Cross-Border

Tether is shifting from a pure liquidity provider to an active participant in enforcement cooperation and institutional settlement. This primer reviews its role in a $544M Turkish seizure, record USDT on-chain flows in Q4 2025, and its bet on the t-0 settlement network — and what that means for stablecoin adoption, banks, and regulators.

FCA approval has opened a clear regulatory door for Ripple in the U.K., while strong spot ETF inflows are reshaping how institutions view XRP as a liquidity rail for cross‑border payments. This feature breaks down what that approval actually permits, how ETF flows and competing filings affect liquidity and price discovery, and what payments teams should watch when evaluating XRP‑based pilots in 2026.

This guide explains how recent U.S. stablecoin moves are altering cross-border flows, exchange behavior, and on‑chain liquidity, with practical compliance and operational checklists for issuers and integrators. Case studies include Bybit’s USDC push and KRW1 on Polygon to illustrate market responses.