The Web3 Roundup (Aug 18–23): Thailand’s Crypto Tourism Pilot, Ripple’s RLUSD in Japan, MetaMask ...

At Todayq, every Monday is about starting fresh while revisiting what truly shaped the crypto world the previous week. From August 18 to August 23, 2025, the market saw sharp turns, new opportunities, and major updates you can’t afford to miss

But before diving into the headlines, let’s look at how the market performed. According to the data from CoinMarketCap, the wider crypto market is now valued at $4.00 trillion with a surge of nearly 5.30% and the volume is $134.55 billion

Bitcoin is exchanging hands at $114,978.51, and from Aug 18- Aug 23, its price is down by 2.2%, and in the past 7 days, it lost 2.14%. Yet Ethereum is trading at $4,763 with a surge of 7.49%

Main headlines of the week

Here are the week’s top crypto stories, each with a quick snapshot you shouldn’t miss

Thailand enables a pilot 18-month crypto-to-Baht conversion for tourists

In 2025, the tourism sector of Thailand experienced a sharp decline in the number of tourists and revenue to curb the fall. The finance ministry of the nation has now come up with the plan to allow crypto to baht conversion

With this development, the nation wants to pave an easier path for international tourists to convert their crypto into Thailand’s currency, helping them to maximize their spending on local businesses based in the nation

The initial limit for the conversion is $550,000, which will be revised post the successful completion of the pilot phase

Ripple partnered with SBI VC Trade to launch RLUSD in Japan

After the clarity over cryptocurrencies and stablecoins, especially after Donald Trump came into power, there is now a rush among institutions and banks to roll out their own stablecoins, and joining the race, Ripple joined hands with SBI VC Trade to enable trading of its stablecoin in Japan

RLUSD, the stablecoin by Ripple, debuted in the market in December last year, and over time, it gained huge traction in the market. As of writing, it has a market capitalization of $686.57 million, and its trading volume is $42.10 million

Ripple’s press release dated August 22, 2025, notes that it aims to roll out its RLUSD in Japan in Q1, 2026, with the help of SBI VC Trade, the crypto subsidiary of SBI Holdings

MetaMask to launch its native stablecoin mUSD later this year

On August 21, 2025, it was reported that MetaMask had intended to launch its native stablecoin mUSD with the alliance of Bridge and M0. With this development, the self-custodial wallet aims to remove obstacles and enable Ethereum users to easily on- and off-ramp self-custodied cryptocurrencies in tokens pegged with the U.S dollars.

For its mUSD, MetaMask announced having bigger plans with its integration all across the MetaMask, including its lending, holding, spending, and transacting all across the Web3ecosystem

Volkswagen Singapore now begins accepting crypto as payment

Volkswagen Singapore has joined the list of automobile giants in accepting crypto payment for services and vehicle purchases. Per the available data till July 2025, the car company’s share in the Singaporean market was between 1.5% to 2%, which is forecasted to touch 3% by year’s end

In its press release, it noted that with the alliance of FOMO Pay, it has begun taking payments in cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, USDT, and USDC. The move came following the growing popularity and adoption of digital assets globally, and especially among the younger generation

Nasdaq suspends Windtree Therapeutics trading as it fell below $1.00

Windtree Therapeutics, the company that announced its plan to acquire the BNB token as its primary treasury asset, the company got a notice of delisting due to non-compliance with Nasdaq Rule 5550 (1) (a)

After the notice, Windtree wrapped its trading from Nasdaq on market opening on August 21, 2025; however, it is now trading on the top counter market under the ticker ‘WINT.’ As of writing, it is priced at $0.13 with a decline of 5.11% in the last trading session

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