Highlights of this episode

This week's statistics cover the period from February 6, 2026 to February 13, 2026.

This week, the total market capitalization of RWA continued to grow, driven by user expansion, with holder growth exceeding 35% and the total market capitalization reaching $24.7 billion. The market capitalization of stablecoins continued to shrink, but the monthly transaction volume approached $10 trillion, the turnover rate rose to 33.2 times, and the number of monthly active addresses rebounded significantly, indicating that the efficiency of existing assets and the recovery of retail investor sentiment went hand in hand.

The domestic market has ushered in a historic regulatory turning point. For the first time, eight departments, including the People's Bank of China, have clarified the definition and compliance boundaries of RWA in a ministerial document, establishing a new regulatory paradigm of "cutting off virtual currencies and opening up RWA": domestic RWA activities must rely on licensed financial infrastructure, overseas issuance of asset-backed securities tokens is subject to the filing system of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, and the overseas issuance of RMB-linked stablecoins must be approved. This marks that China has incorporated asset tokenization into the financial regulatory track based on the principle of "same business, same rules", completely ending the gray area.

Globally, Hong Kong's first batch of stablecoin licenses is expected to be issued by the end of March, with HSBC and Standard Chartered likely to be among the shortlisted companies; the US CFTC has clarified that national trust banks can issue payment stablecoins; and the European Parliament is pushing forward legislation on a digital euro.

At the project level: Citibank completed the entire lifecycle of bill tokenization on Solana, ETHZilla put aircraft engine leasing cash flow on-chain, Tether increased its investment in gold tokenization and payment networks, and stablecoin infrastructure financing remained active.

RWA has evolved into a potential sector deeply intertwined with sovereign regulation and mainstream finance. The parallel development of regulatory compliance and scale expansion may become the main narrative of the next stage.

Data Perspective

RWA Track Panorama

According to the latest data disclosed by RWA.xyz, as of February 13, 2026, the total market capitalization of RWA on-chain reached US$24.72 billion, an increase of 12.82% compared to the same period last month, continuing its rapid growth; the total number of asset holders was approximately 844,200, a dramatic increase of 34.95% compared to the same period last month, far exceeding the growth rate of asset size, and the user base continues to expand.

Stablecoin Market

The total market capitalization of stablecoins shrank to $297.6 billion, a slight decrease of 0.32% compared to the same period last month, continuing the contraction trend and reflecting continued caution in the inflow of new funds. Monthly transaction volume surged to $9.88 trillion, a sharp increase of 20.68% compared to the same period last month, and the turnover rate of existing funds (transaction volume/market capitalization) climbed to 33.2 times, remaining at a high level, indicating strong demand for large-value settlements.

The total number of monthly active addresses rebounded to 51.13 million, an 8.6% increase compared to the same period last month; the total number of holders steadily increased to 229 million, a 3.9% increase compared to the same period last month. These two factors combined to show that retail investor participation has recovered from its previous low point, and the user structure has shown positive improvement.

Currently, the main contradiction in the market lies in the persistent divergence between stagnant market capitalization and high trading activity. While existing funds maintain a high turnover rate, the overall liquidity pool is struggling to expand, indicating that the market is shifting from a "capital inflow" phase to an "efficiency-driven" phase.

The leading stablecoins are USDT, USDC, and USDS. Among them, USDT's market capitalization decreased slightly by 0.8% month-on-month; USDC's market capitalization decreased by 1.8% month-on-month; and USDS's market capitalization increased by 1.7% month-on-month, regaining its position as the third largest stablecoin.

Regulatory news

The People's Bank of China and eight other departments have stated that activities involving the tokenization of real-world assets within China should be prohibited.

According to Jinshi News, eight departments, including the People's Bank of China, issued a notice on further preventing and handling risks related to virtual currencies. The notice states that real-world asset tokenization refers to the activity of using encryption technology and distributed ledger or similar technologies to convert the ownership and income rights of assets into tokens or other rights or bond certificates with token characteristics, and then issuing and trading them. Conducting real-world asset tokenization activities within China, as well as providing related intermediary and information technology services, which are suspected of illegal token issuance, unauthorized public offering of securities, illegal operation of securities and futures businesses, illegal fundraising, and other illegal financial activities, should be prohibited; exceptions are made for related business activities conducted based on specific financial infrastructure with the approval of the competent authorities in accordance with laws and regulations. Foreign entities and individuals are prohibited from illegally providing real-world asset tokenization-related services to domestic entities in any form.

The People's Bank of China and eight other departments have announced that stablecoins pegged to the RMB may not be issued overseas without the consent of relevant departments.

The People's Bank of China and eight other departments issued a notice on further preventing and handling risks related to virtual currencies. The notice points out that stablecoins pegged to fiat currencies effectively perform some of the functions of fiat currencies in circulation. Without the approval of relevant departments in accordance with laws and regulations, no entity or individual, domestic or foreign, may issue stablecoins pegged to the Renminbi overseas.

The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) has issued regulatory guidelines on the issuance of asset-backed securities tokens overseas by domestic assets.

The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) has issued regulatory guidelines on the issuance of asset-backed securities tokens overseas by domestic assets. The guidelines define the issuance of asset-backed securities tokens overseas by domestic assets as activities that use the cash flow generated by domestic assets or related asset rights as repayment support, and utilize cryptographic technology and distributed ledger or similar technologies to issue tokenized equity certificates overseas. Domestic assets issuing asset-backed securities tokens overseas must strictly comply with laws, administrative regulations, and relevant policies concerning cross-border investment, foreign exchange management, and network and data security, and fulfill the approval, filing, or security review procedures required by the aforementioned regulatory authorities. Such issuances must not harm national interests or the public interest.

The document states that the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) strictly regulates the issuance of asset-backed securities tokens overseas by domestic assets in accordance with laws and regulations. Before commencing any related business, the domestic entity that actually controls the underlying assets must file with the CSRC, submitting a filing report, a complete set of overseas issuance documents, and other relevant materials as required, fully explaining the information of the domestic filing entity, the underlying assets, and the token issuance plan. The domestic filing entity, its controlling shareholders, actual controllers, directors, supervisors, senior management personnel, and relevant intermediaries must ensure that the filing materials they provide are true, accurate, and complete, and must not contain any false records, misleading statements, or material omissions.

Cross-border RWA transactions involving debt, equity, and gold are permitted. Equity-based and asset securitization-based RWAs are regulated by the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), while foreign debt-based RWAs are regulated by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).

According to Caixin, the issuance of RWAs (Real-World Asset Tokenization) overseas by Chinese assets will no longer be a gray area. The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) has issued the "Regulatory Guidelines on the Issuance of Asset-Backed Securities Tokens Overseas by Domestic Assets," which for the first time explicitly defines RWAs and provides a clear regulatory framework. The regulatory authorities believe that equity-based RWAs, asset-backed securities-based RWAs, and foreign debt-based RWAs should be regulated according to the principle of "same business, same risk, same rules," referring to the same legal and regulatory oversight as their corresponding traditional financing businesses. Therefore, equity-based RWAs and asset-backed securities-based RWAs are regulated by the CSRC; foreign debt-based RWAs are regulated by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC). Similar to traditional overseas financing businesses, overseas RWAs also involve the repatriation of funds raised overseas, which is regulated by the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE). Other forms of RWAs are regulated by the CSRC in conjunction with relevant departments according to their respective responsibilities.

Caijing Magazine points out three types of feasible cross-border RWA businesses:

1. Debt-related RWA tokenization, namely RWA tokenization in the form of external debt, is characterized by having a clear term and repaying principal and interest upon maturity.

2. Equity-oriented RWA tokenization refers to RWA tokenization based on domestic equity and conducted overseas in a securitization-like manner, which has the characteristics of equity. It usually involves dividends and has no clear maturity date.

3. Other types of RWA tokenization, such as gold-based RWA tokenization.

Sources familiar with the matter: Hong Kong's first batch of stablecoin licenses is expected to be issued by the end of March, with HSBC and Standard Chartered likely to be approved.

According to Techub News, multiple sources familiar with the matter revealed that Hong Kong's first batch of compliant stablecoin licenses is expected to be issued by the end of March 2026, with HSBC and Standard Chartered Bank likely to be among the first recipients. The sources indicate that after the initial licenses are issued, the second round of approvals will proceed rapidly and is expected to be released soon.

The US CFTC has revised the definition of stablecoins for payments, allowing National Trust Banks to act as issuers.

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Market Participation Division has reissued CFTC Employee Letter 25-40, revising the definition of "payment stablecoins." The revised terms explicitly state that national trust banks can act as authorized issuers of payment stablecoins.

The department previously issued CFTC Employee Letter No. 25-40 on December 8, 2025, which did not explicitly include payment stablecoins issued by National Trust Banks, but this was not an intentional exclusion. Therefore, the letter was reissued to expand the definition to explicitly include such issuers.

The European Parliament supports the issuance of a digital euro both online and offline.

According to Bloomberg, the European Parliament on Tuesday passed an amendment supporting the issuance of a digital euro with both online and offline functionality, a departure from the project's chief legislative rapporteur's previous stance of supporting only an offline version. The parliamentary statement noted that the digital euro is "crucial for strengthening EU monetary sovereignty, reducing fragmentation in retail payments, and maintaining the integrity and resilience of the single market." The resolution stressed that if the digitization of payments is entirely dominated by private and non-EU institutions, it could lead to new risks of exclusion for users and merchants.

According to legislative procedures, the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs will vote on the proposal in early May. If the Council of the European Union and the European Parliament can reach an agreement next year, the European Central Bank may launch a pilot program in 2027 and officially launch the digital euro in 2029.

The Central Bank of Malaysia will test a practical application plan involving a ringgit stablecoin and tokenized deposits in 2026.

According to Jinshi News, the Central Bank of Malaysia announced a plan to test the practical application of RM stablecoins and tokenized deposits in 2026. The central bank stated that the test will allow it to assess the impact of stablecoins and tokenized deposits on monetary and financial stability and provide a basis for policy direction in these specific areas. It aims to provide clearer guidance on the use of RM stablecoins and tokenized deposits by the end of 2026.

Project progress

Agant, a stablecoin issuer, has obtained FCA registration and plans to issue the British pound stablecoin GBPA.

Agant, the issuer of the UK's sterling stablecoin, announced that it has completed registration of its crypto asset business with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the UK, complying with anti-money laundering regulations. The company plans to issue GBPA, a fully reserve-backed, 1:1 redeemable sterling stablecoin, under the UK regulatory framework, and emphasized its commitment to collaborating with regulators and financial institutions to provide compliant infrastructure for institutional payments, settlements, and asset tokenization.

MoonPay partners with Deel to launch stablecoin payout service in the UK and EU.

According to The Block, cryptocurrency payments company MoonPay has announced a partnership with payroll and HR platform Deel to help approximately 40,000 businesses in the UK and EU pay their employees in stablecoins. MoonPay will provide support through its fiat infrastructure subsidiary Iron, enabling businesses to directly deposit stablecoins into employees' wallet addresses. The service will initially launch in the UK and EU, with plans to expand to the US market in the future.

UK digital bonds will be issued through HSBC's blockchain platform, Orion.

According to Bloomberg, the UK Treasury has selected HSBC Holdings' blockchain platform, Orion, for a pilot issuance of digital gilt-edged bonds in the country. In a statement on Thursday, HSBC said that issuing bonds based on blockchain technology could speed up settlements, thereby improving the structure of the UK debt capital markets. The UK government plans to issue DIGIT digital gilt-edged bonds in a regulated testing environment managed by the Financial Conduct Authority, and issued a tender for this in October last year.

Lighter and Circle reach a USDC deposit earnings sharing agreement

Stablecoin yield platform Lighter has partnered with USDC issuer Circle to share the earnings generated from approximately $920 million in USDC deposits on the platform. Previously, Lighter had attracted approximately $920 million in USDC deposits; this agreement will distribute the interest income from these funds between Lighter and Circle.

Decibel, incubated by Aptos, launched its protocol-native stablecoin USDCBL before its mainnet launch.

According to Cointelegraph, Decibel, a decentralized derivatives exchange incubated by Aptos Labs, announced the launch of its protocol-native stablecoin USDCBL ahead of its mainnet launch this month. The token, issued by Bridge, is designed to serve as collateral for on-chain perpetual contracts and retain the yield generated from cash and U.S. Treasury reserves within the protocol.

Decibel stated that users will need to deposit USDC upon listing and then follow the process to exchange it for USDCBL for trading. USDCBL reserves are backed by a mix of cash and short-term U.S. Treasury bonds, and reserve yields will be used for protocol development and ecosystem building to reduce reliance on transaction fees and incentive programs. The foundation emphasized that this is not "issuing another stablecoin," but rather positioning USDCBL as core exchange infrastructure.

Nomura Holdings and Daiwa Securities are collaborating with three major banks to advance a pilot program for stablecoin-based securities trading.

According to Nikkei, Nomura Holdings and Daiwa Securities Group are collaborating with three major Japanese banks—Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, and Mizuho Financial Group—to pilot a stablecoin-based securities trading project. The aim is to achieve 24/7 real-time settlement on a blockchain. The project plans to convert assets such as stocks, government bonds, corporate bonds, investment trusts, and ETFs into digital securities. After investors place orders through brokerages, transactions will be settled in real-time using a yen-denominated stablecoin jointly issued by the three banks, with asset rights simultaneously transferred to the buyer. The trial is expected to begin as early as this month after notification to financial regulators, and may attract more financial institutions to participate in the future.

The project aims to leverage the tamper-proof nature of blockchain to support 24/7 trading, extend trading hours, and shorten settlement cycles, thereby revitalizing the stock, bond, and investment trust markets. However, implementation still faces compliance and practical challenges in operational processes such as brokerage order verification. The pilot program will focus on identifying and resolving these obstacles.

Citibank enables the entire process of tokenizing bank drafts on-chain using Solana.

According to an official announcement from Solana, Citibank has tokenized a bill of exchange and completed its entire lifecycle (from issuance to settlement) on Solana.

ETHZilla tokenizes monthly cash flow from leased aircraft engines via Euros Aero Token I

According to The Block, ETHZilla, an Ethereum fund management company backed by Peter Thiel's Founders Fund, will launch its first aircraft leasing asset token, Eurus Aero Token I, later this week. The token aims to fractionalize the monthly cash flow from leased aircraft engines.

ETHZilla Aerospace subsidiary has leased two commercial jet engines to a “major U.S. airline,” and the resulting cash flow (including base rent and usage-based payments) will be distributed on-chain to holders via ERC-20 tokens. Token holders will receive cash or immediately available funds depending on the availability of distributable funds. Eurus Aero Token I will be secured by an asset package consisting of the aircraft engines, related lease receivables, reserves, and insurance proceeds. The lease agreement will continue through 2027 and 2028 and includes a $3 million sell/buy option.

MSX has completed a complete redesign of its msx.com website, focusing on a clearer and more secure RWA trading experience.

Decentralized RWA trading platform MSX announced today that its official website msx.com has completed a complete redesign. This redesign revolves around three main directions: "visual reconstruction, interaction optimization, and brand communication." This includes adopting a dark financial color scheme, introducing a new skeuomorphic style and human elements, and reorganizing the layout of market data and functional modules.

In terms of interaction, the official website uses a grid system to increase white space on the page, reduce interference from non-critical information, and centralize and streamline the entrances and buttons for high-frequency areas such as market data, positions, and order placement to shorten the operation path. At the same time, the website uses the brand's green color to mark key operations and status feedback, improving the readability of key steps such as order placement and confirmation, and reducing the risk of accidental clicks and misjudgments.

Financing Dynamics

Tether makes a strategic investment in t-0 Network to support the USDT payment system.

According to an official announcement from Tether, the company has made a strategic investment in t-0 Network, a USDT-based settlement platform, to support its efforts in building an instant, low-cost cross-border payment system for licensed financial institutions. t-0 Network is a proprietary payment solution connecting global financial institutions, enabling banks and fintech companies to coordinate fiat-to-fiat cross-border payments with near-instantaneous settlement speeds and minimal fees by utilizing stablecoins as the core settlement infrastructure.

Stablecoin protocol STBL has received strategic investment from OKX Ventures and plans to launch an RWA-backed stablecoin on X Layer.

Stablecoin protocol STBL announced that it has received strategic investment from OKX Ventures and partnered with Hamilton Lane (NASDAQ: HLNE) and Securitize to launch its first ecosystem-exclusive stablecoin (ESS) on X Layer, backed by institutional-grade real-world assets. STBL stated that by integrating a sub-fund of Hamilton Lane's Advanced Credit Opportunities Fund (SCOPE) (tokenized through Securitize) into STBL's dual-token architecture, it is replacing the mere token form with real-world utility.

Superset raises $4 million to build a unified liquidity layer for cross-chain stablecoins.

According to Tech Funding News, Superset, a stablecoin and on-chain foreign exchange liquidity infrastructure project, has completed a $4 million seed funding round. Investors include 7RIDGE and Exponential Science Capital, with former ClearBank CEO Charles McManus joining as chairman and participating in the round. Superset is building a unified liquidity execution layer for stablecoins, tokenized deposits, and on-chain FX, aiming to improve capital efficiency and reduce cross-chain slippage through virtualized cross-chain liquidity, unified pricing, and risk source identification. Currently, it is collaborating with market makers, liquidity providers, stablecoin issuers, aggregators, and wallets, and plans to launch its mainnet on the EVM blockchain soon, expanding its total locked value and multi-chain support starting in Q2 2026.

Stablecoin infrastructure startup Levl has raised $7 million in seed funding, led by Galaxy Ventures.

According to Fortune magazine, stablecoin infrastructure startup Levl announced the completion of a $7 million seed funding round, led by Galaxy Ventures, with participation from Protagonist, Deus X, Blockchain Builders Fund, and other institutions.

The company focuses on providing stablecoin payment infrastructure for digital wallet and fintech companies, serving over 20 clients with an annualized transaction volume exceeding $1 billion. The founders stated that their platform helps clients achieve instant cross-border payments at a lower cost, without needing to build complex systems themselves. Levl plans to double its team size and focus on expanding into the Latin American and African markets.

Insights Highlights

Deconstructing the new ministerial regulations: 5 key points, RWA is no longer a gray area.

PANews Overview: In the past, China's attitude towards virtual currencies was "comprehensive containment." However, on February 6, 2026, the People's Bank of China and eight other departments jointly issued Document No. 42 and its accompanying "Guidelines," which for the first time formally incorporated RWA (Real-World Asset Tokenization) from the gray area into the regulatory framework.

This is not a simple continuation of policy, but a restructuring of the rules. The core logic of the new regulations is "segmentation and opening up": on the one hand, the ban on virtual currencies (such as Bitcoin and USDT) remains unchanged, and the crackdown continues to be strict; on the other hand, RWA has been written into a ministerial document for the first time and has received an official definition, no longer being an appendage of "virtual currency-related businesses".

More importantly, the document clarifies two compliance paths: First, domestic RWAs must be conducted on "specific financial infrastructure" recognized by regulators and operate under a franchise system; second, domestic assets going overseas for tokenization can go through the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) filing system, as long as the underlying assets are genuine, the structure is compliant, and the materials are complete, they can obtain a "birth certificate".

At the same time, financial institutions have also received explicit permission to provide services to compliant RWA, clearing away institutional obstacles for the ecosystem to take root.

In short, the door to virtual currencies remains welded shut, but the door to RWA has been slightly opened: as long as you're willing to play within the regulated sphere, you can go from "illegal" to "licensed." This is China embracing asset tokenization in its own way, rather than embracing cryptocurrencies.

The Truth Behind RWA Cross-Chain Clearing: Who is Building the Institutional-Grade Settlement Foundation?

PANews Overview: As RWA moves from single-chain issuance to multi-chain circulation, cross-chain technology has risen from "technologically optional" to "institutionally necessary." However, the real challenge is not speed or cost, but finality, auditability, legal certainty, and liability attribution.

This article provides an in-depth analysis of three major cross-chain protocols: LayerZero V2, with its modular and configurable multi-verification path, has become an "arranged liquidation proof system"; Axelar, with its PoS validator network, on-chain governance, and delayed upgrade mechanism, provides an institutionalized and trustworthy path that is close to a "distributed liquidation committee"; Wormhole, despite its ZK technology evolution, still struggles to meet the requirements of high-value assets for clarity of responsibility at this stage due to its Guardian multi-signature model.

Based on this, this paper proposes three types of feasible cross-chain clearing structures (native message + local chain clearing, dual SPV + escrow participation, and atomic swap cross-chain), and emphasizes that institutional-level cross-chain RWA must adhere to six bottom lines: finality, multi-source proof, governance transparency, contractual SLA, reproducible audit chain, and rollback capability in case of failure.

Ultimately, cross-chain technology is not a replacement for traditional clearing, but rather a way to map off-chain financial discipline onto the blockchain through verifiable state synchronization, while ensuring that custody remains in place and the law is not left hanging.

The true "foundation" is not the fastest bridge, but a system that can be understood and used to hold auditors, custodians, and regulators accountable.

RWA protocol's TVL has surpassed DEX to become the fifth largest DeFi category.

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