”.
Other cabinet ministers have also supported her return.
During the Labour Party Conference a few weeks after she resigned, Health Secretary Wes Streeting paid tribute to her work on the Employment Rights Bill and said Labour “wants her back and needs her back”.
Politics
Rachel Reeves vows to ‘grip the cost of living’ – despite expectation of tax rises in budget
Chancellor Rachel Reeves has promised to “grip the cost of living” in the budget next week.
Writing in The Mirror newspaper, she acknowledged that high prices “hit ordinary families most” and that the economy “feels stuck” for too many.
But at the same time, she is expected to raise taxes when she sets out economic policies on 26 November as she seeks to bridge a multibillion-pound gap in her spending plans.
“Delivering on our promise to make people better off is not possible if we don’t get a grip on inflation,” Ms Reeves wrote in The Sunday Times.
“It is a fundamental precursor to economic growth. It is essential to make families better off and for businesses to thrive.
“There is an urgent need to ease the pressure on households now. It will require direct action by this government to get inflation under control.”
She said reforms would change the welfare system from “trapping millions of people on benefits” to one “designed to help people succeed”.
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Will PM keep his word on taxes?
It comes as the government announced that rail fares will be frozen for the first time in 30 years.
The fare freeze applies to England and services run by English train operators.
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Budget jargon explained
And it will save commuters on more expensive routes more than £300 a year.
Read more:
PM refuses to rule out manifesto-breaking tax rises
Will government lower energy bills in the budget?
Among the rumoured measures in the budget is an extension of the freeze on income tax thresholds, which would see more people dragged into paying tax for the first time or shifted into a higher rate as their wages go up.
However, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said Ms Reeves should “have the balls” to admit that such a move would breach Labour’s manifesto promise not to raise taxes on working people.
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