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Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand Partner for Stablecoin Payments Integration

Three Southeast Asian nations collaborate to streamline stablecoin transactions and reduce cross-border payment costs.

Three Southeast Asian nations collaborate to streamline stablecoin transactions and reduce cross-border payment costs. This is an original Token Times brief synthesising 2 outlets (Crypto.news, Cointelegraph), plus live market data, as of Fri, 23 Oct 2026 12:00:01 UTC.

Why it matters

This collaboration aims to make cross-border stablecoin transactions more efficient and cost-effective, potentially transforming the region's financial landscape by leveraging blockchain technology for real-time settlement and reducing dependency on traditional banking systems.

Covered by 2 outlets over about 2.8 h — Token Times synthesises them all into one brief
  1. Cointelegraph
    Malaysia, Thailand join Singapore’s cross-border stablecoin push ↗
  2. Crypto.news
    Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand team up to make stablecoin payments easier ↗
Key takeaways
  • Singapore's BLOOM initiative gains Malaysia and Thailand as new partners.
  • The partnership seeks to streamline stablecoin-based cross-border payments.
  • Financial institutions, including Ripple, Visa, and Mastercard, are expanding their involvement.
What the reporting agrees on

Both Crypto.news and Cointelegraph report that Singapore's BLOOM initiative has expanded to include Malaysia and Thailand, aiming to coordinate stablecoin settlements and reduce cross-border payment costs. While Crypto.news highlights the participation of major financial players like Ripple, Visa, and Mastercard, Cointelegraph emphasizes the initiative's goal of cutting costs for financial institutions through better coordination of stablecoin and tokenized deposit usage.

Singapore's BLOOM initiative, which focuses on blockchain-based cross-border payments, has now been joined by Malaysia and Thailand. This collaboration aims to streamline stablecoin transactions and improve the efficiency of cross-border payments in the region.

The initiative seeks to coordinate the use of stablecoins and tokenized deposits among financial institutions, which could lead to significant cost reductions and faster settlement times. By leveraging blockchain technology, the partnership hopes to create a more integrated and efficient payment ecosystem.

Multiple outlets confirm that the BLOOM initiative is gaining traction with the involvement of major financial players. Crypto.news specifically mentions the expanding participation of Ripple, Visa, and Mastercard, indicating growing institutional interest in stablecoin technology.

The collaboration comes at a time when Southeast Asian countries are increasingly exploring the use of digital currencies and blockchain for financial services. This move could position the region as a leader in the adoption of stablecoins for cross-border transactions.

In the current market context, with the total crypto market cap at $2.8 trillion and a neutral Fear & Greed index of 50, this development suggests a growing interest in blockchain-based solutions for traditional financial systems. Bitcoin's slight 24-hour decline of 0.46% indicates a relatively stable market environment for such initiatives to take root.

The market when this published · October 23, 2026
Total market cap₹265.61T
Bitcoin 24h-0.46%
Ethereum 24h-0.45%
BTC dominance58.5%
Fear & Greed50 · Neutral
On-chain & primary-source check

Figures and sectors in this story, checked live against on-chain aggregators · October 23, 2026.

SectorTokenized real-world assets (RWA)$3.99Bacross 29 protocolsDeFiLlama ↗
Bitcoin DeFi TVL$4.36BDeFiLlama ↗

Token Times reads these figures directly from on-chain aggregators (DeFiLlama, mempool.space) at build time — independent of what any outlet reported. Sector totals aggregate every protocol DeFiLlama tracks in that category. Values are live and will change.

Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand Partner for Stablecoin Pay — questions & answers

What is the main goal of the BLOOM initiative?

The main goal is to coordinate stablecoin settlements and reduce costs for cross-border payments among participating countries.

Which countries are involved in the BLOOM initiative?

Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand are the countries currently involved in the initiative.

What financial institutions are participating in the initiative?

Ripple, Visa, and Mastercard are among the financial institutions expanding their involvement in the BLOOM initiative.

Which outlets reported this story?

This is an original Token Times brief that synthesises reporting from Crypto.news, Cointelegraph, with the key figures cross-checked for agreement across them. It is not a copy of any one article — follow the source links above for the original reporting.

Token Times Newsdesk Data-stamped

Token Times's newsdesk writes original briefs by synthesising coverage from across the crypto press — 50+ outlets including CoinDesk, The Block, Decrypt and Cointelegraph — cross-checking the figures they report — and verifying them against on-chain data from DeFiLlama and mempool.space — plus live market context (CoinGecko, Binance). We summarise and link to every source; we never reproduce full articles. Read our editorial standards and how we use AI. Not financial advice.

Market data verified against CoinGecko & Binance · October 23, 2026 ⛓ Timestamped at Bitcoin block #972,762 sha256:003bd36b7882bb7a
Corroborated across 2 outlets, reported over about 2.8 h — this is an original Token Times summary with live market data, not the original article.Cointelegraph · Oct 23 07:15 ↗Crypto.news · Oct 23 10:04 ↗

Original summary — not financial advice. This is an original Token Times brief that summarises a development reported elsewhere and adds live market data for context; it is not the original article and reproduces no part of it. Follow the source link above for full details. Crypto is volatile and high-risk — always do your own research.