BLOOM, an initiative launched in 2025 by the Monetary Authority of Singapore, has now been joined by the central banks of Malaysia and Thailand, along with Visa, Mastercard, Ripple, Airwallex and the World Bank. This public-private initiative focuses on tokenized deposits and regulated stablecoins for cross-border payments, corporate treasury operations and trade finance. The three countries have already linked their instant-payment applications, but final settlement between financial institutions remains costly, particularly for less-traded regional currencies. With more than 99% of stablecoins backed by the US dollar, BLOOM seeks to provide local-currency settlement channels, while the United Nations targets an average cost below 1% and settlement within one hour by 2027.
Source: Read the original article
