In the Asia-Pacific region, the crypto-native trading firms that built the digital asset market have expanded into new roles, becoming liquidity providers and on-ramps and off-ramps for institutions. They are increasingly using stablecoins to serve PSPs, ecommerce platforms, marketplaces for gaming, creators, and freelancers, and supply chain businesses that need to move money quickly.
At the same time, clearer regulatory paths, such as the stablecoin framework from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and new licensing regimes for exchanges and brokerages in Hong Kong, have pulled more institutional activity onshore and made compliant stablecoin rails usable by financial institutions.
That demand now drives over $200 billion per month in stablecoin volumes across the Fireblocks Network. Alongside trading firms, PSPs, superapps, banks, and corporates are integrating stablecoins into their payment stacks. Each segment has different requirements, from throughput and security to liquidity and interoperability, but all of them need compliant stablecoin infrastructure that can operate at internet scale.
The Fireblocks Network for Payments was built for this reality. It unites local payment rails, blockchains, and stablecoin systems through a single connection, with compliance embedded in every transaction. With one API integration, institutions can access 40+ providers across 100+countries and 60+currencies, and activate use cases quickly, from treasury and liquidity management to payouts and cross-border remittances. And future integrations with other networks, like with Circle’s Payments Network (CPN) and WalletConnect, will continue to simplify how institutions access liquidity and settle transactions globally with over 2,400 participants, including wallets, banks, issuers, and exchanges.
Regional Use Cases: Scaling Stablecoin Payments in Asia with the Fireblocks Network for Payments
The Fireblocks Network for Payments reflects how our customer base has expanded: from crypto-native traders to include PSPs, banks, and corporates that demand scale, security, and interoperability as they integrate stablecoins into their payment stacks.As Darius Sit, founder and COO of QCP, a provider on the Network notes:
For global capital markets to operate at the speed of digital assets, on-chain settlement and fiat rails must speak the same language. The Fireblocks Network translates between them, letting QCP move liquidity and settle across currencies with speed and security. This is the infrastructure that unlocks the next wave of institutional adoption.” — Darius Sit, Founder of QCP
Here’s how institutions across Hong Kong, Japan, Southeast Asia, and Australia are putting that infrastructure and the Fireblocks Network for Payments to work for them.
Hong Kong: Licensed Crypto Custody and Stablecoin Flows
Hong Kong is moving quickly. Regulators have rolled out frameworks like ASPIRE, LEAP, and the Stablecoin Ordinance, which give stablecoin issuers, custodians, and PSPs a licensed way to operate. That clarity has set off real urgency. We see many market participants coming to market saying, “I have an urgency to launch as soon as possible and I need to do it securely and compliantly,” and when they start digging into the details, they come to Fireblocks to help build their businesses.
Here, access to U.S. dollars is not a barrier. Institutions in Hong Kong are turning to stablecoins for better visibility into their transactions, 24/7/365 and faster settlement, and for some corridors, cost savings. The new regulatory frameworks give them a place to build those use cases, then scale into regional corridors as rules evolve.
The Fireblocks Network for Payments gives issuers, custodians, and PSPs a direct integration that enables them to launch within the existing guardrails, then extend services as regulations evolve. Reap, a Hong Kong based provider live in the Fireblocks Network for Payments Directory, shows how it comes together: delivering card issuance and cross-border payment services to businesses that want a faster, compliant way to adopt stablecoin-enabled flows.
Japan: Institutional Stablecoin Experiments
Under the Payment Services Act, stablecoins have a clear regulatory footing, and major banks are already evaluating consortium and settlement models. The newly-proposed tax treatment for digital assets is also driving demand, making it more economical for businesses to leverage stablecoins as a medium of settlement.
For institutions, the challenge is not whether stablecoins will be part of the system but how to take domestic experiments and scale them into global corridors while preserving governance and policy controls. The Fireblocks Network for Payments provides that path, connecting banks to counterparties and liquidity they would otherwise integrate one by one, with consistent compliance data attached to every transaction.
Two very different examples show the breadth of stablecoin activity in Japan and demonstrate the need for the Fireblocks Network for Payments. SMBC, one of Japan’s largest banks, signed an MoU with Fireblocks, Ava Labs, and TIS to explore stablecoins for wholesale payments and the settlement of tokenized assets including bonds and real estate. Together, the consortium is developing a framework for issuance and circulation, examining regulatory requirements, and testing stablecoins as a settlement mechanism for real-world assets.
At the same time, Minna Bank, Japan’s first digital-native bank, is collaborating with Fireblocks, Solana, and TIS to explore how stablecoins and Web3 wallets can power everyday payments. With more than 70 percent of its customer base between 15 and 39 years old, Minna is focused on bringing stablecoins into daily financial services, from payments to trading and next-generation user experiences.The trend is clear: from megabanks shaping wholesale settlement models to digital-native banks designing new consumer experiences, stablecoins are being integrated into Japan’s financial infrastructure. And that is why we built the Fireblocks Network for Payments: to provide the discovery, connectivity, and compliance needed to move those experiments into scaled deployments across borders.
Southeast Asia: PSPs, Liquidity, and B2B Settlements
Stablecoin adoption here is already happening with PSPs and superapps. We’ve seen flows shift across our customer base: firms that used to operate as pure crypto brokerages or OTC desks are now acting as on/off-ramps for stablecoins. Their clients are PSPs and companies with large working capital needs such as shipping firms, ecommerce platforms, gig economy marketplaces, and businesses that have to move money quickly across borders.
A clear example is in Singapore. Grab has partnered with Alipay and StraitsX so that when a Grab user connects their Alipay wallet, the settlement between Alipay and Grab is facilitated in stablecoins. This is the kind of B2B flow now moving across the region.
The Fireblocks Network for Payments simplifies this landscape. Instead of building bespoke integrations market by market, institutions connect once and get access to liquidity, compliance, and multi-chain interoperability. That shortens time to market and makes stablecoin adoption more efficient.
QCP, a Singapore-based provider live on the Fireblocks Network for Payments Directory, delivers institutional liquidity and structured products across Asia and the Middle East. Singapore Gulf Bank (SGB), a fully-licensed wholesale bank, provides real time multi-currency clearing, stablecoin minting and redemption, as well as fiat-to-crypto transactions for global corporates and major exchanges.
With PSPs driving consumer flows, providers like QCP providing institutional liquidity, and banks like SGB extending fiat connectivity, the Fireblocks Network for Payments is connecting the full spectrum of Southeast Asia’s stablecoin activity, from everyday transactions to large scale treasury and trading flows.
Australia: CBDC Integration and Tokenized Settlement
We see a clear pattern in our book of business: the countries where banks have adopted digital assets fastest are the same ones that went furthest on migrating to the cloud and digital banking more broadly. Australia is a clear example. It is one of the most cloud-centric banking markets in the world, and that maturity has accelerated digital asset adoption across the sector.
You can see it in Project Acacia, the Reserve Bank of Australia’s CBDC program, which is bringing banks together to test settlement models for tokenized money. The initiative is exploring how wholesale CBDC, stablecoins, and deposit tokens can interoperate to support tokenized asset markets. Fireblocks is a key partner in the consortium, providing the infrastructure for atomic settlement and developing the smart contracts that enable singleness of money across different digital forms.
The Fireblocks Network for Payments lets local capabilities plug into global flows without additional operational complexity, so institutions can scale quickly while maintaining control. Zerocap, the first Australian provider in the Fireblocks Network for Payments Directory, connects local liquidity into more than 100 countries through the corridors supported by the Fireblocks Network for Payments. For banks and corporates, that means a faster path from pilot to production with compliance, connectivity, and counterparties in place.
Scaling Stablecoin Payments with the Fireblocks Network
The Fireblocks Network for Payments is how Asia’s institutions are scaling stablecoin adoption. Whether joining as participants or providers, they get compliance, liquidity, and connectivity built in to expand across the region and beyond.
As Daren Guo, Co-Founder of Reap, says:
We are delighted to connect to the Fireblocks Network to power stablecoin-enabled infrastructure for businesses with greater financial connectivity and access. By leveraging the interoperability and security offered, we are able to bring to clients our card issuance, cross border payments and embedded financial solutions, to enable more efficient money movement.” — Daren Guo, Co-Founder of Reap
Our team of experts will be in Singapore at Token2049 this October. Don’t miss this opportunity to dive in with us about leveraging the Fireblocks Network for Payments to scale and secure your stablecoin-fueled growth across Asia and beyond.
FAQs
What is the Fireblocks Network for Payments?
It is the global connectivity layer for stablecoin infrastructure. With one integration, institutions can connect to 40+ providers across 100+ countries and 60+ currencies, with compliance embedded in every transaction.What problems does the Fireblocks Network for Payments solve for institutions?
Institutions face four common barriers when adopting stablecoins:
– Integration complexity: costly bespoke APIs and engineering delays that slow product launches
– Fragmented liquidity: difficulty finding and connecting to the right providers across markets
– Inconsistent compliance: regulatory requirements that vary across jurisdictions
– Revenue risk: slow time-to-market that results in lost flows and missed opportunities
The Fireblocks Network for Payments solves these challenges with a single integration, embedded compliance, and faster activation across currencies and providers.How is the Fireblocks Network for Payments being used in Asia?
Institutions are using the Fireblocks Network for Payments to launch stablecoin services under Hong Kong’s new licensing frameworks. In Japan, megabanks and digital-native banks are testing stablecoins for wholesale settlement and consumer payments. In Southeast Asia, PSPs and superapps are integrating stablecoins to speed up B2B flows in ecommerce and shipping. In Australia, banks and providers are joining the Fireblocks Network for Payments to support CBDC pilots and tokenized settlement models.What role does regulation play in Asia’s adoption of stablecoins?
Regulators across Asia are setting frameworks that allow institutions to scale with clarity: Hong Kong’s licensing rules for stablecoin providers, Japan’s Payment Services Act for bank-issued stablecoins, and Singapore’s requirement for local reserve backing. The Fireblocks Network for Payments helps institutions launch and expand under these frameworks with compliance built in.Who can join the Fireblocks Network for Payments?
The Fireblocks Network for Payments is open to payment companies, PSPs, fintechs, banks, corporates, stablecoin issuers, liquidity providers, and other institutions looking to move value securely and efficiently across jurisdictions.How do institutions get started with the Fireblocks Network for Payments?
Institutions can schedule a demo with the Fireblocks team or explore the Fireblocks Network Directory to connect with providers already live.
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