SKN | Crypto Daily: Australia Proposes New Rules, Stablecoin Forecast Slips, Kraken Parent Expands Banking

Key Points

• Australia’s securities regulator proposed new capital, custody and trading requirements for crypto platforms ahead of a planned 2027 regulatory rollout.
• Standard Chartered delayed its forecast for the stablecoin market to reach $2 trillion from 2028 to 2030, citing slower supply growth despite increased transaction activity.
• Payward, Kraken’s parent company, agreed to acquire Lithuania-based Saldo Bank as it expands into traditional banking services across European markets.

Australia Proposes New Crypto Platform Requirements

Australia’s securities regulator has opened a consultation on proposed capital, custody and trading requirements for cryptocurrency platforms as the country prepares to implement a broader digital asset regulatory framework.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) announced the consultation on Thursday, seeking feedback on standards designed to clarify licensing obligations and strengthen safeguards for customer assets. The proposals follow Parliament’s passage of the Corporations Amendment (Digital Assets Framework) Act earlier in 2026.

The proposed measures include three alternative capital models, restrictions on platforms trading for their own accounts and quarterly reporting requirements for wallets holding customer assets. ASIC is also considering allowing offshore custody arrangements while seeking feedback on protections if a foreign parent company or related entity fails.

ASIC Commissioner Alan Kirkland said the proposed guidance recognizes the growing role of digital assets and tokenization, including within traditional financial markets.

The consultation aims to provide crypto businesses with greater clarity on licensing, financial requirements and customer asset protection under the emerging framework. The proposals remain subject to consultation, and the regulator has not yet finalized the guidance.

Standard Chartered Pushes $2 Trillion Stablecoin Forecast to 2030

Standard Chartered has postponed its forecast for the global stablecoin market to reach $2 trillion, shifting its expected timeline from 2028 to 2030.

The bank cited slower growth in stablecoin supply, even as transaction activity continues to increase. Stablecoin market capitalization has remained near $309 billion this year, suggesting that greater usage has not translated into a comparable expansion in the amount of tokens in circulation.

Geoffrey Kendrick, Standard Chartered’s head of digital assets research, said existing stablecoins are being used more frequently despite the relatively flat supply.

The bank identified several distinct areas of stablecoin demand. Tether’s USDT plays a major role in savings across emerging economies, while Circle’s USDC is prominent in payments in developed markets. USDC and Ethena’s USDe are also used in cryptocurrency trading, while USDC leads the smaller market for transactions between artificial intelligence agents.

Competition could intensify in developed-market payments as new issuers and banking networks challenge established providers. Kendrick also highlighted the distribution of interest earned on stablecoin reserves as a potential factor influencing market share.

Proposed US accounting changes could provide another growth driver if qualifying stablecoins are treated as cash equivalents on corporate balance sheets. Such a change could encourage businesses to use stablecoins more extensively for payments and settlement, although the ultimate impact will depend on the final accounting treatment and adoption.

Kraken Parent Payward Expands Into European Banking

Payward, the parent company of cryptocurrency exchange Kraken, has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Saldo Finance Oy, a Finnish holding company whose subsidiary, Saldo Bank UAB, is a digital bank licensed in Lithuania.

The acquisition represents another step in Payward’s strategy to expand beyond cryptocurrency trading into traditional financial services.

According to the company’s announcement, Saldo Bank’s European Union banking license and existing operations would support expansion across Lithuania, Finland, Sweden and Germany. The bank also holds authorization that allows it to operate in the Netherlands under the EU’s passporting framework.

The transaction is expected to close in 2027, subject to customary regulatory approvals.

Following completion, Payward Banking intends to use the bank’s capabilities to offer services including interest-bearing deposits, lending products and banking-as-a-service. The latter could include card issuance, cross-border authorization through passporting and lending capabilities for small and medium-sized enterprises.

Payward described the acquisition as part of a broader infrastructure strategy developed over several years. The deal would give the company a more direct route into regulated banking services and potentially allow it to connect cryptocurrency-related products with conventional financial accounts and lending.

Outlook

The three developments highlight different aspects of the digital asset industry’s evolution: tighter regulatory oversight, changing expectations for stablecoin growth and deeper integration between cryptocurrency businesses and traditional banking.

Australia’s consultation could shape the compliance requirements facing digital asset platforms, while Standard Chartered’s revised forecast suggests that stablecoin adoption may depend increasingly on transaction demand and distribution rather than supply growth alone.

For Payward, the proposed Saldo Bank acquisition offers a route into European banking, although the transaction remains subject to regulatory approval and is not expected to close until 2027. Together, the developments underscore how regulation, payment infrastructure and access to traditional financial services continue to shape the crypto sector’s next phase.