09-11-2026 
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The stablecoin sector continued its inexorable rise this week, as two more nations—Switzerland and Uzbekistan—advanced sovereign stablecoin projects, while new data confirmed the ever-increasing use of stablecoins for payments, even as the rate of growth is expected to slow in 2026.
- Swiss franc stablecoin moves into testing
- Uzbekistan to test som stablecoin
- Stablecoin payments keep growing in 2026
Swiss franc stablecoin enters test phase
On September 8, it was revealed that the Swiss exchange SIX and mobile payment service Twint have joined a cohort of nine firms in sandbox tests of the Swiss franc stablecoin, CHFD, with a focus on programmable payments and digital asset settlement.
The initiative was launched in April to connect blockchain applications with the Swiss franc and test potential use cases for CHFD in Switzerland, with the ultimate aim of strengthening both the Swiss digital money ecosystem and the competitiveness of Switzerland’s financial center, in the face of a growing stablecoin market still overwhelmingly dominated by U.S. dollar tokens.
SIX and Twint join the existing participants—UBS (NASDAQ: UBS), PostFinance, Sygnum, Raiffeisen, Zürcher Kantonalbank, BCV, and Swiss Stablecoin AG—who are all testing selected use cases for the stablecoin under realistic conditions in a secure, live digital environment.
According to Swiss banking giant UBS, the new additions to the scheme “contribute additional expertise in financial market infrastructure and digital payment solutions.”
The bank added that the initiative “aims to generate insights for the further development of the Swiss digital money ecosystem and to strengthen the competitiveness of Switzerland’s financial center.”
CHFD, a stablecoin designed to maintain a 1:1 peg to the Swiss franc, has been technically live in the sandbox since the end of June, but the upcoming sandbox use cases are to be tested on the stablecoin platform operated by CHFD Infrastruktur AG, a subsidiary of Swiss Stablecoin AG.
The partners in the sandbox said they will initially focus on innovative applications in programmable payments, with the hope of establishing international use cases, such as automated transactions between financial institutions and tokenized settlement of digital assets.
For example, the project will examine whether and how programmability can help reduce fraud risks on online marketplaces, support fair access to event tickets, and make public payments more efficient.
“Through these activities, the participating partners are laying important groundwork for future developments in digital payments,” said Twint. “The primary objective is to gain insights into where a CHF stablecoin could create added value, what challenges exist, and which technical, operational and regulatory requirements would need to be met for potential future development.”
The test phase is expected to continue until the end of 2026, after which the cohort said they will provide an overview of the findings.
The global stablecoin market has reached new heights over the past couple of years, with a total market cap exceeding $300 billion in December 2025, and some predict it will achieve a $1.9 trillion valuation by the end of the decade.
However, this already substantial global stablecoin market is 98% denominated in U.S. Dollars, which has led many jurisdictions to increasingly explore their own sovereign stablecoins.
Hong Kong is one example, where last month Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) Limited announced it had become the first authorized distributor bank of HKDAP (HKD At Par), the first regulated Hong Kong Dollar-backed stablecoin issued by Anchorpoint Financial Limited (Anchorpoint), a licensed stablecoin issuer regulated by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA).
The announcement of the start of the Swiss franc stablecoin tests marks another landmark in this growing fightback against digital dollarization. And this week saw another front open up in Uzbekistan, with the launch of a government bond-backed and Uzbek som-pegged stablecoin payment pilot.
Uzbekistan stablecoin pilot
On Monday, the Uzbekistan National Agency for Prospective Projects (NAPP)—a state institution accountable to the President that regulates, licenses, and oversees digital and financial markets in the country—said it had registered Humo Digital as a participant in a stablecoin pilot regime, jointly overseen with the country’s central bank.
The project will test the issuance, circulation, and redemption of the HUMO stablecoin, with each token pegged to one Uzbek som.
NAPP said the pilot project, which involves testing the mechanisms for the issuance, circulation, and redemption of the HUMO stablecoin, was part of a broader push to further introduce and develop advanced and innovative payment forms.
“The implementation of this pilot project will serve to further stimulate the introduction and use of advanced technologies for the development of the financial sector of the Republic of Uzbekistan,” the agency said. “The main goal of the pilot project is to test the use of stable tokens as an advanced and innovative means of payment, which makes it possible to speed up settlements in the course of business activities, ensure their greater transparency and security of transactions.”Specifically, the pilot project will involve the issuance of the HUMO stablecoin, backed by government securities, and its use as an official means of payment and acceptance of payment for goods, works, and services within Uzbekistan.
According to the agency, more than 20 businesses and merchants are ready to take part in the project, which will run for up to three years under the joint control of NAPP and the central bank. Local digital asset exchange Asterium JSC will also act as a partner in the project.
The stablecoin project stems from Presidential Resolution No. PQ-359 of the Republic of Uzbekistan, titled “On measures for the further development of the financial technologies sector in Uzbekistan,” which was issued by President Shavkat Mirziyoyev on November 27, 2025, and entered into force the following day. Its main goal is to boost foreign investment, domestic market growth, startups, and innovation testing—with the stablecoin pilot as a core part of the latter.
Beyond the HUMO project, the decree also established a dedicated innovation hub for fintech startups and a specialized venture fund under the central bank, with an equivalent charter capital of $50 million, to finance startup projects.
Both the Uzek and Swiss schemes see the public and private sectors working in tandem to advance sovereign stablecoins, reflecting growing interest in the space—something recently released data has underscored.
Stablecoin use continues to increase, but rate of growth slowing in 2026
New research from financial data company FXC Intelligence and blockchain data firm Allium Labs has revealed that cross-border payment volumes using stablecoins rose by an estimated 64% year-on-year in 2025, compared with only 9% growth for traditional fiat payments.
“Over the past year, stablecoins have become one of the most-discussed topics in cross-border payments,” read the report. “While stablecoins remain a small share of the market, our combined data shows just how rapidly the space is growing, and which parts of the industry are seeing the highest rates of adoption.”
Specifically, consumer-to-business (C2B) stablecoin payments recorded the fastest growth at 72%, compared with 7% for fiat payments, while Top of FormBottom of Form business-to-business (B2B) stablecoin payments increased by 69%, against 10% for fiat, and business-to-consumer (B2C) payments grew by 62%, compared with 10% for fiat.
Despite these impressive growth rates, stablecoin payments still have some catching up to do. The report also showed that, at present, stablecoins remain a very small part of the overall retail, or non-wholesale, cross-border payments market, accounting for an estimated $135 billion of the $44.3 trillion moved globally in 2025. That figure is a notable uptick over 2024, which saw an estimated $82 billion moved using stablecoins, but still represents just 0.31% of total volume.
“This reflects the fact that while stablecoins are moving significant monetary volume, this is dwarfed by the size of the overall retail cross-border payments market,” read the report.
Nevertheless, it remains clear that the stablecoin space is expanding, and the report also had something to say on the reason behind this boomtime, citing the U.S. GENIUS Act, which passed in July 2025, as having added fuel to the stablecoin engine.
The Act established the first U.S. federal framework for payment stablecoins, requiring—amongst other things—issuers to maintain 100% reserves in approved liquid assets, publicly disclose reserves, comply with anti-money-laundering rules, and meet federal or state licensing requirements.
“Recent developments in the regulatory landscape, as well as increased focus on the technology as a viable alternative to fiat, are also likely to have helped drive adoption,” suggested FXC Intelligence and Allium. “Companies from across the cross-border payments space have rushed to explore the technology, with many launching new stablecoin focused products or announcing that they have switched some elements of their operations to stablecoins moving on blockchain-based rails.”
However, the numbers weren’t all trending up for stablecoins. The data for 2026 year-to-date suggest that the impressive growth experienced by the area is slowing, with overall rates currently at around 23%, compared to 64% last year.
This may change by the end of the year, but it potentially demonstrates a cooling of the stablecoin craze.
Even so, the report concluded that, “although there are signs of slowing growth in 2026 relative to 2025 for stablecoin cross-border payments volume, stablecoins are set to continue to outpace fiat cross-border payments volume growth in 2026 and potentially beyond.”
It added that “it remains to be seen how big the market could ultimately become, and there is a long way to go for stablecoins to be on a level playing field with fiat when it comes to cross-border payments.”
Thus, the moral of the story from this week’s global stablecoin developments appears to be that, despite a slower pace, interest in the space remains stronger than ever and continues to grow, as governments and the private sector race to adapt and apply the technology.
Watch: CBDCs or Stablecoins? What the Industry Leaders Actually Think
