Today in crypto: The tokenized US Treasury market has surged by over $1 billion since the beginning of 2026, bucking headwinds, while the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) selected Monee, ReStabilise, Revolut and VVTX to test stablecoin issuance and payments in its regulatory sandbox beginning in the first quarter of 2026, and Payoneer has filed for a bank charter in the US.
Tokenized US Treasurys rise by over $1B since start of 2026
The tokenized US Treasury market has surged by over $1 billion since the beginning of 2026, despite macroeconomic uncertainty and concerns over the US government’s growing national debt.
Tokenized US Treasurys are government debt instruments that are a form of real-world assets (RWAs) represented onchain by a token.
The market capitalization of tokenized Treasurys climbed to more than $10.8 billion at the time of writing from $8.9 billion on Jan. 1, according to data from RWA.xyz.
Tokenized US Treasurys continued to surge despite a broadcrypto market downturnthat began in October 2025,rising US government debt levels and investoruncertainty about the macroeconomic outlook in 2026.
Revolut among four companies chosen to test stablecoins in UK
The UK FCA selected four companies to join a dedicated stablecoin cohort within its long‑running Regulatory Sandbox.
In a Wednesday press release, the FCA said it chose Monee Financial Technologies, ReStabilise, Revolut and VVTX from a pool of 20 applicants to test how their stablecoin services perform under the UK’s proposed rules in a “safe environment.”
The UK regulator said that its testing would focus primarily on stablecoin issuance and that the four companies would pilot a range of use cases, including payments, wholesale settlement and crypto trading, with findings intended to inform the UK’s final stablecoin rules.
Matthew Long, director of payments and digital assets at the FCA, said that the regulator would support UK stablecoin issuers to ensure that they could “be trusted for payments, settlement and trading.”
He said that the FCA’s involvement would “benefit consumers and financial transactions,” and that it would help to “deliver the FCA’s strategy and the Government’s National Payments Vision.”
Payoneer joins rush of bids for US bank charters
Financial services firm Payoneer is the latest in a long line of companies to file for a national trust banking charter in the US on Tuesday, which could enable it to issue a stablecoin and provide various crypto services.
Payoneer said it filed with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to form PAYO Digital Bank, and that it would look to issue the stablecoin, PAYO-USD. The OCC’s approval would also allow Payoneer to manage PAYO-USD reserves, offer custodial services and enable customers to convert between the stablecoins into their local currency.
“We believe stablecoins will play a meaningful role in the future of global trade,” said Payoneer CEO John Caplan. The filing comes a week after the company partnered with stablecoin infrastructure firm Bridge to add stablecoin capabilities.
The crypto companies Coinbase, World Liberty Financial and Laser Digital have also filed for a charter as the OCC has signalled its open to fintechs entering the federal banking sector. Crypto exchange Crypto.com received conditional approval for a charter on Monday.
