Ripple’s RLUSD and SBI’s JPYSC both cleared Japanese approval on 24 June, in the same week that US spot crypto slid towards fresh 2026 lows. Regulated settlement infrastructure is now advancing on its own timetable, independent of the market it grew out of. Two things happened in crypto this week and they point in opposite directions. In the United States the spot market is in a disorderly retreat: Bitcoin is struggling to hold US$63,000, the Fear and Greed Index has fallen to 17, and June has brought a record run of outflows from US spot Bitcoin ETFs. In Japan, on 24 June, two regulated stablecoins went live on the ... (full story)