HONG KONG, June 11, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — According to ME, on June 1, 2026, the Central Bank of Bahrain granted the country’s first stablecoin issuer license to AXG, a Nasdaq-listed company. The core significance of this license lies in its integration of three major elements: sovereign central bank supervision, a profit-sharing mechanism, and Sharia compliance. This combination represents a competitive advantage that mainstream stablecoins such as USDT, USDC, and PYUSD have yet to achieve.
The issuance of this license marks the emergence of a new stablecoin development path in the Middle East, one that differs clearly from the U.S. and European models. Its underlying logic is rooted in the region’s unique economic pain points and distinctive religious-financial requirements. Based on publicly available information and authoritative industry data, this article provides a comprehensive analysis of AXG’s stablecoin opportunity across four dimensions: market logic, regulatory design, ecosystem implementation, and commercial value. It also examines the central bank licensing path that mainstream stablecoins have not yet been able to follow, as well as the real growth logic and limitations behind it.
In January 2026, Dr. Thomas Zhu, Co-founder of AXG and Chairman of AX Coin, together with Mr. Xavier George, CEO of AX Coin and Mr. James Xia, COO of AX Coin, met with senior officials of the Kingdom of Bahrain. These officials included H.E. Shaikh Salman bin Khalifa Al Khalifa, Minister of Finance and National Economy; H.E. Noor bint Ali Alkhulaif, Minister of Sustainable Development and Chief Executive of the Economic Development Board; H.E. Khalid Humaidan, Governor of the Central Bank of Bahrain; and Ms. Maryam Adnan Abdullah Al Ansari, Undersecretary for National Economy Affairs.
I. The Uniqueness of AXG’s U.S. Dollar Stablecoin
The first stablecoin issuer license granted by the Central Bank of Bahrain to AXG demonstrates clear structural differences from mainstream U.S. and European stablecoins in terms of regulatory rules and institutional design. Its uniqueness is mainly reflected in three core dimensions.
Direct Supervision by a Sovereign Central Bank, Strengthening Compliance Certainty in a Single Jurisdiction
The U.S. stablecoin industry has long faced the challenge of regulatory fragmentation. Issuers must navigate a complex combination of state-level licenses and the separate regulatory framework of the New York Department of Financial Services, resulting in high compliance costs. Although the GENIUS Act proposes a more unified regulatory framework, it remains in the implementation stage and has not yet been fully enacted.
In the European Union, MiCA has formally introduced a unified regulatory framework for crypto assets. However, its implementation has been slow. Over the past two years, licensed compliant service providers in Europe have accounted for only 7% to 8% of the market, while most traditional financial institutions have yet to complete system adaptation and regulatory transformation. Tether, the world’s largest stablecoin issuer with a recent valuation of $375 billion, was also forced to exit the European market after failing to obtain a European central bank license.
Unlike the fragmented and slower-moving regulatory models in the U.S. and Europe, the Central Bank of Bahrain has placed AX Coin directly under its central bank supervisory framework. This allows AX Coin to possess full onshore compliance qualifications and regulatory certainty from the outset.
This institutional arrangement had already been clearly established in the Stablecoin Issuance and Offering Module issued by the Central Bank of Bahrain in July 2025. The rules require all stablecoin issuers to obtain official authorization, strictly peg their stablecoins to the U.S. dollar, Bahraini dinar, or other approved fiat currencies, and ensure that each stablecoin is fully backed 1:1 by highly liquid, low-risk, and high-quality reserve assets.
This strict and clearly defined regulatory framework naturally creates a high industry entry barrier and is well suited to the compliance requirements of conservative financial capital, including commercial banks and sovereign wealth funds.
An Innovative Profit-Sharing Mechanism That Breaks Through the U.S. and European “No-Yield” Constraint
U.S. and European regulatory systems impose strict restrictions on yield-bearing stablecoins. The recent stablecoin legislation advanced by the U.S. Senate Banking Committee explicitly prohibits stablecoins from paying passive interest to holders, and bipartisan compromise provisions further reinforce this restriction.
By contrast, Bahrain’s regulatory framework explicitly recognizes a compliant model for yield-generating stablecoins. It allows issuers to distribute returns generated from reserve assets, such as cash and short-term government bonds, to token holders. Within the framework of Islamic finance, this mechanism is legally defined as “profit sharing” rather than traditional interest income, which is prohibited under Sharia principles.
Put simply, AX Coin has obtained three passes at once: direct central bank supervision, profit-sharing capability, and religious legitimacy. This combination does not currently exist elsewhere in the global stablecoin market.
Sharia Compliance, Opening Access to the $5 Trillion Islamic Finance Market
Global Islamic finance assets have exceeded $5 trillion, yet their penetration into the digital asset sector has remained close to zero for a long time. Mainstream stablecoins generally do not meet the core requirements of Islamic finance. They may conflict with the prohibition of interest, known as Riba, and often fail to satisfy the principles of real asset backing and risk sharing.
Through its dedicated license, AX Coin has completed Sharia compliance certification. Its reserve asset structure strictly follows the principle of risk sharing, creating a compliant and efficient direct channel for traditional Islamic financial capital to access the on-chain U.S. dollar ecosystem.
II. AXG Stablecoin’s Core Market Advantages in the Middle East
Traditional financial infrastructure in the Middle East has clear limitations. Banking services are often interrupted, and the SWIFT global payment system can become unreliable during weekends or periods of political volatility. Stablecoins, by contrast, operate 24/7 and can serve as a digital dollar equivalent, becoming a strategic reserve and payment instrument for the Middle Eastern market.
The global cross-border payments market exceeds $250 trillion. However, many small and medium-sized enterprises in the Gulf region remain constrained by barriers within the traditional banking settlement system. By packaging the liquidity of U.S. Treasuries into digital assets, U.S. dollar stablecoins can reconstruct the global circulation and distribution channels of dollar liquidity. Combined with the urgent need of Islamic financial capital for compliant digital asset access, the potential value of the Middle Eastern stablecoin market is further amplified.
Overall, AXG’s stablecoin strategy has formed three core global strategic advantages.
First, Deep Integration with National and Regional Payment Infrastructure, Together with Access to Emerging African Markets
On May 6, 2026, AXG entered into a strategic partnership with BENEFIT, Bahrain’s national electronic financial transaction company. BENEFIT has 1.3 million registered users, connects with more than 30 major banks in the region, processed 494 million online transactions in 2025, and achieved annual transaction volume exceeding $100 billion.
The two parties will deeply integrate stablecoin technology with Bahrain’s national payment ecosystem, covering multiple scenarios such as cross-border remittance, merchant settlement, and government treasury fund flows. This provides AXG’s stablecoin with a strong foundation for national-level infrastructure implementation.
At the same time, in May 2025, AXG entered into a cooperation agreement with Yellow Card, a leading African payment platform, to expand into emerging markets. Yellow Card covers more than 20 African countries, has processed over $3 billion in cumulative transaction volume, and stablecoins drive 99% of its business. In Sub-Saharan Africa, stablecoins currently account for 43% of cryptocurrency transactions, reflecting strong market demand.
The compliant cooperation framework between the two parties will support the steady penetration of AXG’s stablecoin into Africa’s high-growth market.
Second, Compliant Access to Institutional-Grade Payment Infrastructure
On May 10, 2026, AXG entered into a strategic partnership with INFINIOS, a leading payment fintech company in the Gulf Cooperation Council region, to jointly develop regulated and compliant wallet infrastructure.
Under the partnership, AXG’s stablecoin will be fully integrated into INFINIOS’ mature payment system, supporting key services such as custodial and non-custodial wallets, multi-currency virtual accounts, and seamless conversion between stablecoins and fiat currencies. This will enable real-time clearing and settlement for B2B cross-border payments and create an integrated, compliant digital asset management ecosystem for institutional clients in the Middle East.
Third, Building Diversified Sovereign and Bank-Grade Cooperation Channels
AXG has already established deep cooperation with global mainstream financial institutions and trading platforms, including Standard Chartered. It has also worked with card providers such as Visa to launch stablecoin-based corporate card services, further expanding real-world payment application scenarios.
The sovereign-level central bank compliance endorsement provided by Bahrain’s license offers core institutional support for the implementation of multi-channel partnerships and the continued expansion of the ecosystem.
III. Global Regional Development Opportunities for AXG’s Stablecoin
With Bahrain as its core strategic foothold, AXG is expanding its compliant stablecoin ecosystem outward. It has already completed an initial strategic layout across three major regions: Asia Pacific, Africa, and the Middle East trade corridor. A global development framework is beginning to take shape.
Asia Pacific: AXG’s “Full Licensing + Bank Custody” Model Empowers the Stablecoin Ecosystem
AXG’s wholly owned Hong Kong subsidiary, Solomon JFZ, holds Type 1, Type 4, and Type 9 licenses from the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission, upgraded for crypto-related activities. This could potentially enable it to channel recently achieved compliant digital currency exchange liquidity of more than $1 billion into AXG’s stablecoin ecosystem.
At the same time, in May 2026, AXG and Standard Chartered, a global systemically important bank, successfully completed Hong Kong’s first institutional-grade digital currency custody transaction. This not only provides a seamless and efficient institutional bridge for the application of AXG’s initiative, but also establishes a new global benchmark for compliance and security through the credit endorsement of a leading international bank.
Africa: Connecting with Local Platforms to Build Cross-Border Trade Settlement Channels
Through its deep cooperation with Yellow Card, Africa’s largest stablecoin payment company, AXG’s stablecoin is entering emerging African markets through compliant channels. This helps connect the Middle East–Africa two-way trade settlement chain and provides African small and medium-sized foreign trade enterprises with lower-cost and higher-efficiency cross-border settlement solutions, unlocking the incremental potential of Africa’s stablecoin market.
The Middle East Corridor: Anchoring the Belt and Road and Positioning at the Core of Global Trade
Intra-GCC trade and cross-border trade routes between the Gulf region and Asia highly overlap with the core trade corridors of the Belt and Road Initiative. The global cross-border payments market, valued at around $250 trillion, is gradually migrating from the traditional correspondent banking system to stablecoin-based digital channels. Positioned at the crossroads of global trade, the Middle East is naturally becoming a key hub for capital flows.
AXG’s stablecoin issuance architecture is precisely aligned with this trend. By focusing on the capital flow demands of two core trade corridors, AXG is positioning itself to capture the benefits of the next stage of global cross-border payment infrastructure upgrading.
IV. Growth Prospects of AXG’s Stablecoin
1. A Top-Tier Team and Capital Market Recognition
According to publicly available information, AX Coin’s team composition is itself a strategic signal. Its Chairman, Dr. Thomas Zhu, previously served as Executive Director in the Securities Division at Goldman Sachs and has extensive experience in digital assets and compliant financial product implementation. Dr. Zhu previously led the launch of Asia’s first retail tokenized fund. The fund was the first retail fund approved after the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission issued its circular on tokenized SFC-authorized investment products in November 2023, marking an important industry milestone. This experience has also laid a strong foundation for AX Coin’s compliant stablecoin issuance, product design, and institutional operations.
AX Coin’s CEO Xavier George brings 25 years of experience in the payments industry. He has held leadership positions at institutions including American Express and Standard Chartered, and later served as Global Head of Stablecoin Payments at Yellow Card. His career spans both traditional payments and crypto payments.
The crypto and payments side is equally strong. A former Binance Bahrain operations lead is responsible for growth, while Head of Payment Network James Xia brings 35 years of experience across banking and payments, including a former senior role at Visa China.
What is even more notable is the depth of local integration. AX Coin’s compliance lead is a former regulator who spent 13 years at the Central Bank of Bahrain. Non-Executive Director Yousif Alnefaiei currently serves as Deputy CEO of BENEFIT, meaning a core figure from a key partner sits directly on AX Coin’s board, aligning interests at the highest level. Another Non-Executive Director, Dr. Lawrence Low, previously served as President of Citibank Hong Kong and Macau.
It is understood that AX Coin completed a seed round financing in December 2025 at a valuation of tens of millions of U.S. dollars, with participation from a leading technology company. This financing not only validates capital market recognition of AX Coin’s business model and compliance pathway, but also provides solid financial support and strategic resources for scaling after the sovereign central bank license was granted.
2. Strong Issuance Growth Potential
AXG’s stablecoin reportedly targets $500 million in circulation in its first year. If achieved, this would place it among the world’s top seven fiat-backed stablecoins. As demand continues to grow in the emerging markets of the Middle East and Africa, and if stablecoin penetration in the global Islamic finance market reaches 0.5%, the project’s circulation could exceed $25 billion within three years, leaving substantial room for growth.
3. A Stable and Sustainable Profit Model
AXG’s stablecoin business is expected to generate its core revenue from reserve asset yield management, with an annualized return rate of around 3.75%. Financial model projections suggest that the project is expected to break even in its second year, while total revenue could exceed $450 million in its third year.
This profit model is supported by three key foundations: sovereign central bank compliance endorsement, low-risk reserve asset management, and the continuous implementation of multi-scenario ecosystem applications. These factors give the model strong stability and scalability.
4. Partnering with Standard Chartered to Build a New AI Payment Ecosystem
On April 28, 2026, AXG and SC Ventures, the innovation investment arm of Standard Chartered, formally signed an agreement to jointly incubate AGENPAY, an AI-driven payment project.
According to industry data from Straits Research, the global AI in fintech market is expected to reach $38.14 billion in 2026 and grow to $193.24 billion by 2034, representing a compound annual growth rate of 22.49%. Meanwhile, more than 65% of financial institutions worldwide have already adopted AI-based risk control and automated payment applications, reflecting the rapid rise of demand for digital and intelligent payment upgrades.
The two parties will cooperate deeply across areas including core API capability development, payment routing infrastructure construction, and ecosystem validation.
AGENPAY aims to reconstruct the full payment process and build a next-generation financial infrastructure for the AI era. It focuses on improving payment efficiency, strengthening risk control capabilities, reducing transaction costs, and creating an agent-driven intelligent payment system.
The project deeply integrates AXG’s technological foundation in artificial intelligence and blockchain with SC Ventures’ global financial resource network, accelerating the commercialization of AI payment technologies. At the same time, the project is highly aligned with AXG’s AI financial architecture of “front-end card payments and back-end stablecoin settlement.” It can help address fragmentation in enterprise stablecoin payment systems and fits closely with the core value direction of the industry’s digital transformation.
5. Reserving Room for Multi-Currency Compliant Expansion
Under the regulatory rules of the Central Bank of Bahrain, stablecoins may be compliantly pegged to the Bahraini dinar, the U.S. dollar, and other approved fiat currencies. This institutional design provides AXG with a clear compliance path for a diversified currency layout and reserves policy space for the future issuance of regional and cross-regional stablecoin products.
As payment networks across Gulf Cooperation Council countries continue to become more interconnected, AX Coin may eventually expand its product system to include stablecoins pegged to other Gulf currencies. This would further strengthen its strategic position as a core regional financial infrastructure provider in the Middle East.
Conclusion
Looking at the core data and industry logic, several structural opportunities are clear: the $5 trillion Islamic finance market remains largely untapped by digital assets; the $250 trillion global cross-border payments market continues to face channel inefficiencies; AXG’s stablecoin has a clear first-year circulation target of $500 million; and its projected three-year issuance scale could reach $25 billion.
These advantages, together with capital market recognition, suggest that AXG’s Bahrain-based stablecoin strategy is supported by real structural opportunity rather than conceptual speculation. However, whether the full value of this market can be realized will still depend on the pace of regulatory implementation, execution efficiency across partnership channels, and the broader trend of global capital flowing into compliant stablecoin infrastructure in the Middle East.
