DENVER–Western Union is the latest to announce it plans to launch a new stablecoin and a network designed to enable real-world utility for digital assets.
With these products, Western Union aims to “reshape how money moves worldwide,” it said in a statement.
The company’s stablecoin, U.S. Dollar Payment Token (USDPT), will be built on Solana and issued by Anchorage Digital Bank, according to the release.
According to Western Union, the collaboration will bring together Solana’s blockchain technology, Anchorage Digital Bank’s federally regulated stablecoin issuance platform and digital asset custody solutions, and Western Union’s global digital footprint.
Western Union said it expects to launch USDPT in the first half of 2026 and to enable users to access the stablecoin via partner exchanges, per the release.
‘Own the Economics’
“We are committed to leveraging emerging technologies to empower our customers and communities,” Western Union President and CEO Devin McGranahan said in a statement. “As we evolve into the digital assets space, Western Union’s USDPT will allow us to own the economics linked to stablecoins.”
Digital Asset Network
Western Union’s other newly announced project is the Digital Asset Network, which the company said will enable real-world utility for digital assets by being designed to “bridge the digital and fiat worlds.”
McGranahan described the Digital Asset Network as “a solution for the last mile of the crypto journey by partnering with wallets and wallet providers to provide customers with seamless access to cash off-ramps for digital assets by leveraging our global network.”
McGranahan told Bloomberg that the company was looking at non-U.S. markets, believing that a coin could act “almost like a savings account in U.S. dollars” for customers in other countries whose regulators permit the activity.
Opportunity in Remittances
Western Union said that it saw opportunities in the use of stablecoins for remittances and that it aimed to use the technology to reduce friction and float in cross-border transfers, provide on-ramps and off-ramps for crypto-fiat conversions, reduce its reliance on intermediaries, and add crypto capabilities to its digital wallet.
