In brief
- Anchorage Digital is working with Visa to let select Anchorage-issued stablecoins settle transactions on VisaNet, starting with Western Union’s USDPT, with a framework to add more tokens later.
- CEO Nathan McCauley pitched the appeal as pairing 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,” building on its recent role in the U.S.-Mexico corridor, and extends Visa’s stablecoin push.
Anchorage Digital is extending its stablecoin reach into one of the world’s largest payment networks, teaming up 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 now use USDPT, a dollar-pegged stablecoin issued and custodied by Anchorage Digital Bank, to settle their obligations on the Visa network.
It’s the first Anchorage-issued token to gain that status, and the companies said the deal establishes a framework to add more of its stablecoins later.
The appeal, Anchorage argues, is pairing the speed of a stablecoin with the backing of a regulated bank. Anchorage operates what it bills 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,” now getting both a stablecoin’s speed and a federally regulated bank’s safeguards.
The move is the latest sign of Visa weaving stablecoins into its settlement plumbing.
The payments giant has built out a stablecoin settlement program spanning networks like Base, Polygon and others, launched a platform to help banks and fintech firms issue and move stablecoins, and has moved into onchain lending tied to its cards.
→Dan Roesbery, a Visa vice president for crypto partnerships, framed the USDPT support as giving partners “another trusted, institution-grade option” for settling with Visa.
For Anchorage, the deal advances a broader ambition to become the settlement bank for stablecoins at institutional scale, not just issuing them but providing the custody and settlement rails underneath.
The bank already issues a roster of institution-grade stablecoins, including Tether’s U.S.-regulated USAT, Western Union’s USDPT, Ethena’s USDtb and others, each redeemable one-to-one for dollars. Its counterparty settlement network, Atlas, handles off-exchange settlement, collateral management and cross-border transfers.
Anchorage also recently positioned itself as the custody backbone of the U.S.-Mexico stablecoin corridor, custodying tokens on both sides of one of the world’s largest remittance routes. Backing a token on Visa’s network, which reaches merchants and banks worldwide, extends that institutional footprint further into mainstream payments.
The companies said support for additional Anchorage-issued stablecoins could follow the initial USDPT launch.
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