The tracker · 11 jurisdictions covered
Jurisdictions
The state of play per market: regulator, posture, anchor programme, the latest tracked development, and the watch items for next quarter. Coverage prioritises Asia-Pacific; each row opens the full snapshot.
Region
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Asia-Pacific
7 jurisdictionsAustralia
Fit existing financial services law first, legislate where genuinely required; the wholesale CBDC plus tokenised assets pilot is the lead signal, retail crypto and stablecoin frameworks remain works in progress.
ASICProject AcaciaUpdated 2026-05-03
Hong Kong
Broad stablecoin perimeter, regulator-bisected stack, explicit appetite to host cross-border tokenisation infrastructure.
HKMAProject EnsembleLatest 29 May 2026
India
RBI prefers CBDC over private rupee stablecoins; Digital Rupee wholesale and retail pilots running at meaningful scale; SEBI moving cautiously on tokenised securities.
Reserve Bank of IndiaDigital Rupee (e-Rupee)Updated 2026-04-28
Japan
Legally tidy stablecoin and tokenisation regime, megabank-consortium operational tempo, three-route stablecoin issuance live.
FSA JapanProgmatLatest 21 Apr 2026
Singapore
Industry-pilot heavy, narrow stablecoin perimeter, deliberate cross-border infrastructure leadership.
MASProject GuardianLatest 21 May 2026
WATCHING · First SCS framework issuer licence (mid-2026 commencement, comparable to HKMA's 10 April 2026 stablecoin licence awards), GL1 Phase 2 governance vehicle formalisation, and the tokenised MAS bills trial moving from announcement to first issuance.
South Korea
User-protection-first regime under VAUPA in force since July 2024, with the Digital Asset Basic Act for institutional access and stablecoin issuance delayed to 2026 amid the FSC-BoK deadlock on stablecoin issuer eligibility.
FSCDigital Asset Basic Act (Phase 2)Latest 29 May 2026
Thailand
Wholesale-forward, retail-cautious: one of APAC's longest wholesale CBDC research programmes paired with a progressively tightened retail virtual-asset perimeter.
Bank of ThailandmBridge participation post-BIS graduation, anchored on the Inthanon-LionRock lineage with HKMAUpdated 2026-04-28
| Jurisdiction | Lead regulator | Posture and watch items | Anchor project | Latest development |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | ASIC | Fit existing financial services law first, legislate where genuinely required; the wholesale CBDC plus tokenised assets pilot is the lead signal, retail crypto and stablecoin frameworks remain works in progress. | Project Acacia | Updated 2026-05-03 |
| Hong Kong | HKMA | Broad stablecoin perimeter, regulator-bisected stack, explicit appetite to host cross-border tokenisation infrastructure. | Project Ensemble | 29 May 2026The SFC issued guidance for securities issuers preparing for the coming uncertificated securities market regime, building the d... |
| India | Reserve Bank of India | RBI prefers CBDC over private rupee stablecoins; Digital Rupee wholesale and retail pilots running at meaningful scale; SEBI moving cautiously on tokenised securities. | Digital Rupee (e-Rupee) | Updated 2026-04-28 |
| Japan | FSA Japan | Legally tidy stablecoin and tokenisation regime, megabank-consortium operational tempo, three-route stablecoin issuance live. | Progmat | 21 Apr 2026Minister Katayama meets BIS General Manager Hernández de Cos in Tokyo. |
| Singapore | MAS | Industry-pilot heavy, narrow stablecoin perimeter, deliberate cross-border infrastructure leadership.WATCHING · First SCS framework issuer licence (mid-2026 commencement, comparable to HKMA's 10 April 2026 stablecoin licence awards), GL1 Phase 2 governance vehicle formalisation, and the tokenised MAS bills trial moving from announcement to first issuance. | Project Guardian | 21 May 2026Franklin Templeton appointed Singapore-based DigiFT, an MAS-licensed Capital Markets Services holder and Recognised Market Oper... |
| South Korea | FSC | User-protection-first regime under VAUPA in force since July 2024, with the Digital Asset Basic Act for institutional access and stablecoin issuance delayed to 2026 amid the FSC-BoK deadlock on stablecoin issuer eligibility. | Digital Asset Basic Act (Phase 2) | 29 May 2026OKX Ventures and Korea Investment & Securities each took a 20% stake in Coinone, the first foreign-linked entrant in Korea's ex... |
| Thailand | Bank of Thailand | Wholesale-forward, retail-cautious: one of APAC's longest wholesale CBDC research programmes paired with a progressively tightened retail virtual-asset perimeter. | mBridge participation post-BIS graduation, anchored on the Inthanon-LionRock lineage with HKMA | Updated 2026-04-28 |
Europe and UK
2 jurisdictionsEuropean Union
Most legally complete stablecoin perimeter in production globally, with the wholesale settlement-asset story still being decided between Trigger Solution and Full DLT inside the Eurosystem.
ESMAMiCA, with the DLT Pilot Regime and the ECB Eurosystem trial framework as the two operational sidecarsLatest 2 Jun 2026
United Kingdom
Sandbox-led, deliberately divergent from MiCA, with synchronisation rather than wholesale CBDC as the BoE's stated path.
FCADigital Securities SandboxUpdated 2026-04-28
| Jurisdiction | Lead regulator | Posture and watch items | Anchor project | Latest development |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| European Union | ESMA | Most legally complete stablecoin perimeter in production globally, with the wholesale settlement-asset story still being decided between Trigger Solution and Full DLT inside the Eurosystem. | MiCA, with the DLT Pilot Regime and the ECB Eurosystem trial framework as the two operational sidecars | 2 Jun 2026The ECB opened its Appia contact group call, recruiting banks and market infrastructures to design Europe's tokenised DLT finan... |
| United Kingdom | FCA | Sandbox-led, deliberately divergent from MiCA, with synchronisation rather than wholesale CBDC as the BoE's stated path. | Digital Securities Sandbox | Updated 2026-04-28 |
Middle East
1 jurisdiction| Jurisdiction | Lead regulator | Posture and watch items | Anchor project | Latest development |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Arab Emirates | Multi-regulator (VARA, ADGM-FSRA, DFSA, SCA, CBUAE) | Multi-regulator stack across Dubai mainland, two free zones, and the federal centre, with deliberate venue choice for tokenisation issuers. | CBUAE Digital Dirham and AED-stablecoin perimeter, alongside ADGM and DIFC tokenised RWA traction | Updated 2026-04-28 |
Americas
1 jurisdiction| Jurisdiction | Lead regulator | Posture and watch items | Anchor project | Latest development |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | Multi-agency | Federal stablecoin perimeter set by GENIUS, market structure split between SEC and CFTC under CLARITY, tokenised deposits left to bank-led pilots, no retail CBDC. | GENIUS Act framework | 29 May 2026The SEC granted Paxos a temporary (18-month) registration as a DLT-based clearing agency, making it only the eighth CSD-equival... |