X Change is your weekly briefing from BetterX & AUDX on the developments shaping digital assets, stablecoins and financial infrastructure.
This week, some of the most interesting developments came from traditional finance.
The RBA is looking at how Australia's settlement infrastructure could support tokenised markets. U.S. banking associations are developing their own blockchain network. UOB and HSBC completed live cross-border transactions using tokenised deposits. And the UK is looking to give the Bank of England a new mandate to support innovation in payments and digital money.
At the same time, stablecoin supply continued to grow and institutional demand for digital assets strengthened.
Here's what caught our attention this week.
🇦🇺 Australia Watch
RBA looks at how Australia's settlement infrastructure could support tokenised finance
The Reserve Bank of Australia's Payments System Board has endorsed plans for a consultation on the role of the Reserve Bank Information and Transfer System (RITS) in supporting tokenised wholesale asset markets and tokenised money.
The consultation will look at the infrastructure capabilities Australia may need to support the safe and scalable development of tokenised finance.
The work follows Project Acacia and forms part of a broader program examining how Australia's financial infrastructure may need to evolve as tokenisation develops.
Why it matters
This is an important progression from experimenting with tokenisation to considering the infrastructure required to support it at scale.
If tokenised assets and new forms of digital money become more widely used in Australian wholesale markets, the infrastructure connecting them with the existing financial system will become increasingly important.
The RBA is now actively considering what that infrastructure needs to look like.
Source: Reserve Bank of Australia, 27 August 2026.
🏦 Banking & Digital Money
39 U.S. banking associations launch plans for an industry-owned blockchain network
This week, 39 U.S. state bankers associations announced the formation of the BankChain Alliance, an initiative to create an industry-owned, industry-designed and industry-governed network built on a common blockchain platform.
The network is intended to give participating financial institutions access to capabilities including tokenised deposits, stablecoins, smart payment tools and automated settlement.
The Alliance is currently selecting a technology partner and is targeting a 2027 launch.
Why it matters
This is another sign that traditional banking isn't simply watching blockchain infrastructure develop from the sidelines.
The associations behind BankChain represent thousands of financial institutions, with the initiative designed to give banks of different sizes access to emerging digital-money infrastructure.
It also raises an interesting question:
Will the future of digital money be dominated by stablecoins, tokenised bank deposits or a combination of both?
Increasingly, it looks like the answer could be both.
Source: BankChain Alliance, 25 August 2026.
🌏 Payments & Settlement
UOB and HSBC complete live cross-border transactions using tokenised deposits
Singapore's UOB and HSBC have completed live cross-border transactions in Hong Kong dollars using tokenised deposits and Swift's blockchain-based ledger.
The transactions make UOB the first Singapore-headquartered bank to execute live transactions on the platform.
Swift's ledger acts as an orchestration layer between participating banks, matching and netting tokenised deposit obligations before final settlement through existing systems.
UOB is now preparing to execute Singapore dollar and U.S. dollar transactions in September with other partner banks.
Why it matters
Cross-border payments remain one of the clearest areas where digital money could improve existing financial infrastructure.
What's particularly interesting is that several models are now developing at the same time.
Stablecoins offer one potential settlement rail. Banks are developing tokenised deposits. And established networks such as Swift are building infrastructure to connect digital money across institutions.
The question may ultimately be less about which model wins and more about how these different forms of digital money become interoperable.
Source: UOB, 26 August 2026.
🪙 Stablecoin Watch
USDT and USDC supply grows by US$4 billion in a week
The supply of the world's two largest stablecoins increased by approximately US$4 billion over the past week.
According to RWA.xyz data reported by CoinDesk, Tether's USDT grew by approximately US$2.2 billion, while Circle's USDC added approximately US$1.8 billion.
Ripple's RLUSD added approximately another US$300 million over the same period.
Why it matters
Stablecoin supply isn't the same thing as adoption, and a single week's growth shouldn't be treated as evidence of a long-term trend.
But it is another useful indicator to watch.
Stablecoins are increasingly being used across trading, payments, treasury and settlement while banks and financial institutions simultaneously develop their own forms of digital money.
That makes the growth and movement of stablecoin supply increasingly relevant beyond crypto markets alone.
Source: CoinDesk / RWA.xyz, 25 August 2026.
🇬🇧 Regulation & Innovation
UK plans new Bank of England objective covering stablecoins and digital payments
The UK Government announced this week that it intends to give the Bank of England a new secondary objective to support innovation in payment systems and emerging forms of digital money.
The objective would extend to the Bank's regulation of payment systems using digital settlement assets, including stablecoins.
Financial stability would remain the Bank's primary objective, with the innovation mandate sitting beneath it.
Why it matters
The approach is notable because it considers stablecoins and digital payments from both sides of the equation.
Regulators need to address financial stability and risk. But regulation also influences whether new financial infrastructure can develop and scale.
Giving innovation an explicit place within the Bank's payments mandate signals that policymakers are increasingly thinking about not only how digital money should be regulated, but how useful innovation can be supported within that framework.
Source: HM Treasury, 27 August 2026.
📈 Institutional Markets
Bitcoin ETF inflows extend to eight consecutive sessions
U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded approximately US$232 million in net inflows on Wednesday, extending their run of positive flows to eight consecutive trading sessions.
Approximately US$2.8 billion flowed into the funds over that eight-session period.
August inflows have now exceeded US$3 billion, making it the strongest month of 2026 so far.
U.S. Ether ETFs also recorded their eighth consecutive positive session, adding approximately US$192 million on Wednesday.
There is some important context: despite the recent rebound, Bitcoin ETFs remained approximately US$2.5 billion net negative for 2026 at the time of reporting.
Why it matters
ETF flows provide one useful window into demand for digital assets through traditional financial-market infrastructure.
The recent run is notable, but the year-to-date figure also shows why individual periods of strong inflows need to be viewed in context.
What remains clear is that regulated investment products continue to provide an important bridge between traditional capital markets and digital assets.
Source: CoinDesk / SoSoValue, 27 August 2026.
🇦🇺 What does this look like in Australian dollars?
Much of this week's news comes back to the same question: how do we move traditional currencies into digital financial infrastructure?
That's exactly where AUDX fits.
AUDX is an Australian dollar stablecoin designed to enable AUD-denominated value to move across digital asset markets and blockchain networks.
Instead of converting Australian dollars into another currency to participate in digital markets, AUDX provides a way to hold and move Australian dollar value on-chain.
You already use Australian dollars.
AUDX simply lets you use them in more places.
From trading and digital asset settlement to payments and treasury, AUDX is designed to make the Australian dollar usable across emerging digital financial infrastructure.
AUDX is 1:1 AUD backed
Learn how AUDX works, where it's available and the use cases it can support.
💡 X Change Perspective
The question is moving from whether finance goes on-chain to what form on-chain finance will take.
Look at this week's stories together and a broader shift starts to become visible.
Stablecoins are growing. Banks are developing tokenised deposits. Banking associations are building shared blockchain infrastructure. Payment networks are experimenting with tokenised settlement. Central banks are considering how existing settlement systems need to evolve.
There probably won't be one winner.
Stablecoins, tokenised bank deposits and traditional settlement infrastructure are likely to coexist.
That makes interoperability increasingly important because businesses and financial institutions ultimately need to be able to move value efficiently between these different systems.
Digital assets are becoming less of a parallel financial system and increasingly part of the infrastructure of finance itself.
🎬 In Focus: CryptoKnights
CryptoKnights Season 1 is well underway.
Episodes 1 & 2 introduced founders working across gaming, data ownership, crypto banking and tokenised real estate.
Episodes 3 & 4 continued the journey last week, with another group of founders pitching their businesses to the CryptoKnights judges.
As sponsors of the series, BetterX and AUDX are proud to support a platform giving founders the opportunity to showcase what they're building and the problems they're trying to solve.
You'll also see AUDX featured throughout the season in educational segments exploring digital assets, stablecoins and their practical applications.
Episodes 5 & 6 arrive tomorrow.
▶️ Catch up on CryptoKnights on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CryptoKnightsHQ
Thanks for reading X Change.
We'll be back next Friday with another briefing on the developments shaping digital assets, stablecoins and financial infrastructure.
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