The Stablecoin Banker, March 31

March 31, 2026

Three stablecoin developments bankers should know about

The Stablecoin Banker is a periodic newsletter keeping bankers on top of the stablecoin industry. I highlight top stories that are relevant to banks, with my insights and commentary to draw out the most important conclusions.

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"I assume our whole payments systems will be stablecoins in 10 or 15 years." — Stanley Druckenmiller (March 13)

In This Issue

• Tokenized stock trading moves forward at NYSE and Nasdaq
• World's first retail tokenized deposit
• Mastercard scoops up BVNK in largest stablecoin deal on record

Plus, tidbits you may have missed in our Coupon Clippings section.

Nasdaq Approved, NYSE Impresses

The SEC approved Nasdaq's rule change allowing Russell 1000 stocks and major ETFs to trade and settle in tokenized form alongside traditional shares, with clearing and settlement handled by the Depository Trust Company on its existing infrastructure. The first tokenized trades on Nasdaq are expected in Q3 2026, pending DTC system updates. The exchange also announced a partnership with Kraken to offer tokenized stocks on the crypto exchange. NYSE announced a partnership with BlackRock-backed Securitize to build a separate 24/7 tokenized securities platform that would settle directly on-chain — bypassing the DTCC entirely — with stablecoins as the funding mechanism. Under NYSE's model, Securitize would act as a digital transfer agent capable of minting blockchain-native versions of any NYSE-listed stock or ETF, though the platform still awaits SEC and FINRA approval with a launch targeting late 2026. Sources: [CoinDesk, CoinDesk, ICE, WSJ]

My Take:

The Nasdaq and NYSE announcements are easy to read as parallel moves toward the same destination. They aren't. They reflect two very different theories of how tokenized equity markets get built.

Nasdaq's approach is incremental. It's using the DTC's tokenization pilot program, keeping DTC in the loop, maintaining T+1 settlement timelines, and continuing to trade tokenized shares alongside traditional ones on the same order book. The only material difference appears to be that DTC would settle the tokenized stock into a blockchain address. The Kraken partnership may bring greater global access for US stocks, but otherwise, this is a faster database, not a new market structure. What it does establish is the SEC's willingness to approve tokenized securities within existing infrastructure — clearing the regulatory path for bolder moves.

NYSE's approach is structurally more interesting, though not yet approved by regulators. By building around a digital transfer agent rather than the DTCC, NYSE is creating a settlement rail that doesn't require participants to have DTCC relationships. On-chain settlement means finality in seconds rather than T+1. Stablecoin funding means instant payment. The effect is that clearing costs compress and the universe of potential participants expands beyond the existing brokerage ecosystem. The new approach may dramatically improve the cost-benefit analysis for banks to offer securities trading natively on their own platform.

Either way, NYSE's choice to support stablecoin settlement - not tokenized deposit - is a signal to banks wrestling over the stablecoin vs tokenized deposit debate. Until, and if, tokenized deposits become eligible, banks offering stablecoin services to depositors can position their accounts as direct funding and settlement instruments for their clients' trading. Rather than park USD at a broker-dealer for trading, the client can bring the money back to their bank.

The First Retail Tokenized Deposit Launches on a Public Chain

Monument Bank, a UK-regulated savings bank with £7 billion in deposits, announced plans to become the first bank to tokenize retail customer deposits on a public blockchain while maintaining full regulatory protection, with an initial tokenization of £250 million. The tokenized deposits remain interest-bearing, fully backed, and covered by the UK's Financial Services Compensation Scheme. In subsequent phases, Monument plans to add access to tokenized investment products and borrowing secured by those investments. Finally, it expects to offer these services to other banks through its BaaS technology provider, Monument Technologies. Sources: [CoinDesk, Ledger Insights]

My Take:

Most tokenized deposit projects to date have been restricted to interbank settlement and institutional users, and mostly on private chains (aka tokenized databases). Monument is going for retail use cases in an industry first, with material scale beyond a simple PoC, and with regulator approval, all on a public chain.

The next phase is where the product gets even more compelling. A tokenized deposit that can seamlessly trade into investment assets, which in turn can be instantly used as collateral for a loan is a prime example of the benefits of tokenized financial assets. On a public chain, the bank can more easily attract market participants to offer a wider range of assets and deeper liquidity. The bank can even tokenize the loans it originates and sell them on-chain to external funders.

Not just "faster money", tokenized assets can be used to create new financial products that break down the barriers between market silos in the traditional financial system. This will be a boon to banks. In this example, the bank account becomes the settlement layer for on-chain activity rather than merely a funding source for activity that happens elsewhere. It's the same pattern as I discussed above with tokenized stocks, just with even more products.

Banks already have the incumbency advantage, account primacy, and distribution. In the emerging competitive landscape with super-app fintechs, Monument is demonstrating a path forward.

Mastercard Goes Big for BVNK

On March 17, Mastercard agreed to acquire BVNK - a London-based stablecoin payments infrastructure company operating across more than 130 countries - for up to $1.8 billion, including $300 million in performance-contingent payments, in a deal expected to close by year-end. BVNK, founded in 2021 and previously valued at approximately $750 million, processes roughly $30 billion annually by bridging fiat payment rails with blockchain-based stablecoin transactions for enterprise clients including Worldpay, Deel, and Flywire. The deal ranks as the second-largest crypto acquisition on record, behind Coinbase's $2.9 billion acquisition of Deribit in May 2025, and the largest stablecoin-focused acquisition ever, surpassing Stripe's $1 billion acquisition of Bridge in 2024. Source: [CoinDesk]

My Take:

Something big is going on here: the card networks are rapidly moving to reinvent themselves for the post-bank era as money-moving networks, not card networks. This is a natural reaction to multiple dynamics at play. First, ongoing pressure on network rules and interchange rates - most recently with the anti-steering settlement in the US during Q4 2025 - are driving networks to diversify. Second, the opportunity to serve the demands for faster payments with uniquely global capabilities and existing reach through card issuers and acquirers. The result is products like Mastercard Send and Visa Direct, stablecoin settlement for network participants, and now off-network end-to-end business payments.

This expansion, visible primarily in the application layer at fintechs, has supported banks because the flows originate and terminate with end user bank deposits. However, new charter types in the US, whether the Georgia merchant acquirer charter, non-depository federal charters, or state special purpose charters, create a risk for traditional banks. These novel charters can get their own Fed accounts (evidenced by Kraken receiving one two weeks ago), and move money over the networks without banks. The final step is to become direct principal members of the networks.

Of course, payments routed through a Fed account held by a non-depository bank ultimately will land in a depository bank. This is where stablecoins come in, allowing such a provider to simply settle payments into stablecoin balances rather than bank deposits (yes, the stablecoin reserve is still comprised partially of deposits, but those tend to concentrate at a limited number of banks).

Card networks in the US are in an awkward position as they roll out stablecoin support. They were birthed by the banks, but appear to be spreading their wings, leveraging their broad legacy banking support to offer the next generation of money movement services. Yet, they absolutely need banks' support, and whether the existing network members push hard against novel entrants remains to be seen. The competitive pressure and real opportunity to expand mean that the banks most willing to participate in stablecoin payments services stand to benefit as key nodes in the new hybrid fiat-stablecoin network that Visa and Mastercard are building.

Coupon Clippings

Regulatory Moves Affect All The Tokens

We saw three regulatory announcements that in aggregate touch every type of digital asset token. FDIC Chair Travis Hill announced plans for rulemaking to confirm that tokenized deposits retain their protected status under the Federal Deposit Insurance Act. The SEC and CFTC jointly issued an interpretive release establishing a formal taxonomy for digital assets - clarifying that most crypto assets are not securities, and providing specific guidance on airdrops, protocol staking, and wrapping. Neither of these announcements is a formal rule, but they set clear guidance for regulated institutions. Lastly, Senators Angela Alsobrooks and Thom Tillis announced an agreement in principle on stablecoin yield in the CLARITY Act, proposing to ban yield payments proportional to holders' balances while allowing rewards programs tied to user activity. With forward momentum on all token types, banks are getting the regulatory clarity that they've been asking for. Sources: [Ledger Insights, SEC, CoinDesk]

OCC Has a Need For Speed

VALT Bank, a fully digital bank targeting small and midsize businesses, received conditional OCC charter approval on March 13 - 120 days from application submission, a pace that reflects the OCC's stated commitment to fast-tracking well-structured de novo applications. Led by former U.S. Bank Vice Chairman John Elmore and CEO Matt Gediman, VALT will target digitally native SMBs with $2 to $10 million in revenue, built on modern infrastructure rather than retrofitted legacy systems. VALT has no stated digital asset ambitions, and its capital bar is notably lower than recent de novo Erebor Bank: $25 million minimum versus $276 million, and a 9% Tier 1 leverage ratio versus 12%, reflecting the OCC's willingness to price risk according to the model rather than apply a uniform standard to all de novos. Now, we're waiting to see how quickly and on what terms the OCC processes the applications from existing fintechs with large customer bases and demonstrated operations. [Full Story]

Delaware's Stablecoin Bill Isn't Just Regulatory - It's a Franchise Play

Delaware introduced the Delaware Payment Stablecoins Act, establishing a licensing framework for stablecoin issuers that is consistent with the GENIUS Act, which allows state-licensed issuers with stablecoin market cap under $10 billion to operate nationally under state supervision. Delaware is playing a familiar game: the same corporate law advantage that made it home to 68% of Fortune 500 incorporations is now being positioned to attract stablecoin issuers seeking fast, predictable, well-understood licensing. Florida got there first with SB 314, but Delaware's credibility as a financial law jurisdiction is different in kind - issuers know Delaware courts, Delaware regulatory precedent, and Delaware legal counsel in ways they don't know Tallahassee's. What's taking shape is a digital equivalent of the state/federal charter duality that has defined U.S. banking since the National Bank Act of 1864: multiple paths to legitimacy, each with different cost and speed tradeoffs, all operating under a common federal floor. For banks considering stablecoin issuance, the state path is becoming a more concrete option by the month. [Full Story]

Q2 Brings Digital Assets to Banks - The Hard Part Is Still Strategy

Q2 Holdings, which provides digital banking infrastructure to hundreds of U.S. banks and credit unions, announced embedded stablecoin and digital asset capabilities. Amarillo National Bank and Bank of Utah are among the first institutions engaging with the integration, which covers a broad list of potential use cases - stablecoin payments, digital asset accounts, tokenized deposits, collateralized lending, and staking rewards. What the product doesn't provide is a strategic starting point. Eight possible use cases gives a bank eight directions to explore and no clear reason to start building any of them. The banks that will actually move are the ones that treat stablecoin payment rails as the foundational step: payments infrastructure is the building block that everything else layers on top of, it's auditable, it's in regulatory scope, and it doesn't require the institution to form a view on DeFi yield or staking before it can launch something. The kitchen sink approach to digital assets belongs in a sales conversation, not in a bank's 2026 technology roadmap. [Full Story]