On 15 Jan 2026, Pakistan signed an MoU with SC Financial Technologies, an affiliate of Trump-linked World Liberty Financial, to pilot the USD1 dollar-pegged stablecoin in cross-border transfers. The State Bank of Pakistan will explore integrating USD1 into the country's regulated digital payment systems, alongside a new virtual assets law and an upcoming CBDC pilot. The initiative aims to experiment with supervised use of private stablecoins within Pakistan's evolving digital finance framework.

SG-Forge said on Thursday it completed exchange and settlement of tokenized bonds using its euro-pegged EUR CoinVertible as part of SWIFT interoperability testing. The firm called EURCV the first MiCA-compliant on-chain settlement asset natively compatible with SWIFT. SWIFT announced in September 2025 a blockchain-based shared ledger and named at least 30 partner banks.

On January 14, 2026, NCAA President Charlie Baker asked the CFTC's Michael Selig to pause college sports prediction markets over student-athlete safety and integrity concerns. The request targets roughly $320 million in active markets and seeks stronger safeguards around age limits, oversight, and harassment prevention. Recent growth includes a January 12 record of $701.7 million in daily volume.

On 15 January 2026, Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev warned the United States risks falling behind as Senate committees postponed action on a crypto market bill. He highlighted strong user interest in staking and tokenized equities, while Coinbase withdrew support over concerns about DeFi, tokenized stocks, stablecoin incentives, and SEC authority.

On January 15, 2026, London Stock Exchange Group introduced a Digital Settlement House, according to Bloomberg. The platform aims for instant settlement across independent payment networks while interoperating with traditional systems. Built on LSEG’s Digital Markets Infrastructure with Microsoft Azure, it targets the trade‑to‑settlement lag that typically spans one to three days.

On January 15, South Korea's National Assembly approved amendments to the Capital Market Act and the Act on the Electronic Registration of Stocks and Bonds to formally recognize security token offerings. The new rules introduce a blockchain-based framework with issuer custody accounts and OTC oversight, with implementation targeted for early 2026 and potential expansion of tokenized real-world assets.

Chinese state television reported on January 14 that former digital yuan architect Yao Qian allegedly received more than $8 million in cryptocurrency bribes while serving in top financial regulatory roles. Investigators traced 2,000 Ethereum and other funds through hardware wallets, shell accounts, and exchange transfers, linking the assets to a Beijing villa purchase and broader corruption involving business favors and recruitment decisions.

Global Settlement Network announced a pilot to tokenize eight government-contracted water treatment sites in Jakarta, according to a Wednesday statement. The plan aims to raise up to $35 million for upgrades and to test rupiah‑stablecoin settlement rails, with a target to scale to $200 million in tokenized assets across Southeast Asia over the next 12 months.