Singapore Gulf Bank Launches Stablecoin Conversion for Retail Customers

This matters less as a feature launch than as a signal about where stablecoin distribution is heading: regulated banking channels rather than exchanges. Placing USDT and USDC alongside fiat balances inside a bank account narrows the operational gap between crypto and traditional deposits, which is precisely the boundary regulators have guarded. The notable detail is the conversion window — round-the-clock but only Monday through Friday — suggesting the bank still leans on traditional settlement rails somewhere in the chain. Whether other banks follow, and how supervisors respond to deposit-like stablecoin balances sitting on bank books, is the open question.