Malaysia’s crown prince is stepping into the blockchain economy with a new ringgit-pegged stablecoin and a digital asset treasury, moves that land as analysts debate whether the corporate treasury boom in crypto is peaking or whether royal-backed initiatives can still redefine the role of digital assets in national finance. Both initiatives are centered on Zetrix, a layer-1 blockchain focused on cross-border integration and built to connect governments, businesses and users to Web3.
Sandbox-Backed RMJDT and Zetrix DAT Test a Cooling Treasury Boom
The project is led by Bullish Aim, a telecom company owned by Ismail Ibrahim, the eldest son of Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar of the Johor royal family, which announced RMJDT, a stablecoin backed by the Malaysian ringgit and targeting payments across the Asia-Pacific region, underscoring a strategy that uses a ringgit stablecoin to extend Malaysia’s monetary reach into regional trade and settlement flows. RMJDT will be issued on Zetrix and aims to support cross-border use of the currency.
According to the announcement, RMJDT is being launched under Malaysia’s regulated sandbox framework overseen by the Securities Commission and Bank Negara Malaysia, which is testing innovations such as programmable payments, ringgit-backed stablecoins and supply chain finance, signaling a controlled environment where regulators can observe how a ringgit stablecoin behaves in real-world payment and financing use cases. The initiative is described as aligning with tokenization trends and directly supporting Malaysia’s Digital Asset National Policy.
In parallel, Bullish Aim plans to establish a Zetrix-focused digital asset treasury company with an initial allocation of 500 million ringgit, or about $121.5 million, in Zetrix tokens and an ambition to grow that treasury to $243 million over time, reflecting a DAT model that mirrors high-profile corporate balance sheet strategies pioneered by firms like Strategy. As issuer of RMJDT, the company argues that holding a large Zetrix token reserve is necessary for stability and alignment with the national blockchain.
The timing of this push is notable because it arrives as the digital asset treasury sector faces headwinds, with researchers such as CoinShares’ James Butterfill suggesting that the DAT bubble may already be deflating after a rally in mid-2025, prompting a market-wide reassessment of which DAT operators have sustainable business models and disciplined treasury management. Against that backdrop, Bullish Aim’s royal-backed RMJDT launch and Zetrix treasury will test whether policy-linked initiatives can thrive while weaker DAT experiments fade.