Move through the convergence.
Every dated event that tests the thesis, March 2024 to today, then the paper's own claims.
2024Foundations
1 event
BlackRock launches BUIDL, its first tokenized fund, on Ethereum with Securitize
BlackRock unveiled the USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL) on Ethereum with Securitize as transfer agent and tokenization platform.
1 event
BIS and seven central banks launch Project Agora on tokenised cross-border payments
The BIS Innovation Hub and seven central banks launched Project Agora to test tokenised commercial bank deposits integrated with tokenised wholesale central bank money on a unified ledger.
1 event
PayPal USD (PYUSD) goes live on Solana
PayPal made its PYUSD stablecoin available on Solana for faster, cheaper transactions.
3 events
Project mBridge reaches MVP; Saudi Central Bank joins as a full participant
The BIS Innovation Hub said the multi-CBDC platform mBridge had reached minimum-viable-product stage and confirmed the Saudi Central Bank as a full participant.
MAS publishes the Global Layer 1 (GL1) whitepaper
MAS set out GL1, a shared regulated DLT ledger for financial institutions to issue and settle tokenised assets across jurisdictions.
MiCA stablecoin rules for asset-referenced and e-money tokens start applying
MiCA Titles III and IV, covering issuers of ARTs and EMTs, became applicable across the EU.
2 events
StraitsX secures MAS Major Payment Institution licences and launches XUSD
MAS issued MPI licences to StraitsX's SGD and USD issuance entities; StraitsX launched XUSD alongside XSGD.
HKMA names the first stablecoin issuer sandbox participants
The HKMA announced JINGDONG Coinlink, RD InnoTech, and Standard Chartered/Animoca/HKT as stablecoin issuer sandbox participants.
1 event
no events
3 events
Stripe agrees to acquire stablecoin platform Bridge for about $1.1 billion
Stripe agreed to buy stablecoin infrastructure startup Bridge, confirmed by CEO Patrick Collison.
BIS says it has 'graduated out' of Project mBridge
BIS General Manager Agustin Carstens announced the BIS was leaving mBridge to its central-bank partners.
2 events
MAS publishes Guardian Fixed Income and Guardian Funds frameworks
Under Project Guardian, MAS announced plans to commercialise asset tokenisation and published industry frameworks for tokenised fixed income and funds.
StraitsX, Grab and Ant International settle Alipay+ payments in XSGD
Alipay+ wallet users can pay at Grab merchants in Singapore with backend clearing and settlement in StraitsX's XSGD stablecoin on Avalanche.
2 events
MiCA reaches full application, including the CASP regime
The remaining MiCA provisions, including crypto-asset service provider authorisation, took effect across the EU.
2025The rulebooks land
1 event
1 event
Franklin Templeton's OnChain U.S. Government Money Fund expands to Solana
Franklin Templeton made its tokenized money fund FOBXX (~$594M) available on Solana.
2 events
SBI VC Trade becomes Japan's first registered USDC intermediary
SBI VC Trade completed registration as an Electronic Payment Instruments Exchange Service Provider, the first in Japan permitted to handle USDC.
BlackRock's BUIDL tops $1 billion in assets
BUIDL crossed $1 billion AUM, pushed over the line by a $200 million allocation from Ethena.
1 event
HM Treasury publishes the draft statutory instrument for UK cryptoasset regulation
The draft Cryptoassets Order 2025 created new regulated activities including issuing qualifying stablecoins and cryptoasset custody.
3 events
Hong Kong Legislative Council passes the Stablecoins Bill
The bill established a licensing regime for fiat-referenced stablecoin issuers in Hong Kong.
Brazil raises IOF on outbound remittances to 3.5% by decree
Decree 12.466 lifted IOF on remittances abroad to 3.5% (from 1.10% and 0.38%), the repatriation friction the paper's Layer Three case is built on.
FCA consults on stablecoin issuance and cryptoasset custody rules (CP25/14)
The FCA proposed rules for issuing qualifying stablecoins and safeguarding qualifying cryptoassets.
5 events
Circle debuts on the NYSE as CRCL after an upsized $31 IPO
Circle priced 34 million Class A shares at $31 on June 4 with NYSE trading beginning June 5, 2025.
Societe Generale-FORGE announces USD CoinVertible on Ethereum and Solana
SG-FORGE announced a MiCA-compliant USD stablecoin (USDCV) with BNY as reserve custodian.
J.P. Morgan pilots JPMD, a USD deposit token, on Base
Kinexys by J.P. Morgan launched a proof of concept issuing JPMD, a permissioned USD deposit token for institutional payments on Base.
Robinhood launches tokenized U.S. stock and ETF tokens for EU customers
Robinhood launched US stock and ETF tokens for eligible EU customers and announced plans for its own layer-2 chain.
Kraken begins rolling out xStocks tokenized U.S. equities issued by Backed
Kraken started a phased rollout of tokenized US stocks and ETFs (xStocks) to eligible non-US clients.
4 events
ECB adopts the dual-track Pontes and Appia plan for DLT settlement in central bank money
The ECB announced Pontes (a short-term bridge from DLT platforms to TARGET, pilot by end-Q3 2026) and Appia (a long-term integrated ecosystem), alongside the results of its 2024 trials (64 participants, ~EUR 1.6bn settled).
GENIUS Act signed into law, creating a federal payment-stablecoin framework
President Trump signed S.1582, the GENIUS Act, the first US federal regulatory framework for payment stablecoins.
SEC Chairman Atkins launches Project Crypto
The SEC announced a Commission-wide initiative to modernize securities rules for crypto and on-chain markets.
Visa adds PYUSD, USDG and EURC plus Stellar and Avalanche to stablecoin settlement
Visa expanded its stablecoin settlement stack to four stablecoins across Ethereum, Solana, Stellar and Avalanche.
3 events
Hong Kong's Stablecoins Ordinance and issuer licensing regime come into effect
The HKMA confirmed the stablecoin issuer regulatory regime under the Stablecoins Ordinance took effect on 1 August 2025 with final guidelines issued.
JPYC registered as a funds transfer service provider, clearing Japan's yen stablecoin
The FSA register lists JPYC Inc. as registered by the Kanto Local Finance Bureau (No. 00099), the basis for its redeemable yen stablecoin.
9 events
Ondo Global Markets goes live with 100+ tokenized U.S. stocks and ETFs
Ondo launched its tokenized-equities platform on Ethereum for non-US investors.
Stripe and Paradigm unveil Tempo, a payments-focused layer-1 blockchain
Tempo, an EVM-compatible chain built for stablecoin payments, launched on private testnet.
Nasdaq files an SEC rule change to trade tokenized securities on its order book
Nasdaq filed SR-NASDAQ-2025-072 to enable trading of equities and ETPs in tokenized form alongside traditional shares.
Tether unveils USAT, a planned U.S.-regulated stablecoin issued by Anchorage Digital Bank
Tether announced plans for a US-regulated dollar stablecoin, USAT, with Anchorage Digital Bank as issuer.
Partior brings 24/7 PvP FX settlement to Finteum's intraday FX swap marketplace
Partior, with Adhara, enabled round-the-clock payment-versus-payment FX settlement for Finteum's intraday FX swaps.
Fnality raises $136 million Series C for its central-bank-money settlement network
Fnality's Series C, led by WisdomTree, Bank of America, Citi, KBC, Temasek and Tradeweb, funds expansion to other major currencies.
1 event
3 events
Bank of England consults on its regime for systemic sterling stablecoins
The BoE proposed up to 60% of backing assets in short-term gilts, the rest in unremunerated BoE accounts, and temporary GBP 20,000 holding limits.
J.P. Morgan makes its USD deposit token on Base available to institutional clients
Following the JPMD proof of concept, J.P. Morgan's USD deposit token (JPM Coin) became available to institutional clients on the public Base chain.
StraitsX details production XSGD rails with Grab and Alipay+ (The Asian Banker)
StraitsX described its live Grab and Alipay+ consumer-payment flow settling in XSGD, alongside XUSD and XIDR issuance: local-currency stablecoins replacing the USD round-trip in Singapore.
4 events
DTC receives an SEC no-action letter authorizing a tokenization service
DTCC announced the SEC Division of Trading and Markets no-action letter allowing DTC to tokenize Russell 1000 stocks, index ETFs and US Treasuries on pre-approved blockchains, with rollout planned for 2H 2026.
SEC no-action relief lets DTCC tokenize Russell 1000 stocks, ETFs and Treasuries
The SEC's no-action letter let DTC tokenize securities it already holds, giving Wall Street's depository cover to put institutional assets on-chain.
UK government lays the final cryptoasset regulation legislation in Parliament
HM Treasury laid the final cryptoassets statutory instrument, bringing stablecoin issuance, custody and trading platforms into the FSMA perimeter.
Nuvei receives an EU-wide MiCAR crypto-asset service provider licence
Nuvei announced a passportable CASP licence under MiCA alongside a payment institution licence covering e-money tokens.
2026Convergence
4 events
Tether launches USAT, its federally regulated U.S. dollar stablecoin
Tether officially launched USAT, issued by Anchorage Digital Bank under US federal regulation.
2 events
UK Cryptoassets Regulations 2026 are made by Parliament
The FSMA 2000 (Cryptoassets) Regulations 2026 were made, establishing the legal basis for the FCA's cryptoasset authorisation regime.
4 events
Eurosystem unveils the Appia roadmap for Europe's tokenised finance
The Eurosystem published the Appia roadmap for a European tokenised financial ecosystem with central bank money at its centre, expected to conclude with a blueprint in 2028.
Mastercard agrees to acquire stablecoin infrastructure firm BVNK for up to $1.8 billion
Mastercard announced a definitive agreement to acquire BVNK for up to $1.8 billion including $300 million contingent, the deal the paper calls 'today's' news.
Paper: The Capital Markets Convergence (Why Stablecoin Payments Are Only Layer One)
Flagship paper arguing stablecoin settlement is only Layer One of a three-layer architecture (settlement, on-chain FX, tokenized local securities); dated by its own 'today's Mastercard/BVNK acquisition' line and 'Last updated: March 2026'.
1 event
HKMA grants the first stablecoin issuer licences to Anchorpoint Financial and HSBC
The Monetary Authority granted stablecoin issuer licences under the Stablecoins Ordinance to Anchorpoint Financial Limited and HSBC.
1 event
Project Agora publishes results and advances to real-value testing
The BIS and partner central banks reported that tokenising central bank reserves and commercial bank deposits can fix wholesale cross-border payment inefficiencies, and moved to real-value testing.
1 event
FCA publishes final rules and guidance for the UK cryptoasset regime
The FCA's final rules apply to firms authorised under FSMA on or after the regime's expected 25 October 2027 commencement.
3 events
Ondo Finance launches custodial tokenized U.S. securities inside the United States
Ondo announced the first live third-party custodial tokenized US securities available to US investors, with Broadridge integrating governance and voting.
UK-US Transatlantic Taskforce for Markets of the Future issues its recommendations
HM Treasury published the taskforce's recommendations to accelerate tokenisation and deepen UK-US capital-markets links, with a joint statement supporting a cross-border stablecoin market.
BJ Research noteUS and UK move to align rules for tokenized securities, stablecoins and on-chain FXRead →Emirates NBD goes live with real-time blockchain-based cross-border USD payments on Partior
Emirates NBD became the first bank in the region to enable real-time USD payments for corporate and institutional clients on the Partior network, initially to beneficiaries at J.P. Morgan.
BJ Research noteMarex takes USDC as margin, Emirates NBD settles USD on Partior, Visa launches issuance platformRead →
3 events
Mastercard completes its acquisition of BVNK
BVNK's newsroom records the 3 August 2026 announcement that Mastercard completed the acquisition to advance global stablecoin capabilities.
ECB Governing Council approves the binding legal framework for the Pontes launch
The Governing Council approved the agreement governing Pontes' initial launch (published 2 October 2026 after the Market Infrastructure Board confirmed the 21 September launch date).
6 events
FCA sets out how the mandatory cryptoasset authorisation regime applies
The FCA published perimeter guidance (PS26/18) on the new regime covering stablecoin issuance, trading platforms, custody, dealing and staking; applications open 30 Sept 2026 and the regime commences 25 Oct 2027.
SEC issues a five-year innovation exemption for tokenized securities venues
The SEC granted temporary, conditional exemptive relief letting Tokenized Securities Venues trade tokenized NMS stock with permissioned AMMs, plus a dealer-definition exemption for AMM liquidity providers, expiring five years after publication.
BJ Research noteSEC innovation exemption creates Tokenized Securities Venues for 24/7 on-chain US equitiesRead →ECB to invest part of its own funds in tokenised securities settled via Pontes
The ECB began preparatory work to invest a small portion of its own-funds portfolio in euro tokenised public-sector securities, with purchases settled in central bank money via Pontes.
Eurosystem launches Pontes, settling tokenised-asset transactions in central bank money
Pontes went live connecting market DLT platforms (Axiology, Cashlink, Clearstream, SWIAT) to TARGET Services with 13 market participants plus the Bundesbank; the note reads the 24/7/365-by-2028 roadmap as an expiry date on the euro stablecoin availability edge.
NYSE and Blockchain.com sign an MoU to explore tokenized US equities and ETFs
NYSE and Blockchain.com agreed to explore offering tokenized US stocks and ETFs through NYSE's planned digital ATS, with ICE Data Services distributing crypto market data.
FCA opens the authorisation gateway for cryptoasset firms
Cryptoasset firms can now apply for authorisation or to vary existing permissions ahead of the regime's expected 25 October 2027 commencement.
4 events
StraitsX partners with Visa on stablecoin-backed card programmes in 100+ markets
StraitsX announced a partnership with Visa to extend stablecoin-backed card programmes to more than 100 markets.
Visa Direct moves USDC prefunding into commercial production with Inyo Global
Visa Direct took its USDC stablecoin prefunding for cross-border payouts from pilot into commercial production, with Inyo Global as the first processor.
BJ Research noteVisa Direct takes USDC prefunding out of pilot into commercial deployment across 180+ countriesRead →PrimeRevenue tokenizes Electronic Time Drafts on Solana
PrimeRevenue announced it is tokenizing its patented Electronic Time Draft trade-finance instrument on Solana to connect funding partners to on-chain capital markets.
BJ Research notePrimeRevenue puts trade-finance Electronic Time Drafts on SolanaRead →DTCC Tokenization Service goes live with 20 DTC participants signed up
DTC launched the DTCC Tokenization Service (DTS), integrated with the Canton Network and DTCC's private Besu network, with additional blockchains planned for 2027.
BJ Research noteDTCC Tokenization Service launches: 34 securities, 20 institutions, Canton plus private BesuRead →
no events
Today
The record stops here. Below the rule, the paper's own claims, drawn dashed.
AheadWhat the paper claims
1 claim
Paper claim: Layer One is built. Processors and card networks embed stablecoin settlement
The paper states Layer One (stablecoin settlement) is built and that major processors and card networks are embedding blockchain inside the core payment stack; later evidence: Visa Direct USDC commercial launch (2026-10-16), Mastercard closing BVNK (2026-08-03).
In the paperThe Capital Markets Convergence, section 02Read →
2 claims
Paper claim: Layer Two is emerging. On-chain FX liquidity and real-time treasury conversion
The paper gives no date; it describes on-chain FX as emerging with liquidity growing and treasury teams exploring real-time conversion, implying near-term (late 2026 onward). Later evidence: Partior 24/7 PvP FX, Agora real-value testing, StraitsX multi-currency rails.
In the paperThe Capital Markets Convergence, section 04Read →Paper claim: Layer Three is nascent but accelerating. Tokenized local securities
The paper gives no date; it predicts tokenized securities accelerate until a multinational can hold tokenized Brazilian Tesouro Direto bonds, hedge on-chain and avoid IOF. Later evidence: SEC innovation exemption, NYSE MoU, DTCC Tokenization Service live, Ondo in the US.
In the paperThe Capital Markets Convergence, section 05Read →
2 claims
Pontes: immediate settlement finality on the Eurosystem DLT platform 'as early as next year'
Cipollone's 29 October 2026 keynote (published by the BIS on 2 November) said the Eurosystem plans to offer immediate settlement finality on its DLT platform as early as 2027.
BJ Research noteRead the noteRead →DTCC to integrate additional blockchain networks into the Tokenization Service in 2027
DTCC's launch release says additional blockchain networks beyond Canton and its private Besu chain are planned for 2027.
BJ Research noteRead the noteRead →
1 claim
Pontes operating hours to be extended significantly by mid-2027
The Eurosystem plans to extend Pontes operating hours significantly by mid-2027 as a step toward round-the-clock availability.
BJ Research noteRead the noteRead →
1 claim
UK cryptoasset regime expected to commence; unauthorised firms squeezed off UK rails
The FCA page states the new cryptoasset regime is expected to come into force on 25 October 2027; the note's thesis is that the application window before it is the sorting device.
BJ Research noteRead the noteRead →
2 claims
Pontes to reach 24/7/365 availability in 2028, ending the euro stablecoin hours advantage
The Appia roadmap and the ECB's November 2026 remarks place the blueprint for an integrated European tokenised financial ecosystem in 2028.
BJ Research noteRead the noteRead →Appia blueprint for an integrated European tokenised financial ecosystem due in 2028
The Appia roadmap and the ECB's November 2026 remarks place the blueprint for an integrated European tokenised financial ecosystem in 2028.
BJ Research noteRead the noteRead →
1 claim
Paper cites McKinsey: $2-4 trillion of tokenized assets by 2030
The paper's acceleration timeline ends with McKinsey's 2030 estimate of $2-4T in tokenized assets (source: McKinsey, 'What Is Tokenization?', 2024).
In the paperThe Capital Markets Convergence, section 05Read →
1 claim
Paper cites BCG/Ripple: $18.9 trillion of tokenized assets by 2033
The paper's acceleration timeline cites BCG/Ripple's 'Approaching the Tokenization Tipping Point' (2025) estimate of $18.9T by 2033.
In the paperThe Capital Markets Convergence, section 05Read →
That is the record so far. The wire carries what happened today; the numbers show the layers filling in.
Move through the convergence.
Every dated event that tests the thesis, March 2024 to today, then the paper's own claims.
- 01 Layer One
- 0
- 02 Layer Two
- 0
- 03 Layer Three
- 0
- R Regulation
- 0