cross-border

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) of India raided locations related to CoinDCX and Delta, accusing them of unauthorized cross-border transactions. CoinDCX stated that they are cooperating with the inquiry, have registered with FIU-IND, and are complying with foreign exchange management laws, with transactions and deposits being normal.

According to the information on the Liepin page, Tencent is hiring a financial product manager for cross-border payment. The job responsibilities include conducting overseas market research based on distributed ledger technology, digital assets, and designing fee-free capabilities, key custody and recovery based on account abstraction, as well as designing the circulation and exchange logic of fiat currency.The position also requires transforming regulatory rules such as identity verification, anti-money laundering, and transaction information transmission into product processes. The job requirements include over 5 years of experience in wallets, exchanges, payment, or e-wallet products, and familiarity with mainstream public chains, smart contracts, and multi-chain asset management.

On November 4th to 5th, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) Bangalore division conducted searches at three locations related to CoinDCX and Delta Exchange under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA 1999). The ED accused the two platforms of engaging in large-scale unauthorized cross-border financial transactions involving cryptocurrency derivatives and RWA token trading, with the scale of related cross-border transactions reaching hundreds of billions of rupees.

The U.S. Treasury and the Federal Reserve have withdrawn a previously proposed rule draft that aimed to lower the threshold for the "Travel Rule" regarding cross-border fund transfers from $3,000 to $250. After the withdrawal, the $3,000 threshold continues to apply, including for eligible cryptocurrency transfers under current FinCEN guidelines.The proposal was jointly issued by FinCEN and the Federal Reserve in 2020 and applies to fund transfers and remittances that originate or terminate outside the United States, while the domestic transaction threshold remains unchanged at $3,000. The proposal also clarifies that the relevant rules apply to convertible virtual currency transactions and digital assets with legal tender status, and requires financial institutions to collect, retain, and transmit specific transaction information as mandated.

On October 30, 2026, Zhu Hexin, Secretary of the Party Leadership Group and Director of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, presided over a Party Leadership Group meeting to convey and study General Secretary Xi Jinping's important speech at the Fifth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party and the spirit of the plenary session, and to research and deploy the implementation work. Members of the Party Leadership Group of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange attended the meeting.The meeting required resolute implementation of the major decisions and deployments of the Party Central Committee. It emphasized the serious implementation of the "14th Five-Year Plan" requirements, improving a more convenient, open, secure, and intelligent foreign exchange management system and mechanism, promoting deep-level reforms and high-level openness in the foreign exchange field, effectively managing the "five major tasks" of finance, maintaining the stability of the foreign exchange market and the national economic and financial security, severely cracking down on illegal cross-border financial activities, strengthening the capacity building for foreign exchange reserve management, and effectively following the path of financial development with Chinese characteristics.

According to Be In Crypto, data from Chainalysis shows that by June 2026, the scale of South Africa's crypto economy will grow by 52% to $39.3 billion, with various tracking activities also increasing. Among them, commercial payments from South African merchants and P2P traders reached $8.34 billion, growing faster than institutional activities (which saw an inflow of $1.29 billion); the inflow of stablecoins through P2P channels in Sub-Saharan Africa reached $14.6 billion, on par with Bitcoin.On August 3, the South African Treasury and the Central Bank (SARB) released a draft for crypto asset management, proposing that individuals can only transfer crypto assets through authorized local service providers within existing offshore limits, while businesses are prohibited from cross-border transfers of crypto assets.As of March 31, the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) has issued licenses to 310 crypto asset service providers, but these institutions still need additional authorization from SARB. Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana stated that after receiving thousands of public comments, the Treasury will strive to release a revised second draft, with no timeline currently announced.

On October 27, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) Bangalore branch conducted searches at three locations in Bangalore and one location in Madhya Pradesh under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), investigating unauthorized cross-border cryptocurrency fund transfers involving amounts exceeding 50 billion rupees (approximately 525 million USD).The investigation involves platforms such as Mudrex, Saber.money, and Instadapp (associated with Fluid). The ED's preliminary investigation found that the entities in question are suspected of using offshore tax havens to set up shell companies, bypassing the cross-border remittance channels authorized by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) through stablecoins (especially USDT, USDC) and large-scale over-the-counter transactions.Among them, the relevant entities conducted cryptocurrency trading through offshore exchanges such as Binance, Bybit, and Huobi, and transferred funds abroad. The ED's preliminary investigation found that the amount allegedly violated by the entities related to Instadapp is approximately 40 million USD.

The Central Bank of Malaysia and the Bank of Thailand joined the Singapore-led BLOOM initiative on Friday as members of the policymakers. BLOOM stands for Borderless, Liquid, Open, Online, Multi-currency, and is a public-private partnership initiative aimed at helping financial institutions utilize stablecoins and tokenized deposits for cross-border payments. According to the Monetary Authority of Singapore, the initiative aims to reduce costs and help institutions bring services to market faster by decreasing the need for financial institutions to establish arrangements with each counterparty or market individually.The Monetary Authority of Singapore launched BLOOM in October 2025, building on Project Orchid, which was initiated in 2021 to explore the application of a digital Singapore dollar. BLOOM's work also covers corporate cash management, trade financing, and payments executed by AI agents within preset limits, with participants including Airwallex, Mastercard, Ripple, Visa, and the World Bank Group. Additionally, the Central Bank of Malaysia announced in February that three initiatives would test the ringgit stablecoin and tokenized deposits for domestic and cross-border wholesale payments in 2026.

According to Digital Asset, the Bank of Korea will require virtual asset transfer service providers to report monthly to the foreign exchange information system the end-of-month holdings of users who have conducted cross-border cryptocurrency asset transfers to overseas exchanges, personal wallets, etc., since July 19, 2024, starting from December 2. Even if there are no cross-border transactions in that month, reports must still be submitted.The report covers the number of coins held, the converted balance in Korean won, and the total amount of cross-border inflows and outflows for the month. Dormant accounts, delisted assets, and staked assets are also included in the scope and must be submitted by the 10th of the following month at 17:30. It has not yet been determined whether there will be a requirement to retrospectively submit records of cross-border transfer transactions conducted before the implementation of the reporting system.

According to CoinDesk, Shinhan Card, a subsidiary of South Korea's Shinhan Financial Group, is collaborating with a subsidiary of Japan's SBI Holdings to explore the payment applications of a yen stablecoin between the two countries. Participants include the cryptocurrency exchange SBI VC Trade and the trade finance blockchain company SBI XDC Network APAC.The collaboration will study scenarios such as card-linked merchant payments for Japanese tourists visiting South Korea, wallet-to-wallet transfers, and cross-border trade settlements, and will include suspicious transaction monitoring and anti-money laundering compliance systems. Shinhan Card serves approximately 20 million cardholders and stated that it will connect this project with Shinhan Financial's broader digital asset strategy, which includes an agreement reached in August with Visa to explore stablecoin issuance, transfers, and card settlements.Currently, the project is still in its early stages, and the parties have not disclosed the types of stablecoins to be tested, nor have they set a timeline for testing or commercial rollout. SBI has previously issued the yen stablecoin JPYSC, launched by SBI Shinsei Trust Bank and introduced in collaboration with Startale Group, which had a circulation of approximately 20.1 billion yen (about 127 million USD) as of September 7. JPYSC is currently only available for use in SBI VC Trade accounts and cannot be transferred to external wallets. Its circulation on the public chain depends on legal and tax clarity and regulatory approval, and the parties have not indicated whether JPYSC will be included in this test.

The cryptocurrency exchange platform Coinbase stated on X that stablecoins can complete cross-border transfers in seconds, but the funds still need to enter channels that the recipient can actually use.Coinbase mentioned that it is collaborating with the cross-border payment company Thunes to connect its stablecoin infrastructure to local bank accounts and mobile wallets worldwide.

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) released Working Paper No. 1385, comparing the cross-border payment costs of traditional banks, fintech remittance companies, and stablecoins. The paper points out that stablecoins can complete cross-border transfers through networks such as Ethereum, Solana, and Tron, reducing reliance on correspondent banks and SWIFT.The paper states that the exchange rates of stablecoins for major currencies can approach wholesale foreign exchange rates, and on-chain transfer fees are relatively low. However, the complete process involving fiat currency, stablecoins, and fiat currency still incurs transaction, withdrawal, and exchange fees. Stablecoins reconstruct the intermediary process but do not eliminate intermediaries. Insufficient market depth limits the cost advantages of large payments, and some advantages in emerging markets are related to capital controls and demand for US dollars.

A representative from the Solana Foundation stated that the U.S. "GENIUS Act" provides regulatory impetus for businesses and financial institutions to enter the stablecoin space, and is also one of the important background factors for Samsung's launch of stablecoin payment services.Samsung has announced that it will support USDC cross-border transfers in Samsung Wallet, initially targeting eligible Galaxy users in the U.S., covering approximately 82 million devices. Users can transfer dollar stablecoins to compatible crypto wallets within seconds, without incurring transfer fees; they can also remit to eligible bank accounts in over 60 countries and regions. This service will utilize the Solana and Sui networks as the underlying infrastructure, with licensed stablecoin custodian Bastion providing transfer services, and Coinbase Prime acting as the secondary custodian responsible for ensuring the security of USDC assets.

According to the official announcement from Mitsubishi UFJ Trust Bank, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust Bank, in collaboration with Mitsubishi UFJ Bank, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, Mizuho Bank, and TISI, completed an empirical experiment on the joint issuance of yen stablecoins and optimization of cross-border payments from July 17 to 23, 2026.This experiment was supported by the Financial Services Agency's "Fintech Empirical Experiment Hub - Payment Enhancement Project," verifying the feasibility of a multi-bank joint issuance stablecoin model and exploring the application potential of blockchain technology in international remittances and inter-company payments. The results of the experiment showed that the issuance and circulation of stablecoins are operationally feasible, providing important references for the future social implementation of digital payment services and blockchain financial assets.

Stripe announced a collaboration with Plasma to develop a multi-currency stablecoin card, aimed at allowing individuals and businesses to spend the currencies they already hold in their accounts, reducing unnecessary currency conversion and foreign exchange costs. Plasma will serve as the design partner, integrating with Stripe's stablecoin card infrastructure, enabling customer account balances to be used for payments through the multi-currency card.The expanded infrastructure will support US dollars, Brazilian reais, euros, Mexican pesos, and Colombian pesos; stablecoins include USDC, OUSD, and qualified stablecoins that meet the requirements of the GENIUS Act. The Stripe stablecoin card service currently covers over 30 countries, with plans to expand to over 100 countries by 2027.For example, users holding euros will be able to spend directly in euros in the future, without needing to convert to US dollars first; businesses can issue currency cards that match their spending needs. Stripe also plans to support cardholders in spending from multiple account balances and automatically selecting the appropriate currency at the time of purchase.

According to a recent report by AlphaWire, Edwin Cheung, Executive Director of Gate, stated in an interview during TOKEN2049 Singapore that the payment business will become an important growth direction for Gate, serving individuals and corporate users with daily fund transfer needs.On October 7, Gate officially launched Gate Money, allowing users to open a global electronic bank account in their own name through the Gate App, and as services gradually open, it will accept payments in over 60 local currencies, connecting digital assets with everyday financial scenarios. Edwin Cheung pointed out that stablecoins can reduce the number of intermediary banks in cross-border transfers and enhance the transparency of fund flows. In the future, it will coexist long-term with traditional bank transfers, instant payments, and QR code payments, and will play a greater role in cross-currency payments as services develop in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. Gate Money integrates functions of fiat currency, digital assets, stocks, ETFs, and gold, providing integrated financial services.Regarding institutional business and security, he mentioned that institutional investors remain highly concerned about liquidity and counterparty risk. Gate offers an OES over-the-counter settlement solution, allowing institutional clients' assets to be retained in third-party custodians while still utilizing Gate's liquidity and trading services, and enhancing transparency with reserve proof. He emphasized that user trust is crucial, and Gate's compliance qualifications, risk control system, and cooperation with various market regulatory agencies are key to the sustainable development of the business.

According to The Block, brokerage service provider DriveWealth has partnered with Ripple to integrate its stablecoin settlement, cross-border payment, and digital asset custody services into its brokerage platform.The two parties will initially launch settlement operations in Europe and plan to expand the service scope to the United States. This integration will utilize the Ripple RLUSD stablecoin on the XRP Ledger, allowing DriveWealth customers to use a stablecoin that can be converted to fiat currency almost in real-time for collateral account funding and management. Additionally, both parties are exploring opportunities for equity financing through Ripple Prime.

According to the official blog of Avalanche, the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) court has announced the adoption of Avalanche blockchain technology to provide globally verifiable digital authenticity certificates for its court orders and hearing records.The system binds encrypted hashes of documents to unique NFT certificates on the Avalanche C-Chain, allowing any institution to verify document authenticity within seconds without contacting the court, while the document content and confidential information are not stored on-chain, maintaining complete privacy.Avalanche's settlement speed is less than one second, and records are non-reversible. In addition, the Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority (TDRA) of the UAE is also collaborating with Ava Labs to integrate Avalanche technology into the Digital Vault blockchain layer of the national digital identity platform UAE PASS, which serves over 12.5 million users, further promoting the construction of a credible verification system for government documents on-chain in the UAE.

According to The Block, KB Kookmin Card has signed a memorandum of understanding with Japan's SBI Holdings to test AI agent-based identity verification and explore cross-border cryptocurrency payments.The two parties will study ways for Japanese tourists to pay Korean merchants using cryptocurrency assets, including stablecoins. KB Kookmin Card is a credit card company under KB Financial Group, and SBI Holdings is a Japanese financial holding group.