Banks are exploring tokenization of their deposits. Crypto platforms are strengthening their ties with traditional financial players. The New York Stock Exchange is preparing the distribution of tokenized securities. These three operations are distinct, but they show that banks and crypto companies are developing overlapping uses around tokenization and digital assets.
Banks start tokenizing their own deposits
On September 22, 2026, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) announced that 6 Canadian banks, including BMO and RBC, are exploring a Canadian dollar digital currency solution. The first phase of the project focuses on the circulation of tokenized deposits between participating financial institutions.
These institutions are seeking faster, programmable payments while maintaining existing regulatory oversight.
On September 10, the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions Canada (OSFI) clarified that tokenization alone does not change the legal nature of a deposit. A tokenized deposit remains a bank deposit and remains a liability of the issuing institution.
A stablecoin follows a different logic: it constitutes a distinct digital asset, backed by the reserves of its issuer.
Crypto companies are moving closer to traditional finance
Binance no longer just uses USDC: the platform also becomes a shareholder of Circle, its issuer.
On September 17, 2026, an SEC filing indicates that Circle Internet Group sold 1,237,011 shares of Class A common stock to Binance via private placement, for a total amount of $100 million. Circle is listed on the NYSE.
The operation is accompanied by a commercial agreement planned for 5 years. Circle pays Binance a monthly incentive fee, calculated based on the amount of USDC held on the exchange. The exchange platform in return undertakes to promote USDC.
When the NYSE arrives in the field of tokenized assets
And this time, it is the NYSE which is preparing a system to distribute tokenized securities via a crypto platform.
On September 23, 2026, NYSE Group and Blockchain.com signed a memorandum of understanding to make US listed stocks and tokenized ETFs available to the exchange's customers. This project will rely on a future NYSE digital alternative system (ATS), subject to the required regulatory authorizations and the effective launch of the service.
According to RWA.xyz data, the distributed value of tokenized shares reached $3.14 billion for 3.87 million holders.
This total mixes several models: shares and ETFs issued natively onchain, but also synthetic representations. The rights attached to these products are therefore not necessarily those of a classic action.
On September 17, the SEC announced a temporary and conditional exemption for certain tokenized securities trading platforms. Among its conditions is notably the equivalence of rights and privileges with those of the corresponding classic action.
This exemption constitutes neither a general authorization of tokenized shares nor an approval of the NYSE project with Blockchain.com.
$220 billion in cross-border stablecoin transfers
Between July 1, 2025 and June 30, 2026, Chainalysis estimated cross-border stablecoin transfers at $220.3 billion. This volume marks an increase of 77.5% compared to the previous period.
The company specifies that this is a conservative estimate, calculated only on flows whose origin and destination are identifiable.
The average size of cross-border payments observed is around $3,000.
Cross-border stablecoin transfers are very concentrated. According to Chainalysis, a minority of connections between countries concentrate the majority of volumes. The largest 25% represent 96.1% of the total measured value.
Chainalysis also associates these flows with uses such as supplier payments, remittances and the movement of savings.
