DLT Weekly Review: August 16, 2025

Published on DLTRevolution.io

This week’s highlights include surging institutional interest in stablecoins, breakthroughs in DLT for collateral management, evolving norms in accounting treatment, and real-world adoption gaining fresh momentum.

Corporate America Eyes Stablecoins Post-GENIUS

Following the enactment of the GENIUS Act — the first federal stablecoin regulation — major players like Bank of America, Citigroup, Walmart, and Amazon are exploring dollar-backed crypto tokens (1), (2). However, experts caution: firms must define use cases, manage compliance (KYC, AML), evaluate capital implications, and choose between public vs. permissioned blockchains Reuters.

Why it matters: Regulatory clarity is sparking strategy shifts in traditional finance, but execution will determine which tokens gain traction.

DLT Handles Collateral Seamlessly

Eurex Clearing, in partnership with HQLAx, launched the first DLT-based collateral mobilization service on July 29. J.P. Morgan executed real-time transfers of U.S. Treasuries from one custody location to another, bypassing traditional settlement friction Bloomberg.com.

Impact: This marks a tangible shift in post-trade operations, showcasing DLT’s capacity for real-time, efficient collateral flows without altering legal ownership.

Stablecoin Accounting Gets ‘Cash’ Relief

The SEC issued new guidance clarifying that certain stablecoins can be treated as cash for accounting purposes (1), (2). This helps simplify reporting for businesses holding or transacting with stablecoins.

Significance: Recognizing stablecoins as cash-equivalent boosts their business legitimacy and accounting clarity.

Global Momentum for Stablecoin Governance

In Asia, stablecoin discussions are heating up. Bloomberg reports that Asian regulatory hubs are accelerating efforts to shape local stablecoin programs in response to U.S. regulatory momentum (1), (2). Meanwhile, the HKMA’s New Licensing Regime, effective August 1, will issue limited stablecoin issuer licences — likely beginning early 2026 Reuters.

Why it matters: We’re entering a multi-jurisdiction race to define regulated coin issuance — which will impact cross-border payments and financial center competition.

Broader Real-World DLT Trends

A recent overview shows DLT-driven innovations across telecom, supply chains, healthcare, and IoT — signaling maturity beyond pure finance use cases arXiv.
An academic project proposes a DLT-based marketplace for 6G telecom resource trading, leveraging permissioned ledgers for secure, decentralized asset trading arXiv.

Implication: DLT’s relevance is expanding into infrastructure and digital services — widening its transformational potential.

What It Means for Business Leaders

Trend	Implication
Institutional Stablecoin Push	Firms are lining up behind compliant stablecoins — those with clear strategy and oversight will lead.
Collaboration in Clearing	DLT is disrupting legacy settlement systems — especially for high-value collateral.
Accounting Clarity	Treating stablecoins as cash removes a key barrier for institutional usage.
Regulatory Race	Asia is positioning as regulatory hubs for digital tokens — expect regional divergence in issuance frameworks.
Sector Expansion	From telecom to smart infrastructure, DLT is breaking out of financial confines.

Looking Forward

Monitor how banks proceed with stablecoin projects using existing compliance systems.
Track results from Eurex’s collateral service to assess DLT’s scalability.
Watch how Asia standardizes stablecoin licensing — a direction-setting effort for regional markets.

DLT is no longer niche tech—it’s emerging infrastructure. This week’s moves underscore its growing relevance across regulation, settlement, and innovation.

Further Reading: