Key conclusions

• RMJDT is a ringgit stablecoin designed for cross-border payments and trade.

• Its vault and validator configuration is designed to ensure that onchain settlements function as a reliable infrastructure.

• Across Asia, stablecoins are subject to licensing regulations and reserve and redemption rules.

• Tokenized assets enhance demand for tokenized settlements in local currencies, not just USD.

RMJDT is presented as a token associated with the Crown Prince of Johor. It was launched by his company Bullish Aim and released on Zetrix, a network connected to Malaysia’s national blockchain infrastructure.

The token is intended for cross-border trade payments and settlements, and the project also announced the creation of a 500 million Malaysian ringgit ($121 million) Zetrix vault to support the network’s day-to-day operations.

Across Asia, there is a broader shift towards regulated tokenized money, including stablecoins with clearer reserve and redemption rules and onchain settlement systems built for trading and tokenized assets. RMJDT is one example of this trend.

What is RMJDT?

RMJDT is sold as a uncomplicated product, a ringgit-pegged stablecoin issued on the Zetrix blockchain by Bullish Aim, a company whose CEO and owner is Johor Regent Tunku Ismail Ibni Sultan Ibrahim.

The token is intended for everyday payments and cross-border trade. It also aims to make ringgit easier to exploit in a world where more commerce takes place online and across borders.

The distinguishing feature of RMJDT is said to be its structure. According to disclosures and project reports, RMJDT is expected to be backed by ringgit cash and short-term Malaysian government bonds, a conservative reserve model favored by regulators and larger financial institutions because it is easier to explain and theoretically easier to redeem.

The other half of the picture is a novel Digital Asset Treasury Company (DATCO), funded by 500 million ringgit Zetrix tokens, with plans to expand this to 1 billion ringgit.

The project claims that this pool is intended to support maintain more stable transaction costs and support the network by staking tokens tied to a maximum of 10% of validator nodes.

Simply put, the goal is to make the exploit of RMJDT more like the features of a reliable payment system and less like something that changes character every time the cryptocurrency market gets heated.

Did you know? Bank Negara Malaysia has already collaborated with the BIS Innovation Center on the Dunbar project, which built cross-border settlement prototypes using multiple central bank digital currencies with Australia, Singapore and South Africa.

Why Ringgit Stablecoin Now: Tokenized assets require tokenized settlement

The ringgit stablecoin makes more sense when you look at what Malaysia is trying to build in the future.

Bank Negara Malaysia was bearing basics of tokenization of assets in the regulated financial sector. RMJDT is part of this step-by-step approach, which starts with familiar instruments such as deposits, loans and bonds and aims to introduce tokenized products to regulated markets from 2027 if the roadmap continues.

However, almost every tokenization pilot has a recurring problem. It is complex to scale tokenized assets if the monetary part of the transaction still needs to leave the chain.

Issuers can put a bond, fund unit or invoice on chain, but if settlement continues to revert to bank transfers, the promise of immediate settlement breaks down in the face of integration work, deadlines and reconciliations.

This is why regional projects like Singapore’s Project Guardian keep coming back to the same point. The choice of settlement assets, whether stablecoins, tokenized deposits, or other forms of regulated onchain money, can determine whether tokenized markets will actually succeed.

In this sense, RMJDT represents Malaysia testing what onchain settlement looks like in ringgit terms and planning what it might try to tokenize next.

Licensing the publisher, not the token

Regulators in Asia are increasingly deciding who can issue stablecoins and under what reserve rules, redemption conditions and supervisory frameworks.

• Hong Kong sets a clear example. According to the Stablecoins Regulation, from August 1, 2025, the issuance of fiat-based stablecoins has become a regulated activity, and issuers must be licensed by the HKMA. HKMA as well adopted public register of licensed issuers. The first licenses are only expected to be issued in an initial batch at a later date, with authorities warning the market not to get ahead of the regulatory process.

• Singapore takes a similar foundation-focused approach, but views stablecoins as part of a broader tokenized system. The Monetary Authority of Singapore is preparing stablecoin regulations that emphasize solid reserves and reliable redemptions, while also piloting tokenized MAS accounts and settlement experiments that combine bank liabilities, regulated stablecoins and wholesale central bank digital currency (CBDC) initiatives.

• The Japanese approach channels stablecoin-like instruments through regulated structures such as fiduciary stablecoins, whose issuance and redemption are linked to custodian banks and trust companies and are subject to regulatory notification. It also considers support for certain stablecoins as part of regulated electronic payment instrument services.

Did you know? Thailand and Malaysia have connected their real-time payment systems, PromptPay and DuitNow, through an official cross-border payment connection.

Malaysia’s regulatory background

Digital asset activities already fall within certain frameworks overseen by the Securities and Exchange Commission. SC Guidelines for Digital Assets set requirements for regulated players in areas such as exchanges and depository services, and SC also operates a dedicated digital asset center that directs operators to the recognized market operator pathway and depositary registration process.

Bank Negara Malaysia has also included tokenization on its agenda through formal discussion paper on tokenization of assets and a phased action plan covering the years 2025-2027. The focus is on testing real-world exploit cases in the financial sector before anything is implemented on a vast scale.

Against this background, RMJDT appears to be part of a broader approach to regulated experimentation.

Did you know? Malaysia is the world’s largest sukuk market, representing approximately one-third of the world’s outstanding sukuk. Sukuk are bond-like Islamic financial certificates structured to provide a return without accruing interest and secured by an underlying asset or cash flow.

Threats and open questions

Provisions and write-offs

The first question is unglamorous and determines whether something else matters: how RMJDT deals with provisions and write-offs in practice.

The public communication is based on a regulated sandbox and reserves model that is intended to appear conservative, but the market will continue to seek transparency on fundamental issues such as how often information is disclosed, who verifies collateral and how operations will operate in the event of a spike in redemptions.

Governance and neutrality

RMJDT launches with a treasury facility that is clearly intended to support network economics and staking tokens to support a significant portion of validator performance.

This can be described as stability, but it also raises a clear question about where the line is drawn between infrastructure support and impact on the system itself.

Adoption

Cross-border trade settlements sound compelling in the press release, but ultimately depend on integration: who holds the RMJDT, who provides liquidity, how currency conversion works, and whether counterparties actually want on-chain ringgit exposure rather than sticking to US dollars.

Malaysia’s own tokenization roadmap makes it clear that it is intended to be a phased journey with pilots and feedback, rather than something that will happen overnight.

Regulatory obstacles

Finally, RMJDT is reaching a region where regulators are tightening oversight of stablecoin issuance.

Hong Kong’s regime is already in place and places a powerful emphasis on licensing and transparency. This is reminiscent of what mainstream stablecoins are increasingly looking like in Asia: supervised issuers, clear rules and little tolerance for vague promises.

What the “royal stablecoin” reveals.

So what can you learn?

1. First, it is another signal that local currency stablecoins are treated as infrastructure. News around RMJDT focuses on trade settlements and payments, and the project is accompanied by a treasury structure designed to ensure the utility and predictability of the network.

2. Second, it highlights a sequence emerging across Asia: tokenized assets tend to come first in political conversations, followed by tokenized settlements. The Central Bank of Malaysia is clearly implementing a multi-year tokenization roadmap for the financial sector, and a settlement token denominated in ringgit naturally fits into this direction of development.

3. Third, it shows how the region draws the line between cryptocurrencies and money. Hong Kong has brought stablecoin issuance under a licensing regime, Singapore is combining stablecoin rules with trial tokenized promissory notes, and Japan’s framework routes stablecoin-style instruments through regulated issuer structures. RMJDT fits into the same environment where credibility, reserves, redemption and governance matter at least as much as technology.

RMJDT shows how the conversation in Asia has changed. Stablecoins are being brought to the same standards as other payment instruments, and tokenization is increasingly being treated as market infrastructure.

When a ringgit-pegged token emerges with a reserve model built on cash and government securities, and a treasury designed to keep the system running smoothly, it suggests what may be a priority for the region: regulated onchain settlements for tokenized assets.