The US Senate failed to advance the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act on 15 September after a motion to invoke cloture was defeated 49 to 50, short of the 60 votes required. The result delays an attempt to establish a federal market structure for digital assets and clarify the respective responsibilities of the Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

Elsewhere, Circle launched its Arc blockchain with an institutional validator group, while Shanghai Clearing House expanded RMB foreign-exchange central clearing to the Singapore dollar, New Zealand dollar and Thai baht. India’s Demat 2.0 tokenised-bond pilot widened beyond state-owned REC Limited, and Prometheum, HashKey and Velocity proposed an international distribution route for tokenised US equities.

Read more on the week’s key developments:

1. US Senate blocks Clarity Act in procedural vote

The US Senate failed to advance the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act on 15 September after a motion to invoke cloture was defeated 49 to 50, short of the 60 votes required. The bill sought to establish a federal market structure for digital assets and clarify the respective responsibilities of the Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission. It failed to secure sufficient support amid Democratic demands for tighter ethics provisions and banking-sector concerns about rewards paid on stablecoin holdings.

The vote does not change the current treatment of digital assets, but delays an attempt to consolidate their regulation under a statutory framework. The SEC and CFTC therefore retain authority under existing legislation and regulatory interpretations, leaving financial institutions without the legal certainty the bill was intended to provide.

2. Circle launches Arc with institutional validator group

Circle launched its Arc layer-one blockchain on 16 September. Arc is an open network operated by a permissioned group of known validators, with its founding cohort including BlackRock, Circle, Galaxy, Mastercard, NYSE, Standard Chartered, Sumitomo Corporation, Visa and Global Payments. Transaction fees are paid in USDC, while Circle says the network provides deterministic sub-second finality.

Arc extends Circle’s role from issuing USDC into operating infrastructure on which stablecoins and tokenised assets can move. Dollar-denominated transaction fees reduce exposure to volatile network tokens, while the permissioned validator model gives institutions identifiable network operators. Strategically, Arc gives Circle its own settlement layer rather than relying entirely on third-party blockchains for USDC activity. The test is whether USDC’s existing liquidity and distribution translate into sustained issuance, trading and collateral activity on Arc.

3. Shanghai Clearing House adds three currencies to FX central clearing

Shanghai Clearing House added central counterparty clearing for interbank spot foreign-exchange trades in the SGD, NZD and THB on 14 September. Twelve institutions, including Bank of Communications, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), Bank of China and HSBC China, took part in the first session, clearing 62 transactions worth a combined CNY 996 million ($148 million). Bank of China, ICBC and China CITIC Bank acted as the principal settlement banks for the three currencies, with Bank of China and Shanghai Pudong Development Bank providing backup settlement arrangements.

Bringing the three currencies into central clearing allows participating banks to manage counterparty exposure through the clearing house instead of bilaterally. Shanghai Clearing House said the expansion can release trading credit limits, improve clearing efficiency and support centralised risk management. The first-day volume indicates initial participation rather than scale, making subsequent transaction growth the next test.

4. India’s Demat 2.0 pilot adds L&T and IIFL tokenised bonds

Details published on 11 September showed that India’s Demat 2.0 tokenised-bond pilot had widened beyond state-owned REC Limited to include issues by engineering group Larsen & Toubro (L&T) and non-bank lender IIFL Finance. L&T raised INR 5 billion ($52.6 million) and IIFL Finance raised INR 250 million ($2.6 million), following REC’s INR 5 billion issue. The Securities and Exchange Board of India said the pilot links tokenised bonds with the Reserve Bank of India’s wholesale central bank digital currency to support atomic settlement.

The bonds are natively digital tokens on a ledger operated by depositories NSDL and CDSL, rather than digital twins of paper securities, with the depositories remaining the legal record of ownership. L&T’s participation shows that the pilot extends beyond government-linked issuers, while the connection to wholesale CBDC allows the securities and cash legs to settle together. Access remains limited to institutional investors, with secondary trading and retail participation planned for later stages.

5. DTCC’s Fund/SERV admits Ondo Finance as its first tokenisation member

DTCC’s Fund/SERV platform admitted Ondo Finance subsidiary Oasis Pro Markets, a registered US broker-dealer and distributor of tokenised investment products, as a member on 16 September. DTCC said Fund/SERV processes more than 85% of US mutual-fund transaction activity. Oasis Pro Markets became the first tokenisation platform to connect to it, gaining standardised access to fund companies, wealth platforms and service providers for transaction processing, reconciliation, distributions and reporting.

Membership does not itself move Ondo funds or their underlying assets onto Fund/SERV. It provides Oasis Pro Markets with the same standardised processing infrastructure used by traditional fund distributors, potentially reducing the need for separate integrations with individual counterparties. Wider significance will depend on whether distributors use the connection to transact in tokenised funds.

6. UK regulators put collateral mobility at centre of tokenisation roadmap

The Bank of England and Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published feedback on 14 September to their call for input on wholesale tokenisation. They received 123 responses, with most respondents identifying post-trade processes, particularly the movement of collateral between counterparties, as the main opportunity. The authorities plan to publish a joint tokenisation roadmap later in 2026, while the FCA has opened a separate consultation on tokenised gold.

The feedback statement identifies regulatory and operational priorities but does not itself change existing collateral-eligibility rules. Its immediate significance lies in placing collateral mobility at the centre of the UK’s next phase of wholesale-tokenisation work, with the forthcoming roadmap expected to set target dates for further regulatory action.

7. BlackRock’s tokenised money market fund gains authorisation in Hong Kong

Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission authorised the BlackRock HKD Digital Liquidity Fund, BlackRock’s first tokenised fund in Hong Kong and Asia-Pacific, according to a company announcement on 10 September. The fund invests in short-term Hong Kong dollar money-market instruments, including government bills and deposits. Standard Chartered will act as custodian, fund administrator, trustee and tokenisation partner. Investors can subscribe or redeem through conventional channels or using digital cash, including the HKDAP stablecoin issued by Anchorpoint Financial.

The fund extends BlackRock’s tokenised liquidity-fund strategy into the Hong Kong dollar market. Standard Chartered’s combined custody, administration, trustee and tokenisation roles bring most of the operating model within one regulated banking group, while HKDAP adds an on-chain subscription and redemption route. Adoption will depend on distribution and the extent to which investors use the digital channel rather than conventional fund-processing arrangements.

8. Deutsche Bank plans digital asset custody launch for European clients

Deutsche Bank said on 16 September that it plans to launch a regulated digital asset custody and transfer service for corporate and institutional clients in Europe, with onboarding expected later this year subject to completion of the applicable regulatory process. The service will initially support Bitcoin, Ether and selected stablecoins or e-money tokens, including USDC, EURC and EURAU. Tokenised financial instruments are also on its roadmap.

The plan would extend regulated digital asset custody to another European global systemically important bank. Deutsche Bank’s target market includes corporates, asset managers, hedge funds, custodians, brokers and sovereign institutions, giving the proposed service a broad institutional remit. However, it remains an announcement rather than a launch, with regulatory completion, client onboarding and operational use still to be demonstrated.

9. ESMA examines structural risks in tokenised stock wrappers

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) examined tokenised equities in its half-year Trends, Risks and Vulnerabilities report published on 10 September. ESMA said many offerings are structured as debt claims backed by underlying shares rather than providing direct ownership of those shares. The outstanding value of tokenised equities increased from approximately EUR 300 million ($350 million) to almost EUR 1.9 billion ($2.2 billion) over 18 months, although it remains negligible relative to global equity markets.

The analysis highlights the distinction between a tokenised security and a token representing a contractual claim on an underlying security. Where legal ownership remains off-chain and the cash and token legs settle separately, the instrument may not provide shareholder rights or atomic settlement. These differences are likely to affect regulatory treatment, investor disclosures and the extent to which tokenised products can connect with conventional market infrastructure.

10. Prometheum, HashKey and Velocity sign MOU to internationalise tokenised US equities

Prometheum Capital, an SEC-registered broker-dealer subsidiary of Prometheum Inc, signed a binding memorandum of understanding on 16 September with HashKey Digital Asset Group and fellow broker-dealer Velocity Capital to distribute tokenised US equities internationally. The shares would be digital twins of securities remaining in custody at the Depository Trust Company, using DTCC’s Tokenization Service, which is expected to launch in the fourth quarter of 2026. Prometheum and Velocity would provide custody, execution and clearing, while HashKey would distribute the products through its licensed exchanges outside the US.

The proposed structure differs from offshore tokenised-stock wrappers because ownership would remain on DTC’s books rather than being represented through a separate structured note. However, it is not yet a live service. Definitive agreements, technical integration and DTCC’s planned launch must occur before the proposed international distribution route becomes operational.