Standard Chartered Bank Malaysia and AirAsia’s parent company Capital A plan to jointly explore a stablecoin pegged to Malaysia’s local currency, the ringgit.
In a statement on Friday, the bank’s Malaysian arm and Capital A announced that they have signed a letter of intent to explore a ringgit-pegged stablecoin under the country’s Digital Asset Innovation Hub initiative announced by Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) in June.
This is Capital A’s first interaction with the regulated digital asset space. The initiative will rely on Standard Chartered’s infrastructure and financial expertise and Capital A’s ecosystem to pilot stablecoins in a wholesale manner, rather than focusing on the retail market.
Standard Chartered Malaysia will act as the issuer of the stablecoin, while Capital A and companies within its ecosystem will be responsible for developing, testing and piloting use cases at scale.
sauce: air asia
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Malaysia is not left behind
As more countries incorporate cryptocurrencies and stablecoins into mainstream finance, Malaysia is working to ensure it is not left behind. Capital A’s announcement said the initiative “supports Malaysia’s aspirations” and positions the stablecoin initiative as part of a broader national effort to modernize payments and capital markets with digital asset technology.
This direction appears to have support at the highest levels. The eldest son of Malaysia’s billionaire king recently launched a stablecoin pegged to the country’s currency. The Digital Asset Innovation Hub allows fintech and digital asset companies to test new technologies under the supervision of BNM.
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Last month, BNM also announced a three-year roadmap to explore and test asset tokenization across the financial sector, while building a regulatory sandbox framework. The roadmap foresees the agency launching proof-of-concept projects and conducting live pilots.
The central bank also decided to establish an Asset Tokenization Industry Working Group to coordinate industry-wide exploration, share knowledge, and identify domestic regulatory and legal challenges.
Malaysia has been considering changing its approach to the digital asset industry since early 2025. In mid-January, the local government reportedly began exploring the possibility of establishing a cryptocurrency policy that could recognize the industry and modernize the country’s financial system.
