One of the world's largest payment networks is deepening its bet on tokenized money backed by regulated banks. Anchorage Digital announced on Thursday (12) that selected stablecoins issued by its federally chartered bank will be accepted as native settlement assets on VisaNet, starting with Western Union's USDPT. Visa and eligible partners will be able to use the token to settle obligations on the network, and the companies have created a framework to evaluate other stablecoins issued by Anchorage.
Context
- USDPT debuted in May on Solana, issued by Anchorage Digital Bank with infrastructure from Fireblocks. Western Union launched the token first in the Philippines and Bolivia and plans to use it for 24/7 settlement across its network of more than 200 countries.
- In September, Visa said its annualized stablecoin settlement run rate had reached US$ 20 billion, more than 15 times the level a year earlier. The company already settles on networks such as Base, Canton, Monad and Tempo.
- Anchorage also issues stablecoins for Tether (USAT), OSL (USDGO), Ethena (USDtb), Falcon Finance (fUSD) and Zelle (ZLUSD).
Implications
The announcement comes at a time when total stablecoin supply is contracting, now at around US$ 280 billion, down from US$ 300 billion in March, according to The Block's data dashboard. Even so, the message to banks and payment institutions is clear: institutional adoption tends to favor regulated issuers, with a supervised bank behind the token. Anchorage says it wants to become a stablecoin settlement bank at institutional scale. For Latin America, USDPT's early presence in Bolivia and its focus on remittances make the topic especially relevant.