Visa adds Western Union's USDPT stablecoin to its settlement network in Anchorage tie-up

Anchorage Digital said it is collaborating with Visa to support select stablecoins issued by its federally chartered bank as native settlement assets on the Visa network, starting with Western Union's USDPT. 

Visa and eligible partners can use the token to settle VisaNet obligations, with the companies also creating a framework to consider additional Anchorage-issued stablecoins, according to a statement shared with The Block. 

"Stablecoins have made money move faster, but speed alone won't bring institutions onchain," Anchorage Digital CEO Nathan McCauley said. "They need a regulated institution behind the money. With Anchorage Digital select issued stablecoins now being supported on the Visa network, institutions get both: the speed of a stablecoin and the safety of a federally regulated bank behind it." 

USDPT debuted in May on Solana, with Anchorage Digital Bank handling issuance and Fireblocks providing the wallet and settlement infrastructure. Western Union initially launched the stablecoin in the Philippines and Bolivia, with plans to use it for 24/7 settlements across its network of more than 200 countries.

Anchorage has also issued stablecoins for Tether (USAT), OSL Group (USDGO), Ethena Labs (USDtb), Falcon Finance (fUSD), and Zelle (ZLUSD). 

Anchorage reached a valuation of more than $3 billion in its $350 million Series D funding round in 2021. It has spent this year expanding its institutional services, including onchain lending through Spark and custody-based collateral management. 

Anchorage said the partnership with Visa fits its broader push to become a settlement bank for stablecoins, extending its business beyond issuance into custody and settlement services for institutions. 

Visa expands stablecoin settlement options

The partnership comes as stablecoin supply contracts. According to The Block's data dashboard, the current total supply has fallen to around $280 billion, down from $300 billion in March this year. Tether's USDT dominates the sector with $177 billion, followed by Circle's USDC at around $70 billion. 

For Visa, the Anchorage partnership builds on an expanding stablecoin settlement network. The company said in September that its annualized stablecoin settlement run rate reached $20 billion, more than 15 times the year-earlier figure. 

Visa has also added networks including Monad, Canton, Base, and Tempo to its settlement options.