cointelegraph.com
Financial services giant Western Union is targeting May for the rollout of its new stablecoin as part of a crypto plan that includes its digital asset network and US dollar stable card.
“Over the last few months, we've crossed an important threshold. It is no longer a question of if Western Union will be active in digital assets, it is now how fast can we scale,” said Western Union president and CEO Devin McGranahan during the company’s first-quarter earnings call on Friday.
“At the foundation of our strategy is USDPT, our US dollar-backed stablecoin. USDPT is now in its final stages of readiness and is expected to go live next month,” he added.
A growing number of traditional financial institutions have been adopting stablecoins. Lamine Brahimi, co-founder of crypto custody provider Taurus, told Cointelegraph earlier this month that banks and corporations across Europe are actively selecting infrastructure partners to support stablecoin adoption.
Other banks and financial institutions onboard
Western Union first announced the stablecoin in October, and said it would be built on Solana and issued by Anchorage Digital Bank. It plans to combine it with the digital asset network to allow users to use the token seamlessly.
McGranahan said exchange partners will support access, conversion and distribution of USDPT and banking and financial institution partners in priority corridors will facilitate direct settlement and treasury use cases.
“Together, these relationships position USDPT as a foundational asset for scaling digital payments and settlement across our platform,” he added.
Currently, US dollar-denominated stablecoins account for the lion’s share of the $320 billion stablecoin market capitalization.
Tether's USDt ($USDT) leads with a market cap of more than $189.7 billion, followed by Circle's $USDC ($USDC) at $77.7 billion and Sky Dollar at $8.2 billion, according to DeFi analytics platform DefiLlama.
Tether's $USDT is the leading US dollar-denominated stablecoin. Source: DefiLlama
Digital asset network launching with first partner
McGranahan added that Western Union’s digital asset network (DAN), which aims to allow stablecoins and other cryptocurrencies to move across its global payment system and link to real-world cash access, will add its first partner this week.
“Our partner pipeline represents tens of millions of crypto wallets globally, creating a powerful distribution channel that brings digital asset users directly into Western Union's retail and digital network, solving an industry-wide issue of ramping from crypto to cash as a safe and effective utility,” he added.
Western Union’s digital asset network adds its first partner this week. Source: Western Union
Last month, Western Union announced DAN would allow users to convert digital dollars into local currency at more than 360,000 collection points worldwide.
Stable card launch later this year
Meanwhile, Western Union is also planning to launch a US dollar stable card, which will allow users to hold and spend stablecoins later this year.
McGranahan added that going forward, Western Union plans to make digital assets a core part of its platforms.
“The focus ahead is scaling, expanding adoption, increasing velocity, and embedding digital assets more deeply into Western Union's core money movement platform.”