Four Pillars Research

: : [Crypto/Report] Road to Internet Capital Markets Written by Jun - The core value of tokenization lies not in issuance but in post-issuance distribution and utilization; the SEC's Innovation Exemption and Orca's Permissioned Pool both signal that the focus of regulation and infrastructure has already shifted to the distribution layer. - Solana processed 9.8 billion non-vote transactions at an average of 1,250 TPS in Q2 2026 and has led all mainnets in app protocol revenue for nine consecutive quarters, proving both the infrastructure performance and real profitability needed to power Internet Capital Markets (ICM). - Tokenized real-world assets (RWA) on Solana account for 32% of spot trading volume across all chains, and 63% of tokenized stock trading occurs outside U.S. market hours, showing that Solana functions as a distribution-driven market rather than a mere asset custody chain. - Built on $16.3 billion in stablecoin liquidity, the composability that links issuance, distribution, collateral, and payments dramatically expands what onchain assets can do, and this financial flywheel of capital circulating 24/7 is the very backbone of Internet Capital Markets. 📱 Report Summary 🌐 Full Report FP Website | Telegram (EN / KR) | X (EN / KR)

: : [Asia/Report] ASA Report: How to Read Asia's Digital Money Market Written by Eren, 100y, moyed - Rather than following a single stablecoin-led path, Asia's digital money landscape is taking shape as one where CBDCs, deposit tokens, and stablecoins coexist. While the US and Europe treat public-chain stablecoins as the default form of digital money, Asia runs CBDCs and deposit tokens in parallel as core options. National-level initiatives that use a CBDC as the final settlement asset and circulate deposit tokens on top of it are also concentrated in Asia. - The strategies of the ten countries in Asia fall into three broad models. Korea, Japan, and the Philippines follow a full-layer design that brings CBDCs, deposit tokens, and stablecoins all inside the regulated system, while China, India, and Indonesia lean toward upper-layer control, reinforcing CBDCs while either blocking stablecoins or tying them to state assets. Singapore, Hong Kong, and the UAE fit an inverted pyramid model that deploys stablecoins as an export product of their financial hubs. - Asian policymakers' preference for CBDCs and deposit tokens is closely tied to a calculation aimed at protecting both monetary sovereignty and the stability of the existing financial system. The main drivers are digital dollarization, in which dollar stablecoin inflows push down the local currency and raise dollar funding costs; payment infrastructure where integrated settlement networks built around a few large banks already work; and the avoidance of institutional friction over bank deposit flight. - Policy intent and market demand do not necessarily move in the same direction. Asia-originated stablecoin payments reach $245 billion a year, or 60% of the global total. Korea posts the largest stablecoin trading volume in Asia against its local currency at about $65 billion over 12 months, yet every asset traded is USDT or USDC. In India, Vietnam, and China as well, demand is forming offshore regardless of tax measures or outright bans. - The opportunity for local-currency stablecoins lies not in becoming a global standard currency but in serving as a gateway that connects domestic currencies to dollar rails and onchain finance. This plays out across three markets: access to the dollar standard rail (XSGD, JPYC, PHPC), multi-country payments through onchain FX, and the cash leg of onchain capital markets. Deposit tokens in particular struggle to enter DeFi liquidity pools because of their legal nature as bank liabilities, making this a market only stablecoins can open. - Asia is not a single market. The region spans more than 40 countries and over half the world's population, from the world's second-largest economy to its least developed nations, with no overarching body like the EU to coordinate policy. Since the same technology plays different roles in each country, opportunities will come from understanding each market's monetary system, payment infrastructure, and regulation rather than from a broad "Asia strategy.” 📱 Report Summary 🌎 Full Report FP Website | Telegram (EN / KR) | X (EN / KR)

: : Four Pillars Co-Hosts The Capital Summit x Asia Stablecoin Conference 2026 🇸🇬 The conversation is moving from issuance to allocation. In Seoul, 70+ speakers explored how Asia’s markets are approaching stablecoins and tokenized assets. In Singapore, we take the next step: bringing together the allocators deciding where institutional capital moves next. Stablecoins. Tokenized assets. Market structure. Capital deployment. [Event Details] 📅 Date: October 6, 2026 📍 Venue: Conrad Singapore Orchard 🌟 Title Sponsors: Tether, S&P Dow Jones Indices, Rialo ⭐️ Gold Sponsors: Alchemy, Altus, DSRV, Blockaid ✨ Silver Sponsor: Figure 🏛 Co-Hosts: Four Pillars, LayerZero 👫 Organized by: The Capital Summit, Asia Stablecoin Alliance Shaping Asia's Digital Asset Market Structures 📱 X Post 🌎 ASA Website 🌟 Luma (Seoul / Singapore) FP Website | Telegram (EN / KR) | X (EN / KR)

: : [Crypto/Issue] Mantle Q3 Recap: Powering Borderless Access to Global Capital Markets Written by Ponyo - Mantle’s Q3 was built around the three barriers named in its 18 August brand refresh, geography, gatekeepers and market hours, on the way to borderless access to global capital markets. - Stablecoin supply on Mantle grew 8.6% to $572m, and Paxos’s USDG went live as a natively issued dollar with Mantle joining the Global Dollar Network. - More than 1,300 tokenized stocks are now available on Mantle, up from four tokenized assets of any kind a year ago, with SpaceX, Bending Spoons, Jersey Mike’s and SHEIN listed within days of their IPOs and pre-IPO allocations opened through OpenStock. - Bybit’s wallets on Mantle reached $674m, the largest holder onchain, and a new DeFi vault opened to any wallet on the back of the Mantle Vault’s growth on Bybit. 📱 X Post 🌐 Full Article FP Website | Telegram (EN / KR) | X (EN / KR)

: : [Crypto/Article] KBW 2026: A Field Guide to Korea's Crypto Market Written by Eren - The Korean crypto market has long been explained only through the relationship between (1) KRW exchanges that list tokens, (2) retail investors who trade them, and (3) global projects that issue them. The main indicators were listings, trading volume, and investor sentiment, and for a time that may have been enough to read the market. - That frame is no longer sufficient to explain Korea in 2026. Complexity has entered the market. Traditional finance and big tech have come in directly by acquiring exchange stakes, and KRW stablecoins, tokenized securities, and spot Bitcoin ETFs have all moved onto the regulatory calendar. A market that sat inside Upbit's order book for years has begun to operate alongside financial infrastructure. - The 2024 implementation of the Virtual Asset User Protection Act (Phase 1) and the announcement of the corporate participation roadmap, together with the 2026 push for the Digital Asset Basic Act (Phase 2), open the possibility of restructuring the market at its foundation. The institutionalization of KRW stablecoins, the opening of the STO market, and the start of corporate investment are becoming the point at which the crypto market joins regulated financial infrastructure. - The composition of market participants has also been reorganized within a single year. Shareholder structures changed at four of the five major exchanges, and banks, securities firms, card issuers, and fintechs are each preparing issuance and settlement, tokenization, payment networks, and distribution. - The cost of reading the market has risen along with its complexity. Korea Blockchain Week (KBW) offers a chance to speak directly with a wide set of market participants and see the market as a whole, which makes it a good opportunity to understand Korea in three dimensions. 📱 X Post 🌐 Full Article FP Website | Telegram (EN / KR) | X (EN / KR)

: : [Crypto/Article] KBW 2026: A Field Guide to Korea's Crypto Market Written by Eren - The Korean crypto market has long been explained only through the relationship between (1) KRW exchanges that list tokens, (2) retail investors who trade them, and (3) global projects that issue them. The main indicators were listings, trading volume, and investor sentiment, and for a time that may have been enough to read the market. - That frame is no longer sufficient to explain Korea in 2026. Complexity has entered the market. Traditional finance and big tech have come in directly by acquiring exchange stakes, and KRW stablecoins, tokenized securities, and spot Bitcoin ETFs have all moved onto the regulatory calendar. A market that sat inside Upbit's order book for years has begun to operate alongside financial infrastructure. - The 2024 implementation of the Virtual Asset User Protection Act (Phase 1) and the announcement of the corporate participation roadmap, together with the 2026 push for the Digital Asset Basic Act (Phase 2), open the possibility of restructuring the market at its foundation. The institutionalization of KRW stablecoins, the opening of the STO market, and the start of corporate investment are becoming the point at which the crypto market joins regulated financial infrastructure. - The composition of market participants has also been reorganized within a single year. Shareholder structures changed at four of the five major exchanges, and banks, securities firms, card issuers, and fintechs are each preparing issuance and settlement, tokenization, payment networks, and distribution. - The cost of reading the market has risen along with its complexity. Korea Blockchain Week (KBW) offers a chance to speak directly with a wide set of market participants and see the market as a whole, which makes it a good opportunity to understand Korea in three dimensions. 📱 X Post 🌐 Full Article FP Website | Telegram (EN / KR) | X (EN / KR)

: : FP Validated Has Joined the Aptos Validator Set - Aptos is a high-performance, Move-based Layer 1 expanding into financial infrastructure for global payments and onchain capital markets. - With major stablecoins such as USDT, USDC, and USDe, alongside tokenized financial products from BlackRock, Franklin Templeton, and Apollo, Aptos continues to expand its institutional finance ecosystem. - Leveraging institutional-grade validator operations and Four Pillars’ research and governance expertise, FP Validated will support the stability and sustainable decentralization of the Aptos network while contributing to its growth across Korea and Asia. 💪️ Stake APT with FP Validated 🏡 Website Post 📱 X Post FP Validated Website | Telegram (EN / KR) | X (Global)

: : Four Pillars Co-Hosts RealFi x Asia Stablecoin Conference 2026 Asia is not a single market. Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Southeast Asia, and the UAE are each developing their own approaches to stablecoins, tokenization, and digital money, shaped by distinct regulatory environments and market structures. On October 1, during KBW, RealFi x Asia Stablecoin Conference 2026 returns to Seoul. Last year, the conference brought together 1,100+ developers, issuers, financial institutions, and policymakers across 17 sessions. This year, we go one market at a time and take a closer look at how Asia is actually evolving. - Act 1: Asia Now - Act 2: Asia Misunderstood - Act 3: Asia Next [Event Details] 📅 Date: October 1, 13:00-18:30 📍 Venue: Andaz Seoul Gangnam 🌟 Title Sponsors: S&P Dow Jones Indices, SBI DigiTrust, TopNod ⭐️ Gold Sponsors: DSRV, Alchemy, Rialo, Blockaid, Hypernative, Altus ✨ Silver Sponsors: Canton, BDACS, Multipli, P2P 🏛 Co-Hosts: Four Pillars, Pharos, LayerZero 👫 Organized by: The Capital Summit, Asia Stablecoin Alliance Understand the Diverse Asia. 📱 X Post 🌎 ASA Website 🌟 Luma (Seoul / Singapore) 📰 Articles (1, 2) FP Website | Telegram (EN / KR) | X (EN / KR)

: : FourPillars Joins Bullish with Ondo as a Research Partner FourPillars is joining Bullish with Ondo, a private gathering hosted by Ondo Finance in Seoul on September 29, as an official research partner. Bullish with Ondo will open with a session featuring the Ondo Perps leadership team, covering product direction and broader market insights. This will be followed by a session featuring leading financial institutions, before closing with prominent crypto figures including Arthur Hayes, Rasmr, and Jordi Alexander sharing their investment theses. For the partnership, FourPillars will publish “Ondo Finance: Wall Street 2.0,” a research report analyzing how Ondo Finance has expanded its onchain financial offerings from U.S. Treasuries to equities, ETFs, and perpetual futures. For attendees, Ondo Finance Merch, special referal bonus, and physical copies of the report will be given at the Bullish with Ondo event. Enter “FourPillars” in the invitee field to receive official Ondo merchandise. 📱 X Post 🌟 Apply for Tickets FP Website | Telegram (EN / KR) | X (EN / KR)

: : Introducing Four Pillars Advisory Network (FPAN) Asia is entering a new phase of onchain adoption, shaped by clearer regulation and growing participation from leading financial institutions and enterprises. FPAN connects Asia’s institutions with the knowledge, experience, and networks of the world’s leading blockchain protocols and platforms. Through strategic advisory and direct ecosystem connections, Four Pillars will help institutions navigate the onchain landscape and turn opportunities into execution. Participating Comapnies/Protocols: Allium, Arbitrum, Figure, Further, LayerZero, Lido, MetaMask, Pantera, RedStone, rwa.xyz, Securitize, Solana, Sphere, Sui 📱 X Post 📰 Articles (1, 2, 3, 4) FP Website | Telegram (EN / KR) | X (EN / KR)

: : [Newletter] CLARITY Act Fails, the SEC Steps In (Week 39, 2026) 🗞 Major News - [Institution] SEC Announces "Innovation Exemption" Opening Onchain Trading of Tokenized Stocks - [Institution] CLARITY Act Fails Senate Procedural Vote, Denting Its Odds of Passing This Year ✍️ Four Pillars Weekly - Why Crypto Businesses All Look the Same Now - All about x402 - Beyond the Dollar: The Conditions for Sovereign Debt Tokenization, andWhy Korea Is the First Clean Test 🌎 Full Newsletter FP Website | Telegram (EN / KR) | X (EN / KR)

: : Four Pillars Is Open to Co-Research Collaborations Four Pillars has long focused on bridging information gaps in the digital asset market. Along the way, we’ve worked with protocols, financial institutions, conferences, law firms, think tanks, and other partners across Asia and global markets on research covering a wide range of topics. Our newly updated Co-Research page brings together a selection of the research we have produced with partners to date. We are always open to new co-research collaborations on timely topics that matter to the market. If there is a subject you would like to explore together, or if you have an idea for a potential collaboration, feel free to reach out. 📱 X Post 🌎 Website FP Website | Telegram (EN / KR) | X (EN / KR)

: : [Institution/Comment] Who Is Directly Aligned with the SEC’s Innovation Exemption? Written by 100y

The SEC’s recent Innovation Exemption for tokenized stocks is a major positive for the tokenized securities ecosystem, but it’s important to distinguish which companies and platforms are actually positioned to benefit from it.

🌎 Full Comment (X / Website) FP Website | Telegram (EN / KR) | X (EN / KR)

: : FP Validated to Host Solana Institutional Event with Sanctum, Orca and DFDV FP Validated, the validator brand of Four Pillars, will join Sanctum, Orca and DeFi Development Corp. (Nasdaq: DFDV) for Solana Onchain: Institutions, Tokenisation & Staking in Seoul on [DATE], with support from Superteam Korea and the Solana Foundation. The intimate institutional event will bring together investors, allocators and leading digital asset participants to discuss institutional adoption of Solana, tokenisation and staking, and where the next opportunities are emerging across the onchain economy. Drawing on Sanctum’s institutional staking and liquid staking infrastructure, Orca’s onchain liquidity and tokenised asset markets, DFDV’s experience operating a public-company SOL treasury, and FP Validated’s institutional-grade validator infrastructure, the discussion will examine how institutions are engaging with Solana today. The program will also explore the role of staking and liquidity infrastructure as tokenised assets and onchain capital markets continue to expand. [Event Overview] • Event Name: Solana Onchain: Institutions, Tokenisation & Staking • Date and Time: Oct, 1st, from 10:00 • Venue: Seoul, exact location provided upon registration approval • Hosts: Sanctum, Orca, FP Validated and DeFi Development Corp. (DFDV) • Supported by: Superteam Korea and Solana Foundation 📱 X Post 📰 Registration Link: Luma FP Validated Website | Telegram (EN / KR) | X (Global)

: : Four Pillars to Co Host Solana Summit Korea with Superteam Korea and Solana Four Pillars will co host Solana Summit Korea with Superteam Korea and Solana on September 30 at Yeouido, Seoul during Korea Blockchain Week 2026. The private, invitation-only conference will bring together Korean financial institutions, global Solana ecosystem teams and policymakers to discuss RWA & tokenization, stablecoin issuance & payments, and the infrastructure required for institutional adoption. Sessions feature Hanwha Asset Management, Shinhan Asset Management, Shinhan Card, Bitwise, Galaxy Digital, Anchorage Digital, Tether and the Solana Foundation, alongside Korean securities firms preparing for tokenized markets and KRW stablecoins. We will also unveil our latest Solana research report at the Summit covering real companies, real assets and real integrations already live on Solana. Date: September 30, 2026 (Wed) Venue: Yeouido, Seoul (exact venue disclosed to approved ticket holders) Hosts: Superteam Korea, Four Pillars and Solana Admission: Invitation-only, application-based This summit is by invitation only, and admission is application-based due to limited venue capacity. If you are interested in attending, please apply via the link below. 📱 X Post 🌟 Apply for Tickets FP Website | Telegram (EN / KR) | X (EN / KR)

Four Pillars and Further Asset Management are joining forces to advance institutional blockchain adoption As part of this strategic partnership, Further is investing in Four Pillars, bringing together our regulatory presence and institutional network across the UAE and wider MENA region with the company’s research and on-chain infrastructure expertise. Together, we aim to advance the development of compliant, chain-agnostic and interoperable digital asset infrastructure for institutional-scale adoption. 📱 Announcement 📰 Articles (1, 2, 3, 4) FP Website | Telegram (EN / KR) | X (EN / KR)

: : FP Validated to Host Institutional Strategy Event CODED@KBW with Google Cloud and LINE NEXT FP Validated, the validator brand of Four Pillars, will jointly host CODED@KBW with Google Cloud, LINE NEXT, Optimum and Auros on September 29 at Google for Startups Campus in Seoul. The institutional strategy event will bring together global blockchain companies, Korean financial institutions and digital asset businesses to discuss scalable blockchain infrastructure, institutional participation, KRW stablecoins and real world payment demand. Drawing on the operating experience of Four Pillars, Optimum, Lido and other global industry participants, the program will examine the technical and operating requirements for institutional blockchain adoption. Discussions featuring Toss, Bithumb, LINE NEXT and other service providers will also explore how financial institutions are preparing for KRW stablecoins and what users need from payments and other practical services. [Event Overview] • Event Name: CODED@KBW • Date and Time: September 29, 2026, 15:00 to 20:00 • Venue: Google for Startups Campus, B2, 417 Yeongdong daero, Gangnam gu, Seoul • Hosts: FP Validated, Google Cloud, LINE NEXT, Optimum and Auros 📱 X Post 📰 Registration Link: Luma 📝 Press Coverage: Nexblock Article, Etoday Article FP Validated Website | Telegram (EN / KR) | X (Global)

Four Pillars Partners with FnGuide on Joint Digital Asset Research Four Pillars is partnering with FnGuide, one of Korea’s leading financial information providers, to develop and publish joint research reports on digital assets. The partnership will combine FnGuide’s institutional network and quantitative data analytics capabilities with Four Pillars’ blockchain expertise to deliver research tailored to institutional clients and produce dedicated research reports on blockchain protocols. 📰 Articles (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7) FP Website | Telegram (EN / KR) | X (EN / KR)

: : [Crypto/Comment] Price Volatility and Sustainable Decentralization: Lessons from Aptos Written by Rejamong

Over roughly two years, Aptos’ estimated average annual gross rewards per validator fell 96%, and validator numbers dropped 42%. Sustainable decentralization requires resilient operators and manageable costs for smaller validators.

🌎 Full Comment (X / Website) FP Website | Telegram (EN / KR) | X (EN / KR)

: : [Institution/Report] Beyond the Dollar: The Conditions for Sovereign Debt Tokenization, and Why Korea Is the First Clean Test Written by Sam Shim (Meritz Securities), Data supported by 100y - Tokenized US Treasuries reached about 15.9 billion dollars in July 2026, and technology was only part of it. The dollar market had supplied a fund structure institutions were allowed to hold, demand that existed before the first token, and recurring fee income. - Token standards, custody, and settlement are now available off the shelf, so infrastructure is no longer the constraint. Products outside the dollar are still under a tenth of tokenized government debt, and that number measures what has been built rather than what investors want. - Demand starts with stablecoin reserves, because a coin wants its backing in its own currency and onchain. Only a tokenized government bond in that currency is both, which makes reserves the only demand proven so far, while collateral and diversification have not appeared yet. - Korea has most of what that demand sequence needs in one market, and foreign investors can already buy its bonds. Bond sourcing and won conversion run through domestic infrastructure, and a won stablecoin already holds a tokenized Korean government bond in reserve, though only at symbolic size. - The whole argument rests on one bet, that what is missing is the product, not the appetite. The strongest objection is that onchain capital structurally prefers the dollar, and the report sets out the evidence that would settle it stage by stage. 📱 Report Summary 🌎 Full Report FP Website | Telegram (EN / KR) | Twitter (EN / KR)