December 12, 2025
Stablecoins move fast onchain.
But the infrastructure behind them? Still banks, KYC, FX liquidity, and pre-funded balances.
This week we're focused on what's actually underneath: the banking layers powering stablecoin payments, public finance going onchain, and new chains purpose-built for global payments.
Three stories. One theme: the future of finance is onchain.
This week we cover:
The Hidden Banking Layer Behind Stablecoin Payments by Max von Wallenberg, Stablecoin lead at Moonpay
New on Stabledash: Wyoming's state-issued stable token and Codex's Ethereum-native stablecoin chain
Plus: Lead Bank acquires Loop Crypto; Keel and Solana Foundation unveil a $500M Tokenization Regatta; Solana and Coinbase deepen their partnership; Tempo launches its public testnet and more
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Stories of the Week
Despite their speed, stablecoins are not replacing banks (at least yet).
They are routing through them. Nearly 90% of stablecoin volume is internal liquidity plumbing, not real-world payments.
Every "onchain" transfer still begins and ends in fiat systems governed by banks, KYC, FX liquidity, and pre-funded balances.
The real moat in stablecoin payments isn't smart contracts.
It's control of bare-metal fiat rails.
Teams that own direct bank connectivity can move faster, reduce breakage, compress fees, and resolve failures without cascading intermediaries.
Top News
Click the story to read more
New on Stabledash
Wyoming's Frontier Stable Token
Wyoming has become the first U.S. state to issue a dollar-pegged stable token as a sovereign issuer, launching the Frontier Stable Token (FRNT) in August 2025.
Fully backed by cash and short-term U.S. Treasuries, FRNT flips the stablecoin model: there is no private issuer, no shareholders, and no profit motive. Interest earned on reserves flows directly to Wyoming's school foundation fund, creating a new form of public seigniorage.
Stablecoin FX Is Here: How Codex Is Building Dollar-Free Rails for Global Payments
For the first time, non-USD currencies are swapping directly onchain, bypassing the dollar entirely. Codex is building the institutional rails to make it scalable.
Early flows like MYR to SGD stablecoin swaps signal a quiet but radical shift: FX moving onchain without USD intermediation, something governments and central banks have failed to achieve for decades.
Wrap Up
Drew is in Abu Dhabi this week at Solana Breakpoint, sitting down with teams building across stablecoin and onchain finance.
All conversations will be hosted on stabledash.com/events in the coming weeks.
Until next time,
Stay stable