Global Stablecoin Legislative Race Escalates: US and Europe Build High Walls of Regulations, Emerging Markets Break Through by Taking Advantage

The legislative process for global stablecoins and central bank digital currencies has significantly accelerated, with divergent strategic paths among countries. The State Bank of Pakistan has reversed its previous restrictive policies, withdrew its warnings on cryptocurrencies, and instead partnered with Japanese technology institutions to advance the digital rupee pilot program, focusing on addressing rural financial inclusion issues and integrating crypto assets into national strategy—establishing a special committee, utilizing excess electricity for mining, and creating a Bitcoin reserve. Japan, on the other hand, aims to break through via traditional financial institutions, with Japan Post Bank planning to launch digital currency-supported securities token trading by 2026, responding to the global trend of $16 trillion in asset tokenization and strengthening regional influence through technology exports.

The authority of policy-making has become the focus of great power competition. The US and Europe dominate the rules: the US "GENIUS Act" mandates that stablecoins be pegged to US Treasury bonds to extend the US dollar's hegemony, while the EU's MiCA sets trading limits to protect the euro. Emerging powers are finding multi-path solutions: Hong Kong competes for license issuance with the world's first full-chain regulatory framework; South Korea and Thailand open stablecoin applications through sandbox experiments; Pakistan even leverages its digital currency strategy to gain tariff concessions from the US. Risks are also becoming prominent, such as the redemption crisis facing institutions like Tether and the erosion of emerging market currency sovereignty by US dollar stablecoins, which continue to test regulatory wisdom. #Gate重磅上线GUSD