The crypto winter dragged on into early 2026, but stablecoin adoption and usage in real business kept climbing.
Two fresh moves from established fintech players show exactly how traditional finance is quietly building out stablecoin infrastructure without waiting for perfect market conditions.
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Payoneer files for bank charter to issue PAYO-USD
Payoneer, the cross-border payments giant serving nearly two million small and medium-sized businesses worldwide, filed an application with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency on February 24, 2026, to establish PAYO Digital Bank, N.A., a national trust bank charter.
If approved, this would let Payoneer issue its own GENIUS Act-compliant stablecoin called PAYO-USD, which would serve as the primary holding currency in customer wallets.
Businesses could send and receive approved stablecoins, manage reserves, get custodial services, and seamlessly convert to local currencies in the markets where they operate.
The goal is straightforward: make cross-border transfers faster, more transparent, and cheaper for SMBs, especially in emerging markets where dollar access is often a pain point.
This builds directly on Payoneer’s earlier partnership with Bridge, which already lets businesses receive, hold, and send stablecoins inside the platform.
The bank charter would take it further by adding issuance and full reserve management under federal oversight.
Abra pushes back into crypto lending with institutional controls
Meanwhile, Abra is pushing back into the lending space with competitive crypto-backed loans.
The platform, which has processed over $2.5 billion in loans since 2014, is emphasizing compliance, qualified custody, and risk management to attract clients who want liquidity without selling assets and triggering taxes.
The broader lending market is rebounding: outstanding crypto loans hit $73.6 billion in Q3 2025, a new record, with borrowers now prioritizing counterparty safety and regulatory clarity over high-risk yield chasing.
Abra bridges CeFi comfort with selective DeFi strategies, making it appealing to high-net-worth individuals, family offices, corporate treasuries, and registered advisers who aren’t ready for pure onchain exposure.
What ties these together
These are incremental, regulated steps from companies that already move real money for real businesses.
Payoneer is going straight for federal charter to issue and custody stablecoins. Abra is rebuilding lending with institutional-grade controls.
The pattern is clear: stablecoin adoption is happening in the plumbing — cross-border payments, liquidity without selling, compliant issuance — where cost, speed, and reliability matter more than headlines.
For institutional and crypto-curious retail readers, this is the shift to watch.
The infrastructure is operational. Major fintechs are filing paperwork, launching pilots, and partnering to make stablecoins part of everyday global finance.
The question is how quickly the regulated versions scale and start eating into legacy rails.
Cryptocurrency and Web3 expert, founder of Kriptoworld
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With years of experience covering the blockchain space, András delivers insightful reporting on DeFi, tokenization, altcoins, and crypto regulations shaping the digital economy.
📅 Published: February 27, 2026 • 🕓 Last updated: February 27, 2026
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