How U.S. stablecoin policy became a top priority for Taiwanese exporters

Taiwan exporters and small businesses are being positioned as early beneficiaries of the U.S.-led push to normalize stablecoins as regulated trade infrastructure.

Stablecoins are moving into the mainstream mechanics of global trade with U.S. officials and payments firms urging Taiwanese exporters to treat them as regulated settlement tools rather than speculative assets.

At the stablecoin forum in Taipei hosted by the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAIRTA), executives from Circle and Visa said growing transaction volumes, faster settlement and accounting recognition are drawing interest from both small exporters and multinational firms.

Stablecoins go mainstream

On December 15, the executives agreed that the discussion around stablecoins is moving from education to implementation.

“The narrative has shifted from ‘what are stablecoins?’ to finding real use cases that work for customers,” said Nischint Sanghavi, Head of Digital Currencies, Asia Pacific at Visa.

He said Visa had seen a staggering increase in client enquiries over the past six months coming from large banks and fintech companies, not just native crypto businesses.

“A year earlier, Visa was running small pilot transactions. Now individual use cases alone can reach multi-million dollar volumes,” said Sanghavi.

Balance sheet efficiency

What started as a tool for crypto trading is being reshaped into infrastructure for settlement and capital management.

“If you’re using stablecoins, it’s effectively a T+0 transaction. You’ve just made your balance sheet three to five days more efficient than it otherwise would be,” said David Katz, Vice President for Strategy and Public Policy, Asia Pacific at Circle.

Stablecoin adoption overall expanded in 2025 and now represents roughly 30% of crypto transaction volume globally. Circle’s USDC stablecoin and Tether’s USDT make up the vast majority of the global stablecoin market, representing 80 to 90% of stablecoin market capitalization.

A September survey of more than 2,500 companies in Taiwan by TAITRA, known as the TAITRA Index, found that nearly 5% of respondents had already used stablecoins for cross-border settlement. The adoption rate rose to 10% among Taiwanese companies operating overseas.

The discussion also went beyond payments and into accounting. Katz said the potential of stablecoins counting as cash equivalents is already a CFO-level question in 2025.

In August, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued guidance indicating that USD-pegged stablecoins with guaranteed redemption rights could be classified as cash equivalents on corporate balance sheets.

On December 8, the U.S. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) also launched a Digital Assets Pilot Program that accepts Bitcoin, Ethereum, and USDC as marginal collateral in regulated derivative markets.

Regulatory inflection point

The rise of stablecoins is being driven, in part by the landmark U.S. GENIUS Act passed in July. It’s a nationwide stablecoin framework that sets rules on redemption, disclosure and reserves, namely, one-for-one backing with U.S. dollars or safe liquid assets like treasuries.

Katz said regulation was central to Circle’s credibility.

“We’re very focused on being regulated,” he said, arguing that bank-level oversight and independent audits earn the trust of governments and prevent illegal activity rather than being an obstacle to growth.

The crypto industry has spent years trying to close loopholes that enable money laundering, sanctions evasion and counter terrorism financing. Crypto’s poor AML track record has been factored into the way issuers develop and monitor their stablecoin services.

Katz said Circle imposes enterprise-grade requirements on firms that mint and redeem its USDC stablecoin, which includes conducting regulator audits to ensure clients are upholding AML and KYC requirements.

The GENIUS Act also allows regulated non-bank entities alongside U.S. banks to issue stablecoins, which are poised to facilitate innovation within the fintech sector.

At the forum, Christian Koschil, Commercial Officer, American Institute of Taiwan said the new framework, “positions American stablecoins as the gold standard for global commerce.”

Koschil said the GENIUS Act brings stablecoins “inside the regulatory perimeter” and sees an opportunity for U.S.-Taiwan cooperation as long as digital asset frameworks prioritize consumer protection, financial stability and AML safeguards.

He said the new framework could provide a reference point for other jurisdictions, such as Taiwan which is in the process of developing a stablecoin framework. Taiwan’s draft Virtual Asset Service Providers Act is currently under review of the Executive Yuan and could be passed in the first half of 2026.

This regulatory momentum reflects a broader evolution in money itself. The money in our banks is already digital. But the fintech industry stresses that stablecoins are a way to turn traditional currencies into programmable tokens, potentially improving settlement and liquidity management as commerce moves deeper online.

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