Paxos Labs and Aleo launch private stablecoin USAD on Aleo mainnet

Paxos Labs, a blockchain infrastructure firm specializing in stablecoin issuance, has launched USAD, a privacy-preserving stablecoin on the Aleo Network’s mainnet.

The dollar-pegged token operates on Aleo, a Layer 1 blockchain built on zero-knowledge cryptography that shields wallet addresses and transaction amounts from public view while preserving audit capabilities.

The launch follows Circle’s January 2026 debut of USDCx, a privacy-oriented variant of its flagship $USDC token, on the same network.

Aleo went live in September 2024 after securing $200M in Series B funding at a $1.45B valuation, with backing from SoftBank Vision Fund 2, a16z, Coinbase Ventures, and Tiger Global.

Toku plans to deploy a confidential payroll product using the new stablecoin in the first quarter of this year, targeting processing volumes above $1B.

Meanwhile, Paxos continues to expand its stablecoin infrastructure across the industry. The company provides backend issuance services for PayPal’s stablecoin and is a founding member of the Global Dollar Network, a stablecoin consortium whose participants include Kraken, Robinhood, and OKX.