With stablecoins becoming increasingly popular, global regulators are ramping up their examination of crypto banking models, leading to significant changes in Japan, France, and across Europe. The rapid rise of digital assets, especially stablecoins, has driven officials to find a balance between fostering innovation and ensuring proper oversight, marking a notable transformation in the relationship between conventional finance and decentralized technologies.
Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA) is leading these regulatory changes. Bybit, a major global crypto exchange, revealed plans to
halt new account sign-ups
in Japan beginning October 31, 2025, to comply with domestic laws. This action highlights Japan’s increasing role in the Asia-Pacific crypto market, where on-chain transactions have jumped by 120%. At the same time, the FSA is considering a major policy update that would let banks invest in cryptocurrencies and apply for licenses as crypto exchange operators. Such a shift could allow banks to directly provide trading and custody services, hinting at deeper integration of crypto within traditional financial systems.
Across Europe, France has taken a strong stance against central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), instead supporting crypto-based alternatives. The French National Assembly recently
suggested blocking the digital euro
and giving priority to stablecoins pegged to the euro. Spearheaded by Éric Ciotti and the Union of the Right for the Republic, the proposal urges France to hold 2% of Bitcoin’s total supply—about 420,000 BTC—and calls for easing Basel III rules that currently limit lending backed by crypto assets. The motion also raises concerns that a digital euro could destabilize banks by enabling direct deposits with the ECB. France’s approach is similar to U.S. initiatives like the GENIUS Act, which favors stablecoins over CBDCs, as reported in
a BitDegree article
.
Stablecoins themselves are seeing rapid growth in both market value and institutional use.
Standard Chartered forecasts
that tokenized real-world assets (RWAs) could hit $2 trillion by 2028, putting them on par with the stablecoin market. The bank attributes this expansion to cycles of liquidity in decentralized finance (DeFi) and clearer regulations, such as the U.S. GENIUS Act, which set out a stablecoin regulatory framework in July 2025. Meanwhile,
Deutsche Bank-supported EURAU
, a stablecoin tied to the euro, has launched on several blockchains—including
Ethereum
,
Solana
, and Polygon—using Chainlink’s Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP). This initiative aims to build a unified, institutional-grade euro liquidity network, with EURAU now meeting the requirements of the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA).
Although regulatory approaches remain varied, they are becoming more flexible. France’s advocacy for more lenient crypto banking standards reflects a worldwide trend, as seen in
Venezuela’s early-stage initiatives
to incorporate
Bitcoin
into the national banking sector to address hyperinflation. These changes illustrate a broader movement: regulators are shifting from merely restricting crypto to developing frameworks that leverage its benefits while managing associated risks.
As stablecoins and tokenized assets become more significant, the ongoing interaction between regulatory measures and technological innovation will shape how crypto is woven into the global financial system.
