Digital asset treasury companies face a new constraint on demand for their shares. MSCI’s confirmed exclusions of Strategy and Metaplanet apply its non-operating-company rules to businesses holding substantial digital assets, removing them from the portfolios of funds tracking the affected benchmarks.

For institutions using tokenised assets, access to cash and connections between platforms remain practical constraints. Standard Chartered’s pilot with Ant International addresses the wait for fund-redemption proceeds. In Europe, authorities are asking market participants to agree how tokenised securities can be held and settled across competing systems.

Read more on the week's key developments:

1. MSCI excludes Strategy and Metaplanet under non-operating-company rules

Bitcoin treasury company Strategy and Japan’s Metaplanet are among six securities marked for deletion in MSCI’s final non-operating-company impact list, published on 11 November. Also facing removal are the UK’s Yellow Cake and Agronomics, Iceland’s Skel Fjarfestingafelag and US-listed Upexi, with changes effective after trading closes on 30 November. Another 19 securities are on a watchlist, including SharpLink and Japan’s Quantum Solutions. Exclusion removes a source of demand for digital-asset treasury companies’ shares from portfolios tracking the affected benchmarks.

Adopted on 15 October following an August consultation, the methodology replaces interim measures introduced on 10 October 2025 for companies whose digital-asset holdings represented at least half their total assets. Those measures restricted index-weight increases and additions. MSCI now first assesses whether issuers have substantial operating assets before applying five financial-ratio tests. Existing constituents must fail the exclusion screen in both of their two most recent annual filing periods before removal.

2. Standard Chartered uses bank liquidity to bridge tokenised fund redemptions

Standard Chartered and Ant International have tested a way to release cash from tokenised money-market fund investments before the underlying redemption settles, addressing a constraint on their use in corporate treasury. Announcing completion of the pilot on 10 November, Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) said its redemption liquidity facility provides interim access to funds while the investment’s settlement cycle runs. Corporate treasurers can therefore obtain liquidity when cash requirements fall outside conventional fund-processing hours.

Eight days earlier, Standard Chartered launched tokenised deposits in Hong Kong, allowing round-the-clock transfers and interbank settlement through the HKMA’s Ensemble infrastructure. China AMC and Finloop were among clients already using the service for transactions and money-market fund settlement. With the Ant pilot, the bank is addressing the next cash-management constraint: the wait for redemption proceeds. It plans to explore using digital assets as collateral for broader financing and liquidity needs.

3. Coinbase prepares custody migration into federally supervised trust company

Coinbase’s final national trust approval provides a route to migrate its existing institutional custody business into a federally supervised entity. The company announced the approval on 9 November, following the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s (OCC) final letter dated 6 November. Coinbase National Trust Company builds on operations conducted through its New York-regulated limited-purpose trust company. Under the plan described in the OCC’s April approval documents, that custody business would migrate over the new bank’s first three years.

The move builds on a New York trust charter obtained in 2018 and brings specific federal capital and liquidity requirements. During its first three years, the new entity must maintain at least $60 million in tier 1 capital and a separate liquid-asset buffer covering 180 days of operating expenses. Significant changes to its business plan require OCC non-objection. Custody customers may also access staking, trading and financing through Coinbase affiliates, which provide those underlying services.

4. European tokenisation group targets links between digital and existing markets

European authorities are asking market participants to agree how tokenised securities can be held and settled across competing platforms and existing infrastructure, seeking to prevent new networks from reproducing market fragmentation. On 9 November, the European Central Bank (ECB), European Commission and European Securities and Markets Authority invited nominations for the European Tokenisation Standards Group. Industry representatives will chair it, with the three authorities as observers. Applications close on 27 November.

The group connects two earlier programmes: proposed changes to the EU’s distributed ledger technology pilot regime in December 2025 and the Eurosystem’s Appia roadmap published in March 2026. Appia examines how an integrated tokenised financial ecosystem could provide central bank money and collateral services. To support that work, the group will develop interoperability standards, monitor adoption and consider incentives for compliance. Members must be able to commit their organisations to implementation, with initial standards supporting Appia targeted for early 2028.

5. Payward expands European equity tokens alongside planned LSE trading

Payward added tokenised representations of more than 200 UK- and EU-listed equities on 11 November, advancing plans announced with the London Stock Exchange in September. The expansion takes its xStocks framework beyond 1,500 tokenised assets, with partner GTN handling execution and custody of the securities backing each token one-for-one. The LSE intends to list xStocks on its LSE 24 venue in 2027, subject to regulatory approval. The current offering remains unavailable to UK investors, investors in the US and US persons.

Broader distribution does not give xStocks holders the rights of shareholders. Kraken’s documentation specifies economic exposure without ownership of the underlying company shares or shareholder voting rights. Payward and the LSE are separately exploring issuer-sponsored tokens with the same rights and fungibility as conventional shares. Hong Kong-listed equities are due to join xStocks in the coming weeks. Across the framework, Payward reported $1.1 billion in assets under management, more than $45 billion in cumulative transaction volume and over 550,000 holders.

6. Securitize’s quarterly recovery accompanies move into asset-backed financing

Securitize reported a sequential recovery in third-quarter revenue and adjusted earnings on 9 November, alongside an agreement to acquire asset-backed financing platform River One. Revenue rose 29% from the preceding quarter to $18.6 million, while its adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation loss narrowed 64% to $2 million. Against a year earlier, revenue increased 13%, lagging 39% growth in average tokenised assets to $5 billion. Adjusted EBITDA had been a $3.6 million profit in the comparable quarter.

Beneath the group figures, tokenisation revenue rose 28% year on year while fund-services assets under administration fell 29% to $25.2 billion. Buying River One would take Securitize into financing loan originators against portfolios such as business loans and receivables. River One is developing infrastructure to connect stablecoin capital with those lending markets. Approximately $60 million of Securitize’s $66.3 million net loss came from largely non-cash expenses and accounting charges, primarily associated with its business combination and public listing.

7. Long-term price support and public credit cover underpin UK wind financing

RWE and KKR announced financial close for two UK offshore wind projects on 11 November, securing non-recourse financing supported by long-term revenue contracts and public-sector credit cover. Vanguard West and Vanguard East represent approximately GBP 12 billion ($16.0 billion) in investment and 2.8 gigawatts of generating capacity. KKR completed its acquisition of 50% of each project, concluding the joint-venture transaction announced in January. A consortium of 35 banks provided GBP 11.1 billion ($14.8 billion) in cash facilities and GBP 1.7 billion ($2.3 billion) in ancillary facilities.

Lenders relying primarily on project cash flows have support from 20-year inflation-indexed contracts for difference awarded to both developments in January. The financing also includes GBP 1 billion ($1.3 billion) from the UK National Wealth Fund and credit cover from Germany’s Euler Hermes and Denmark’s EIFO. RWE will lead delivery for the joint venture, with offshore construction due to begin in early 2027 and full commissioning expected in 2030.

8. Nasdaq ISE relaxes surveillance condition for digital-commodity trust options

Nasdaq ISE can list options on qualifying digital-commodity trusts even where a limited portion of their holdings lacks the previously required derivatives-market surveillance link. The SEC approved the rule change on 10 November. Previously, each underlying crypto asset had to underlie a derivatives contract traded on a market covered by a comprehensive surveillance-sharing agreement with ISE. The revised criteria permit an exception for digital commodities representing up to 15% of a trust’s net asset value.

Every constituent must still meet the existing size threshold: its global supply must have averaged at least $700 million in daily market value over the preceding 12 months. The exception gives multi-asset trusts greater flexibility without changing that requirement. Existing options trading, margin and position-limit rules also remain in place. To investigate suspected manipulation or trading abuse, ISE can obtain information directly from Nasdaq about the underlying trust shares.

9. DTCC expands EU reporting access as ESMA pursues simpler obligations

DTCC launched its EU transaction-reporting mechanism on 10 November, allowing investment firms to access its EU and UK services and Global Trade Repository through one portal. Following the group’s UK launch in May 2026, the EU Approved Reporting Mechanism adds transaction submissions, a dedicated round-the-clock back-reporting channel, error correction and analytics. Reporting teams can monitor submission status and data quality in near real time, using anonymised peer comparisons to identify and prioritise problems.

European authorities are also seeking to reduce duplication in the obligations themselves. On 2 July, ESMA proposed a “Report Once” approach covering the Markets in Financial Instruments Regulation, European Market Infrastructure Regulation and Securities Financing Transactions Regulation. Its programme targets overlapping requirements that have increased costs for firms and authorities. While that reform progresses, DTCC’s service provides common tools for managing submissions, corrections and exceptions under the existing regimes.

10. FSB urges Türkiye to close stablecoin issuer gap as USDT connects users to offshore markets

Türkiye’s stablecoin controls cover intermediaries and transfers but leave gaps in issuer reserves and redemption safeguards, the Financial Stability Board (FSB) said on 11 November. Its peer review called for a dedicated stablecoin regime and stronger cross-border supervision. Existing rules prohibit crypto payments for goods and services and subject providers to licensing and anti-money-laundering requirements. MASAK’s June 2025 rules cap stablecoin withdrawals at $3,000 daily and $50,000 monthly, with higher limits available when specified transfer-information requirements are met.

USDT is the principal dollar stablecoin users purchase before moving funds to foreign trading platforms, according to the FSB. An IMF study published in April places Türkiye among the largest recipients of combined USDT and USDC cross-border inflows in 2024. Domestic activity has also grown: Chainalysis estimated peer-to-peer stablecoin volume at $3.56 billion in July 2025–June 2026, up fivefold. The FSB identifies potential effects on deposit composition, currency substitution and capital-flow volatility, alongside gaps in oversight of foreign-issued stablecoins.