Linas Beliūnas

I recently contributed to ORF's (Austria's largest media and news outlet) educational piece on stablecoins, which aired following Raiffeisen Bank International AG announcement to join a consortium of another 8 European banks in issuing a EUR-backed stablecoin. Beyond the economic implications, this development speaks to something deeper: European technological sovereignty and financial resilience. As digital currencies become increasingly integral to our financial infrastructure, it's crucial that Europe builds its own capabilities rather than relying solely on solutions developed elsewhere. I'm pleased to see the strong public interest our consortium announcement generated, prompting ORF to explore the topic in depth. Thank you to Niko Jilch for contextualizing our decision in such an understandable way for a broad audience. This kind of mainstream media visibility is exactly what we need to drive understanding and adoption of stablecoins. The more people grasp these concepts, the more informed the conversation around digital currencies becomes. The full piece is available online (in German): https://lnkd.in/diQDgBj4

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Stablecoins are the new gold. Adoption is booming in Africa and globally. Had a productive conversation with Klaus Okunowski, Managing Director at C. Woermann Nigeria, about how stablecoins are solving big problems in the global market. Yellow Card - is not only tackling cross-border payment hurdles with their payment infrastructure but leading the charge in this space. #Stablecoins #Fintech #CrossBorderPayments #YellowCard

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Stablecoins and the Next Layer of Trust Every new technology starts by solving a visible problem. In the case of stablecoins, it was speed and cost. Faster cross-border payments, instant settlement, lower transaction fees. All important. But for me the true breakthrough lies elsewhere: in compliance. In cross-border payments, the hardest challenge is not moving money but maintaining shared accountability across jurisdictions and corresponding banks. Each market operates under its own regulatory frameworks, and a single weakness in the chain can expose every bank involved to compliance risk. What we need is not just faster rails but a system where compliance, transparency, and confidence can scale together. That is why I am particularly pleased that Raiffeisen Bank International AG is a part of a consortium of nine European banks that has announced plans to introduce a euro stablecoin in the second half of 2026. Built on blockchain technology, it allows transactions to be transparently traced from start to finish. Just as importantly, the system can enforce predefined rules at the moment of transfer, while the ledger provides a permanent audit trail. This reduces reliance on each individual bank’s control process and lowers systemic risk. Stablecoins may become the point where compliance and innovation advance together, creating a financial system that is faster, more transparent, and ultimately more trusted.

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Tether is aiming for a $500b valuation. Sound economic reality or economic hubris? Tether is in talks with investors to raise as much as $20b, a deal that could value the stablecoin issuer near $500b and place it among the world’s most valuable private companies. As I have stated several times, Tether is one of the most profitable companies in this space. The business model is simple: 👉 You give them dollars. 👉 They give you Tether tokens. 👉 They use your dollars to buy US bonds yielding 3-5%. 👉 They use the yield to buy Bitcoin and gold for their balance sheet. Essentially, they borrow USD for free and can invest for a positive return. Their "product" is a digital token. It does not cost anything to mint. It does not need distribution or shipping, And they do not need people. So, what could go wrong? The valuation. 👉 Stablecoin issuers make money primarily on reserve yields. A half-trillion valuation implies decades of flawless growth and stability — in a sector where shocks can wipe out confidence overnight. Also, reserve yields might go down over time. 👉 Tether has a long history of scrutiny and fines. At $500b, the spotlight only gets brighter. The higher they climb, the harder regulators will push. 👉 The upside from $500b is limited. The downside, if reserves crack or regulators intervene, is existential. That said, I get why they do this. They do not need to raise this capital. They do not need the funding It is all about establishing the valuation. Tether is a great company, but the valuation here is sky high.

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For over 10 years, "tokenization" felt like the crypto industry's favorite empty promise. 2025 changed that. Here's what finally made it real (and how you can join the conversation): → Regulatory clarity: MiCA isn't just talk anymore. 21X has its BaFin license, AllUnity launched EURAU as a compliant euro stablecoin, and Bpifrance put €25M behind Web3 projects. → Infrastructure that works: No more "it's too complicated for traditional finance." Fireblocks handles end-to-end tokenization, Chainlink CCIP enables secure cross-chain movements, and platforms like Stellar are hitting 5,000 TPS in testing. → Real money moving: In a 5% interest rate world, speed matters. BlackRock's BUIDL fund passed $1B AUM. Franklin Templeton's on-chain money market fund is using Stellar for record-keeping. The difference? These aren't crypto-native experiments anymore. They're institutional infrastructure. Most of these companies are partners for our Tokenization Season – we're moving from endless panels to actual implementation playbooks across Zurich, Frankfurt, London, and Paris. Curious to look into these playbooks? We are hosting our next Industry Call on September 18th - your opportunity to join from wherever you are in this world and have an exclusive glimpse into the playbooks of the drivers of this industry. Link in the comments.

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Recap from my participation in the session of the Parliamentary Subcommittee on Financial Institutions. We talked about big topics like the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) and the overall rules that will shape the space. My focus was on something that could have a real impact: the plan to introduce supervisory fees for token issuers. Regulation is important, but piling on high fees could scare away investment, slow innovation, and push projects abroad. If Poland wants to be a serious hub for blockchain, we need rules that protect the market and help new ideas grow. Below is my take on supervisory fees (with subtitles). Shout-out: Kancelaria Sejmu (Chancellery of the Sejm) | Ministerstwo Finansów | Nomad Fulcrum | Digital Asset Development Foundation #tokenization #blockchain #regulation #cryptocurrencies

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🔴 More than a year after MiCA came into effect for stablecoins, here are the regulated issuers in Europe, along with some insights👇 As a reminder, since July 1, 2024, it has been mandatory to hold at least an e-money license or be a credit institution to issue a regulated stablecoin in Europe. A few observations👇 💰 M&A activity already underway In February, Paxos, one of the largest stablecoin issuers, acquired Membrane Finance, a Finland-based firm. The acquisition enabled Paxos to establish its Global Dollar Network (USDG) in Europe. Members of the consortium include Kraken, Robinhood, Galaxy Digital, Bullish, and Anchorage Digital. Schuman Financial, founded by former senior EU official Martin Bruncko, who also served as Vice President at Binance Europe from November 2021 to June 2023, acquired the French start-up Salvus. In November 2023, Salvus became the first stablecoin issuer to obtain an electronic money institution (EMI) license in France. Tether, which opted not to seek regulatory approval in Europe, has instead invested in StablR and Quantoz Payments, two companies using the same technology stack employed to issue USDT, the world’s largest dollar stablecoin (with over $160 billion in circulation). 🏦 Two banks (almost three) already acting as issuers 🇫🇷 Société Générale, through its subsidiary SG-Forge, issues EURCV (euro) and USDCV (dollar) under an electronic money institution (EMI) license. 🇱🇺 Banking Circle issues EURITE (euro) using its Luxembourg banking license. 🇩🇪 Almost three banks, asset manager DWS, backed by Deutsche Bank, is part of the AllUnity joint venture alongside Flow Traders and Galaxy Digital. Their euro stablecoin, EURAU, has been on the market for a few weeks now. 🇮🇸 Monerium does not yet appear in ESMA’s reporting because MiCA has not been implemented in Iceland. However, the company was the first to be authorized to issue stablecoins within the European Union and its economic area. ⛓️ Two dual issuers Circle and Paxos are the two issuers operating a stablecoin (USDC + USDG) under a dual issuance model, meaning through two entities not regulated under the same jurisdiction (Europe + United States), a model currently unique to Europe. 👉 To date, no ARTs have been approved. All authorizations granted so far have been under the EMT (Electronic Money Token) classification. 📫 Stablecoins are set to become a major issue of sovereignty in the months and years ahead. We’ll be following this topic very closely at Blockstories. To subscribe, check the first comment under this post👇

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US$27.6 trillion moved through stablecoins last year - more than Visa and Mastercard combined. Regulators are stepping in - but their approaches are very different. Still, 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺𝗲𝘀 are emerging: ·      Reserves: stablecoins must be fully backed 1:1 by safe, liquid assets - typically cash or short-term government bonds - to preserve value and ensure redemption. ·      Redemption rights: users must be able to cash out at face value, within timelines set by law - ranging from same-day (UAE, Hong Kong) to five days (Singapore). ·      Independent custody: backing assets must be held separately from the issuer’s own funds, often by regulated custodians or in trust, to protect users in case of failure. These shared principles reflect regulatory alignment on the minimum requirements for trust and stability in issuing and using stablecoins. 𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆’𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘃𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗹𝘆: ·      Who can issue: some jurisdictions restrict this to banks (Japan, South Korea), while others permit non-bank fintechs (US, EU). ·      Reserve rules: the US allows only cash and Treasuries; others like Japan and the UK permit a broader mix of safe assets. ·      Redemption timelines: these differ significantly - affecting liquidity and user expectations. ·      Cross-border limits: Some regimes block foreign-issued stablecoins unless they meet local regulatory standards (e.g. EU, UAE). 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀: ·      The US push is accelerating adoption - but puts pressure on non-US issuers to either comply with US rules or exit the market. ·      Asia’s bank-led models favour control and stability but may limit openness and cross-border scale. ·      UK–EU regulatory alignment will determine whether stablecoins can move freely between key markets - or remain siloed. 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝗻𝗲𝘅𝘁: ·     Stablecoin regulation is unfolding much like the early days of card networks - built jurisdiction by jurisdiction, with each market defining its own rules on issuance, custody, reserves, and redemption. ·     Alignment may come, but not soon. Meanwhile, adoption is accelerating. Trillions are already flowing through stablecoins, and regulators are shifting from drafting rules to enforcing them. ·     For issuers and infrastructure providers, waiting for harmonisation is a risk. Competing in this space means navigating a complex patchwork of rules, or losing access to key markets. Opinions: my own, Graphic source and data points: EY 𝐒𝐮𝐛𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐲 𝐧𝐞𝐰𝐬𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫: https://lnkd.in/dkqhnxdg

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54 EU entities with crypto license; 7 new! Including: Cecabank, Openbank (Santander), Decubate, Tangany & Fiat Republic 🇪🇺 Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (#MiCAR) provides the EU regulatory crypto framework, requiring a license to operate. 📄 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗺 𝗿𝗲𝗴𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) publishes interim-registers with poorly formatted .csv-files. This is my structured version. 𝗟𝗶𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗖𝗔𝗦𝗣𝘀 𝗽𝗲𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗿𝘆 🇩🇪 17 | Germany, BaFin 🇳🇱 14 | the Netherlands, AFM 🇫🇷 6 | France, AMF 🇲🇹 5 | Malta, MFSA 🇱🇺 3 | Luxemburg, CSSF 🇪🇸 3 | Spain, CNMV 🇦🇹 2 | Austria, FMA 🇨🇾 1 | Cyprus, CySEC 🇮🇪 1 | Ireland, CBI 🇱🇹 1 | Lithuania, BoL 🇫🇮 1 | Finland, FIN-FSA 𝗦𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗼𝗯𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 📈 Despite 'false-start', Spain is catching on 📊 190 services authorized across 54 companies 🇩🇰 Denmark expected licenses in August, no luck 🏦 3 crypto licenses in Spain: 3 banks 💱 Fiat Republic only entity with MiCAR and EMT 🔄 Poland and Lithuania have extended their transitional period 🇮🇹 Interest detected in Italy, but no licenses yet 🤔 Some of the large exchanges are just brokers 🇩🇪 Germany leads, new: Tangany, Smartbroker AG, Dietrich & Richter Private Asset Management AG ❌ Transitional period ended in the Netherlands, Finland, Hungary, Latvia & Slovenia. No license = no business. 🇳🇱 AFM went on largest Dutch crypto podcast for hour-long reflection on application process. Also provides conditional extra time to 10-15 applicants ⏳ 4 months transitional period left in: Poland, Ireland, Greece, Spain, Lithuania, Slovakia, Liechtenstein & Norway What are your observations? ⤵️

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🚨 Finally, a crypto warning that gets it right. Most regulator warnings about crypto sound like: “Don’t touch it.” But this time, EU regulators new “Warning on Crypto-Assets” takes a smarter turn, focusing on fraud prevention and informed decision-making, not fear. Instead of blanket scaremongering, ESMA gives practical guidance: • Fraud, scams and hacks — beware of unauthorized actors, fake authorizations, phishing, and “guaranteed return” schemes. • Misleading promotions — especially from influencers paid to push certain tokens or promising "too good, to be true" returns. • Security hygiene — keep your devices and private keys protected. 👏 This is the kind of progress we like to see. Instead of treating crypto as a threat, the ESA's are treating it as a reality. One that needs clear rules and responsible players. At Januar, that’s exactly what we stand for: safe, compliant access to the digital economy. Because building trust in crypto starts with working with the right partners. #Crypto #ESMA #MiCA #ConsumerProtection #Fintech #Regulation #Januar #NoBankRequired

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