Today in crypto, Visa launched a stablecoin pilot using USDC and EURC to enable real-time cross-border payouts, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said it won’t police DePIN tokens, and Kazakhstan launched its first state-backed crypto reserve in partnership with Binance.
Visa Direct tests stablecoins as cash equivalent for instant transfers
Visa has launched a pilot allowing banks and financial institutions to pre-fund cross-border payments using stablecoins.
Announced at SIBOS 2025, the Visa Direct stablecoin pilot enables select partners to use Circle’s USDC (USDC) and EURC (EURC) as pre-funded assets to facilitate near-instant payouts, according to a Tuesday announcement.
“Cross-border payments have been stuck in outdated systems for far too long,” said Chris Newkirk, president of commercial and money movement solutions at Visa.
The goal is to reduce the need for capital to be parked in advance and modernize treasury operations. “Visa Direct’s new stablecoins integration lays the groundwork for money to move instantly across the world, giving businesses more choice in how they pay,” Newkirk added.
The pilot is designed for banks, remittance services and financial institutions seeking to optimize liquidity. Instead of tying up fiat currencies across multiple corridors, participants can fund Visa Direct with stablecoins, which Visa treats as cash equivalents for the purpose of initiating payouts.
SEC says DePIN tokens outside its remit in rare no-action letter
The US Securities and Exchange Commission issued a rare no-action letter on Monday to signal it won’t take enforcement action against tokens tied to Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks (DePIN).
SEC Division of Corporation Finance chief counsel Michael Seaman wrote in the letter that he “will not recommend enforcement action” to the SEC for a planned token launch by DePIN project DoubleZero, finding the token and its service don’t fall under securities laws.
SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce said that DePIN “differs fundamentally from the capital-raising transactions Congress charged this Commission with regulating,” and lawmakers tasked the agency “to oversee the securities markets, not to regulate all economic activity.”
DoubleZero co-founder Austin Federa said the SEC’s move “is more than a milestone for DoubleZero — it’s proof that US founders and innovators can work with regulators to achieve clarity, and still move fast.”
Peirce said the action means crypto infrastructure providers can “spend their time deep in the weeds of building out infrastructure, not knee-deep in parsing the nuances of securities laws.”
Kazakhstan debuts state-backed crypto fund with BNB
Kazakhstan has established a state-backed crypto reserve in partnership with Binance, marking the country’s latest move into digital assets.
The initial digital asset in the fund’s portfolio is BNB (BNB), the utility token that drives transactions, fees, and governance on Binance’s blockchain, according to a Monday announcement on the Kazakhstan government’s website.
The announcement did not specify how much BNB was purchased to seed the fund, nor did it give any details about what other crypto investments might follow.
The fund, called Alem Crypto Fund, was created by the Ministry of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development and is managed by Qazaqstan Venture Group under the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC).
“The primary objective of the fund is to make long-term investments in digital assets and to build strategic reserves,” the announcement reads.
Binance has been a close partner of the Kazakhstan government since 2022, when its then CEO, Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, signed a memorandum of understanding with Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Digital Development to help develop the country’s crypto regulatory framework.
The news was announced less than a week after Kazakhstan rolled out its own tenge-backed stablecoin, KZTE, on the Solana network through a partnership with Mastercard, Intebix, and Eurasian Bank.