In brief
- Anchorage Digital is working with Visa to enable select Anchorage-issued stablecoins to settle transactions on VisaNet. The rollout starts with Western Union’s USDPT, with a framework to add more tokens later.
- CEO Nathan McCauley said the appeal lies in combining a stablecoin’s speed with the backing of a federally regulated bank.
- The deal advances Anchorage’s goal of becoming the “settlement bank for stablecoins,” following its recent role in the U.S.-Mexico corridor, and expands Visa’s stablecoin efforts.
Anchorage Digital is expanding its stablecoin presence across one of the world’s largest payment networks. It is partnering with Visa to let select Anchorage-issued tokens settle transactions directly on VisaNet, starting with Western Union’s USDPT.
Under the arrangement announced Thursday, Visa and eligible companies can use USDPT, a dollar-pegged stablecoin issued and held in custody by Anchorage Digital Bank, to settle their obligations on Visa’s network.
USDPT is the first Anchorage-issued token to receive that status. The companies said the deal creates a framework for adding more of Anchorage’s stablecoins later.
Anchorage says the appeal is the combination of stablecoin speed and the backing of a regulated bank. The company operates what it describes as America’s first federally chartered crypto bank, overseen by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.
“Speed alone won’t bring institutions onchain,” said Nathan McCauley, Anchorage’s co-founder and CEO, arguing that institutions want “a regulated institution behind the money,” and are now getting both a stablecoin’s speed and a federally regulated bank’s safeguards.
The move is the latest indication that Visa is incorporating stablecoins into its settlement operations.
The payments company has expanded a stablecoin settlement program across networks such as Base and Polygon, launched a platform to help banks and fintech firms issue and transfer stablecoins, and entered onchain lending linked to its cards.
Dan Roesbery, a Visa vice president for crypto partnerships, said support for USDPT gives partners “another trusted, institution-grade option” for settling with Visa.
For Anchorage, the deal supports a wider ambition to become the settlement bank for stablecoins at institutional scale, providing not only issuance but also the custody and settlement infrastructure beneath them.
The bank already issues several institution-grade stablecoins, including Tether’s U.S.-regulated USAT, Western Union’s USDPT, Ethena’s USDtb and others. Each can be redeemed one-to-one for dollars. Its counterparty settlement network, Atlas, handles off-exchange settlement, collateral management and cross-border transfers.
Anchorage recently positioned itself as the custody backbone of the U.S.-Mexico stablecoin corridor, holding tokens on both sides of one of the world’s largest remittance routes. Supporting a token on Visa’s network, which reaches merchants and banks worldwide, further extends that institutional presence into mainstream payments.
The companies said they could add support for more Anchorage-issued stablecoins after the initial USDPT launch.
