Western Union’s USDPT is the first token to settle transactions directly on VisaNet. The arrangement, announced Thursday, lets eligible companies use this dollar-pegged stablecoin for their obligations on the Visa network. It is a specific move by Anchorage Digital, which operates what it bills as America’s first federally chartered crypto bank under the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. This setup pairs a stablecoin’s speed with the backing of a regulated institution.
A Regulated Bank Behind the Money
Anchorage CEO Nathan McCauley argues that "Speed alone won’t bring institutions onchain." He states that financial entities want "a regulated institution behind the money," and this deal provides both the fast settlement of digital assets and the safeguards of a federal charter. The company sees this as a step toward becoming the "settlement bank for stablecoins" at institutional scale. They aim to provide custody and settlement rails underneath the tokens, rather than just issuing them. Anchorage already issues several institution-grade stablecoins, including Tether’s U.S.-regulated USAT and Ethena’s USDtb. Each of these is redeemable one-to-one for dollars. Their counterparty settlement network, Atlas, handles off-exchange settlement, collateral management, and cross-border transfers. The firm recently positioned itself as the custody backbone of the U.S.-Mexico stablecoin corridor, managing tokens on both sides of one of the world’s largest remittance routes.
Extending Visa’s Onchain Plumbing
Visa vice president Dan Roesbery framed the support as giving partners "another trusted, institution-grade option" for settling with Visa. This move extends Visa’s existing stablecoin push, which includes a settlement program spanning networks like Base and Polygon. The payments giant also launched a platform to help banks and fintech firms issue and move stablecoins. However, the current scope is narrow, limited strictly to Western Union’s USDPT. The companies said the deal establishes a framework to add more of Anchorage’s stablecoins later, but no other tokens have gained this status yet. Backing a token on Visa’s network, which reaches merchants and banks worldwide, extends Anchorage’s institutional footprint further into mainstream payments. For now, the practical benefit is clear: faster settlement with federal banking oversight.
