Stablecoin and open clearing: reform on the way for wallets and global transfers

The regulated stablecoin now represent concrete opportunities to revolutionize digital wallets and clearing systems

The report by Animoca Brands highlights how these assets can integrate into the traditional payment infrastructure (regulated, efficient, and interoperable).

Summary of key points

Digital wallets based on stablecoin simplify retail adoption

Open-source clearing systems reduce time and costs in cross-border payments

Hong Kong leads with an advanced regulatory framework

The GENIUS Act USA and MiCA EU accelerate global regulation

Regulatory, reserve, and technical challenges remain relevant

Future prospects: tokenizzazione asset reali, interoperability and competition between sistemi

Digital wallets with stablecoin: simplicity and retail diffusion

Animoca explains that a stable blockchain-based wallet is easier to create compared to a traditional payment app. By using token standards like ERC‑20, the complexity of Web2 regulations and bank integration is avoided.

Retailers, social platforms, and e-commerce can create these wallets internally, reducing dependence on banking intermediaries and allowing low-cost micro-payments. This scenario could reduce the fees of traditional card networks, while companies like Visa or Stripe could find new areas to serve by supporting stablecoin.

Open clearing: the advantages for cross-border payments

Another key area of innovation concerns on-chain clearing systems that eliminate centralized intermediaries. Stablecoins make faster and more transparent fund transfers possible, reducing the typical complexities of traditional infrastructures. These solutions allow banking operators and fintechs to cooperate in an open-source clearing, easy to scale and with global interoperability.

Stablecoin Regulation: Hong Kong and the International Framework

Hong Kong has recently adopted a law for stablecoins, offering regulatory clarity and rigorous standards on reserves, redemption, and risk management. According to Animoca, the city has raised the regulatory bar compared to other jurisdictions without stifling innovation in Web3.

The GENIUS Act in the United States represents the first federal USA framework on stablecoins: it encourages regulated issuers and strengthens the dollar-based use as a strategic financial infrastructure.

The European Union is traveling on the edge of MiCA (Markets in Crypto-assets), which defines requirements for reserves, transparency, and governance.

Collaboration between Animoca, Standard Chartered, and HKT

In February 2025, Animoca Brands formed a joint venture with Standard Chartered Bank Hong Kong and Hong Kong Telecom (HKT) to issue an HKD‑pegged stablecoin subject to approval by the HKMA (Hong Kong Monetary Authority).

Standard Chartered brings banking quality and regulatory experience; Animoca handles the Web3 and tokenization part; HKT contributes with mobile integration and consumer payments.

Market Data: Capitalization and Dominance

According to the CoinDesk Stablecoins & CBDCs Report (April 2025), the total capitalization of stablecoins has reached approximately 238 billion USD, marking 19 consecutive months of growth

USDT has reached 148 billion USD and dominates the trading volume (~75 %)

USDC has reached a market cap of 62 billion USD (26%) and record volumes as well

Stablecoins in currencies other than the dollar (euro, real, Swiss franc) have increased by 30%, with European dominance of 84.9%

Challenges and critical issues on the table

Reserve and transparency: the reserves must be securely held, verifiable, and sufficient to cover the circulation.

Governance on‑chain vs off‑chain: a balance is needed between decentralization and oversight (e.g., urgent interventions).

Liquidity and capitalization risk: protocols like MakerDAO (DAI) must adopt tools like CALM (Crypto Asset‑Liability Management) to manage maturity gap and buffer

Technical interoperability: wallet and clearing must communicate between different blockchains and traditional systems.

Outlook and future trends

Animoca and other players follow trends such as:

Tokenization of real assets (property, commodities, etc.) that will require stablecoin as programmable monetary infrastructure

Integration between AI and Web3, wallet with built-in stablecoin and digital identity.

Increasing adoption in emerging markets, where traditional Fiat transfer costs are still high (e.g., transfer between Asia and Africa)

Critical Analysis and Context

Stablecoins are no longer confined to the speculative crypto realm: the report by Animoca Brands shows their potential to transform existing infrastructures in the financial system. However, to adopt them on a large scale, regulatory trust and transparency in reserve mechanisms are needed.

Hong Kong stands out for advanced regulation, while the USA and EU simultaneously offer emerging legislative frameworks. The competition between jurisdictions can stimulate global standards and cross-border opportunities.

Furthermore, the use in open clearing systems and retail wallets aims to reduce operational costs and increase efficiency: if adopted correctly, these tools can erode traditional margins and redefine the role of financial intermediaries.

The report by Animoca Brands places stablecoins at the center of innovation in digital payments and economic tokenization. Key elements: efficient digital wallets, interoperable on‑chain clearing, and a robust international regulatory framework.

The collaboration with Standard Chartered and HKT for an HKD stablecoin represents a concrete example of how Web3 and traditional finance can converge.

Technical, regulatory, and governance challenges remain to be addressed, but the direction is clear: digital finance is entering a new phase where the programmable stability of stablecoins becomes real infrastructure.