Author: Mask
At the Gulf Financial Supervision and Asset Digitalization Exchange Conference held in Abu Dhabi, Tian Bangde, a financial strategy expert, raised a thought-provoking question to regulatory officials from various countries: "Is global finance ready to use a financial infrastructure protocol not set by the West?"
Behind this question is the third path that the UAE is exploring through a "dual-track parallel" monetary system - the coordinated development of central bank digital currency (CBDC) and stablecoins. In the skyscrapers of Central Hong Kong, the (Stablecoin Ordinance) passed by the Legislative Council indicates that the licensing system to be implemented on August 1 will open a new window for Asian digital finance.
Stablecoin is the "boat of transaction" in the crypto world - as a value scale and payment medium on the blockchain, its core mission is to solve the high volatility pain point of native cryptocurrencies. The current mainstream models include fiat-backed (such as USDT, USDC), over-collateralized (such as DAI), and algorithmic stablecoins have been marginalized due to excessive risk.
RWA (Real World Asset Tokenization) is the "anchor of value" in digital finance - transforming physical assets such as real estate, bonds, and commodities into programmable tokens through blockchain to activate the liquidity of traditional non-standard assets.
When we observe the deep changes in global financial infrastructure, the dialectical unity of stablecoins and real-world assets (RWA) is becoming the core engine of this change. According to the joint forecast of BCG and ADDX, the RWA market size will reach 16 trillion US dollars by 2030, accounting for 10% of global GDP, while the trading volume of stablecoins, which is the "blood" of the RWA ecosystem, has exceeded 28 trillion US dollars, surpassing the sum of Visa and Mastercard.
The dialectical unity of the two is reflected in three levels:
I. Functional Complementarity
Stablecoins and RWA are essentially two sides of the same coin - both are completing the "on-chain reconstruction" of traditional value through tokenization technology.
Stablecoins, as a "measure of value", map value anchors such as fiat currency and commodities into on-chain programmable tokens. Whether it is fiat currency-backed stablecoins such as USDT and USDC, or commodity-backed stablecoins such as PAXG, the core problem they solve is the price volatility pain point of cryptocurrencies, becoming a bridge connecting the crypto world and traditional finance.
Stablecoins provide on-chain settlement tools for RWA: for example, in cross-border trade, after accounts receivable are tokenized, they are paid in stablecoins, which reduces the settlement time from 7 days to minutes and reduces the cost by 70%.
RWA serves as an "asset carrier", disassembling non-standard assets such as real estate, bonds, and carbon credits into tradable digital certificates. When China Asset Management (Hong Kong) launches real estate TNFT (tokenized real estate certificate), investors can use Hong Kong dollar stablecoins to realize minute-level share transactions, avoiding the complicated procedures of traditional property rights transfer.
RWA expands the asset endorsement scenario for stablecoins: MakerDAO swaps 37% of its DAI collateral for RWA assets such as US Treasury bonds, enhancing stability and providing on-chain income.
The two jointly build a three-in-one value on-chain pipeline of "asset mapping-trust mechanism-liquidity engine":
1. Asset mapping: Establishing a digital twin of real value through tokens
2. Trust mechanism: Relying on off-chain asset endorsement + on-chain transparent verification (proof of reserves, oracle price feeding)
3. Liquidity engine: Transforming low-liquidity assets into on-chain tools that can be traded 24/7
II. Liquidity Cycle
The dialectical unity of stablecoins and RWAs is reflected in the dynamic relationship of interdependence and mutual transformation between the two, forming a self-consistent financial closed loop.
1. Stablecoin: "Infrastructure" for RWA Circulation
In the traditional financial system, physical assets such as real estate and commodities are difficult to circulate efficiently due to insufficient liquidity and high transaction costs. RWA transforms these assets into on-chain digital certificates through tokenization technology, while stablecoins become the natural transaction medium and unit of account for these certificates.
Cross-border trade scenarios particularly highlight this value. When Chinese companies export photovoltaic equipment to the Middle East, accounts receivable are tokenized and paid directly in stablecoins, which can greatly shorten the account period and reduce exchange rate risks. A Deutsche Bank research report shows that the cost of cross-border payments via blockchain is only about $0.00025, while the average rate of traditional models is as high as 6.35%.
2. RWA: The "value anchor" of stablecoins
Stablecoins have the potential to transcend the single role of "transaction intermediary", and RWA provides them with a diversified path of value support. Currently, stablecoins are mostly pegged to fiat currency or treasury bonds, but innovative models have begun to explore the RWA collateral mechanism.
Algorithmic stablecoin USDR innovatively incorporates real estate into its collateral portfolio: 40% of its reserves are allocated to UK rental-income properties, and the rental cash flow is converted into the endogenous income of stablecoin holders (approximately 5% annualized). JD.com's stablecoin testing scenarios cover cross-border payments, investment transactions and retail payments and other multi-dimensional applications.
The deep coupling of the two creates a unique liquidity cycle, becoming a flywheel to activate "sleeping capital":
> RWA→Stablecoin→DeFi Yield→More RWA On-Chain
When users mint stablecoins with gold bars as collateral and put these stablecoins into the liquidity pool of DeFi platforms to obtain additional income, a "triple value-added structure" is formed. Users holding tokenized bonds can also borrow stablecoins by mortgaging assets and obtain short-term funds without selling underlying assets. This model is rapidly penetrating DeFi platforms.
RWA's fractionalized investment (such as $50 subscription to photovoltaic panel shares) relies on stablecoins to realize small payments; while stablecoin's reserve assets (such as USDC holding $80 billion in US Treasury bonds) themselves constitute an important part of the RWA ecosystem.
III. Risk Hedging
Despite functional complementarity, the risk linkage between stablecoins and RWA is also close, forming a transmission chain of systemic fragility.
1. Market risks resonate at the same frequency. When the macroeconomic environment deteriorates, the impact on the value of RWA underlying assets will directly affect the credit basis of related stablecoins. In the early days of the global COVID-19 outbreak in 2020, some stablecoins with bonds as reserves experienced a surge in redemption pressure due to falling bond prices.
2. Credit risk cross-chain transmission. If the asset custodian in the RWA project has credit problems, such as FTX's bankruptcy leading to the termination of its tokenized stock business, not only will RWA investors suffer losses, but also related stablecoin transactions will be affected, triggering a liquidity crisis.
3. Regulatory arbitrage and compliance paradox. RWA tokenization blurs the boundaries of traditional asset classes. The US (GENIUS Act) clearly states that payment stablecoins do not belong to securities or commodities, but securities RWA are still subject to strict SEC regulation. Although Hong Kong's stablecoin licensing is uniformly regulated by the HKMA, RWA projects need to follow the regulations of different financial regulatory departments according to the nature of the assets.
Stablecoins pegged to a single fiat currency have vulnerabilities (such as the UST crash), and RWA enhances the ability to resist risks through diversified collateral (gold, commercial paper).
In this regard, Hong Kong's regulatory innovation provides a balanced approach: requiring stablecoin issuers to escrow 100% of their reserves in licensed institutions and disclose the composition of their assets monthly, seeking a balance between ensuring security and encouraging innovation. The Hong Kong (Stablecoin Ordinance) even mandates that RWA account for no less than 30% of the collateral.
Global Practice: "Triple Pattern" of Institutional Competition
In the global practice of stablecoin and RWA integration, three differentiated paths are taking shape:
American bill: (GENIUS Act) establishes a federal stablecoin framework
The stablecoin regulatory system is built at the federal level for the first time. The core of the bill is to reshape the regulatory logic through a three-tier architecture:
1. Functional definition: Clarify that payment stablecoins are "digital assets" rather than securities or commodities, prohibit the payment of interest, and need to be pegged 1:1 to US dollar high-liquidity assets (cash, short-term US Treasury bonds, repurchase agreements, etc.);
2. Issuance access: Only US-registered entities are allowed to issue, non-bank institutions need to meet capital and risk management requirements, and the issuance of algorithmic stablecoins is prohibited;
3. Tiered supervision: Federal banking institutions dominate the supervision of systemic issuers, and state-level supervision applies to issuers with a size ≤ 10 billion US dollars, but it needs to be "basically similar" to the federal framework.
Institutional competition has transcended regulation itself, and the deep-level competition is the discourse power of the global financial infrastructure. This move marks that the United States has incorporated stablecoins into the national payment infrastructure, providing an institutional basis for the global penetration of "on-chain US dollars".
Hong Kong Path: "Breakthrough Point" of Offshore RMB
The Hong Kong (Stablecoin Ordinance) establishes three innovative fulcrums:
1. Strict compliance: Issuers need to meet the minimum equity requirements (HK$15 million) and fully escrow reserves
2. Currency breakthrough: Creating space for offshore RMB stablecoins and opening up a new path outside the US dollar system
3. Scenario implementation: Attracting JD.com to use stablecoins to optimize cross-border e-commerce settlement and promoting Standard Chartered Bank to explore tokenized bonds
More noteworthy is its "LEAP" framework: building a digital asset ecosystem through the four-dimensional linkage of Legal regulatory optimization, Expansion of tokenized products, Application of application scenarios, and Partnership of talent cultivation.
Mainland China Innovation: "Circumvention Strategy" of Data Assets
Under the background that direct on-chaining of domestic assets is restricted, the new RDA (Real Data Asset) paradigm proposed by the Shanghai Data Exchange in 2025 achieves a curve breakthrough through "real number integration".
In a typical case, Shanghai Steel Union encapsulates steel trading data into RDA, and Pudong Development Bank issues stablecoin "STEEL-CNY" based on this, charging a commission of 0.15% for each cross-border transaction, with an annual profit of over 900 million yuan. This "domestic confirmation and overseas circulation" mechanism enables 30 million small and medium-sized enterprises to obtain cross-border financing through data assets.
UAE Model: "Dual-Track Parallel" of Sovereignty and Market
The Digital Dirham led by the Central Bank of the UAE is the anchoring of national sovereignty in the digital age, while Dirham-linked stablecoins are the carrier of market efficiency. The two constitute an "internal and external double-layer firewall in the governance structure":
1. CBDC serves the sovereign payment system, cross-border clearing and government affairs
2. Stablecoins are embedded in enterprise payments, DeFi systems and market innovation
Drawing lessons from the Terra crash in 2022, the UAE's stablecoin regulations introduced in 2024 prohibit all interest incentives and algorithmic stablecoins, reflecting the foresight of the system design.
When stablecoins carry payment efficiency and RWA injects physical value, the dialectical unity of the two is giving birth to a programmable financial ecosystem parallel to the traditional system. In the next ten years, whoever can open up the closed loop of "asset on-chain-stablecoin settlement-global circulation" within the compliance framework will dominate the rule-making power in the digital financial era.
