## Short Segments European banks are shaking up the financial landscape with the launch of the RL1 blockchain payment network. We'll explore how this cooperative initiative aims to transform regulated financial markets. Also on today's agenda: Tether's USAT stablecoin expands to Celo, Quidax broadens its stablecoin reach to 21 countries, and Safe smart accounts hit a record with nearly 130 million transactions. Plus, Onafriq partners with Privy to enhance stablecoin payments across Africa, and Visa targets deposit tokens as its next growth frontier. Later, we'll dive into the European banks' RL1 network and its implications for the financial sector. Tether's USAT stablecoin makes its debut on Celo, marking its first expansion beyond Ethereum. Tether has launched its GENIUS-compliant USAT stablecoin on the Celo blockchain, expanding its reach beyond Ethereum for the first time. This move allows users to pay for gas on the blockchain using USAT, eliminating the need to hold multiple tokens for transactions. The expansion is supported by Google Cloud infrastructure, which facilitates the distribution of USAT tokens through a privacy-preserving faucet. This development signifies a strategic shift for Tether, as it leverages Celo's Ethereum layer-2 scaling network to broaden its stablecoin's utility and accessibility. For users, this means a more streamlined and efficient transaction process, potentially increasing adoption and integration of stablecoins in everyday financial activities. Quidax expands its stablecoin payment infrastructure to 21 countries, enhancing cross-border transactions. Nigeria's first SEC-licensed digital assets exchange, Quidax, is expanding its stablecoin payment infrastructure to over 21 countries, spanning four continents. This expansion includes countries like Rwanda, South Africa, Canada, and the United States, among others. By doing so, Quidax aims to address the challenges of traditional cross-border payments, which often involve multiple intermediaries and high costs. The move is expected to streamline transactions and reduce costs for businesses and individuals, making it easier to move value across borders. This expansion not only strengthens Quidax's position in the global market but also highlights the growing importance of stablecoins in facilitating efficient and cost-effective international payments. Safe smart accounts process nearly 130 million transactions in a record-breaking quarter. The Safe Ecosystem Foundation has reported a record-breaking quarter, with Safe smart accounts processing nearly 130 million transactions in Q2 2026. This marks the highest quarterly total to date, reflecting a 5.7% increase from the previous quarter. The number of monthly active Safe accounts rose to 2.73 million in June, with total accounts reaching 63.4 million, a 20% year-over-year increase. This surge in activity underscores the growing adoption of programmable smart wallets, which offer users enhanced security and flexibility in managing their digital assets. As the demand for self-custodied solutions continues to rise, Safe's performance highlights the potential for smart accounts to become a cornerstone of the digital financial ecosystem. Onafriq partners with Privy to explore stablecoin payments across Africa. Onafriq, Africa's largest payments network, has teamed up with Privy, a stablecoin infrastructure provider owned by Stripe, to enhance digital asset infrastructure across the continent. The partnership aims to streamline cross-border payments by leveraging stablecoins to bypass traditional financial systems, which are often slow and costly. Initially, the collaboration will focus on cross-chain stablecoin transfers and improving treasury and settlement processes. This initiative is expected to reduce settlement delays and fees, making it easier for businesses to move capital across African borders. By integrating stablecoin solutions, Onafriq and Privy are poised to transform the financial landscape in Africa, offering faster and more efficient payment options for businesses and consumers alike. Visa deepens its stablecoin bet, targeting deposit tokens as the next growth frontier. Visa is expanding its investment in the stablecoin ecosystem, as revealed during its third-quarter earnings call. The payments giant is focusing on blockchain infrastructure, issuance, wallets, and applications, signaling a long-term commitment to digital currencies. Visa's strategy includes exploring deposit tokens and on-chain wallet infrastructure, aiming to integrate stablecoins into its core settlement and fund transfer processes. This move represents a significant shift for Visa, as it seeks to go beyond its traditional card payments network and embrace the potential of stablecoins. By investing across multiple layers of the stablecoin stack, Visa is positioning itself to capitalize on the growing demand for digital currency solutions in the global payments landscape. ## Feature Story European banks have launched the RL1 blockchain payment network, a cooperative initiative designed to transform regulated financial markets. The RL1 network, which began operations on July 28, is a Luxembourg-based European Cooperative Society owned by ten financial institutions, including ABN AMRO, DekaBank, and Natixis CIB. This member-owned blockchain cooperative aims to provide a shared, permissioned infrastructure for tokenized assets and digital money, without relying on native tokens or public blockchain bridges. RL1's launch follows the transfer of SWIAT's production distributed-ledger platform to the cooperative, with SWIAT continuing as the technical operator. The network's permissioned and token-free design is intended to cater to regulated financial markets, offering a secure and compliant environment for digital transactions. By providing a shared infrastructure, RL1 seeks to streamline financial operations and reduce costs for its member institutions, potentially setting a precedent for similar initiatives in other regions. The cooperative model ensures equal governance rights for all members, fostering collaboration and innovation in the financial sector. As the network gains traction, it could pave the way for broader adoption of blockchain technology in regulated markets, offering a blueprint for integrating digital assets into traditional financial systems. With NatWest expected to join shortly and continued support from KfW and L-Bank, RL1 is poised to become a key player in Europe's digital financial landscape. Looking ahead, the success of RL1 could influence other financial institutions to explore cooperative blockchain models, potentially reshaping the global financial infrastructure. As the network evolves, stakeholders will be watching closely to see how it navigates regulatory challenges and adapts to the rapidly changing digital asset landscape. For now, RL1 represents a significant step forward in the integration of blockchain technology into the regulated financial sector, offering a glimpse into the future of digital finance in Europe and beyond.