Malaysia and Thailand join Singapore’s BLOOM stablecoin push

Bank Negara Malaysia and the Bank of Thailand became policymaker members of Singapore’s BLOOM initiative on Friday, Oct. 23, 2026, roughly a year after the Monetary Authority of Singapore launched the project, according to Cryptobriefing. The two central banks join a public-private effort to standardize how stablecoins and tokenized deposits are used to move money across borders.

The acronym stands for Borderless, Liquid, Open, Online, Multi-currency. MAS leads the initiative, which aims to align regulatory frameworks across participating jurisdictions so that cross-border settlement becomes cheaper and faster to coordinate.

Key facts

• Bank Negara Malaysia and the Bank of Thailand joined BLOOM as policymaker members on Oct. 23, 2026.
• MAS launched BLOOM in October 2025.
• BLOOM builds on Project Orchid, which began in 2021 to explore uses for a digital Singapore dollar.
• The initiative covers tokenized bank liabilities and regulated stablecoins, with a wholesale focus on trade finance and corporate treasury.
• Participants named in Cryptobriefing’s report include Circle, DBS, Stripe and the World Bank Group.

What the initiative is designed to do

BLOOM targets the plumbing that large companies use to move money between markets rather than consumer payments. Its stated goals include lower costs and faster time to market for institutions, because participants would need fewer one-off arrangements with each counterparty or market.

Work areas include programmable compliance controls, meaning rules such as sanctions screening or transaction limits embedded directly into the payment so checks run automatically. The initiative also covers settlement asset distribution, multi-currency flexibility, standardized risk management and interoperability between payment systems.

Cointelegraph reported that BLOOM’s scope also takes in corporate cash management, trade finance and payments executed by AI agents within predefined limits. Neither report says member central banks have committed to switching on live stablecoin rails.

Participants, and where the reports differ

The two reports name overlapping but not identical lists of participants. Cryptobriefing cites Circle, DBS, Stripe and the World Bank Group. Cointelegraph lists Airwallex, Mastercard, Ripple, Visa and the World Bank Group. Both describe the World Bank Group as involved.

BLOOM grew out of Project Orchid, an earlier MAS programme that ran trials from 2021 onward to test practical uses of a digital Singapore dollar, before the regulator widened its scope to privately issued stablecoins and tokenized deposits.

Cointelegraph also reported that Bank Negara Malaysia separately announced in February plans for three initiatives to test ringgit stablecoins and tokenized deposits for domestic and cross-border wholesale payments in 2026.

Why it matters

Cross-border payments in Southeast Asia have long required bilateral arrangements between counterparties, which adds cost and delay. A shared standard could let institutions plug into one framework instead of negotiating each corridor separately, which is the specific coordination expense BLOOM is aimed at.

Membership is not deployment. BNM and BOT joined as policymaker members, meaning they help shape standards rather than activate live stablecoin settlement infrastructure. Wider regional engagement is expected, with more collaboration anticipated among payment networks, multilateral organizations and private firms.

What to watch

Details of the ringgit stablecoin and tokenized deposit tests announced by Bank Negara Malaysia in February, scheduled for 2026, will show whether domestic pilots align with BLOOM’s standards. Broader participation announcements from the initiative are the other signal to track.

Disclaimer: This article is for information only and is not investment, financial or trading advice. Cryptocurrency prices are highly volatile. Always do your own research.

Sources: Crypto Briefing, Cointelegraph