Western Union to Debut USDPT Stablecoin for 100M+ Users on Solana Network

Western Union, an American multinational financial services firm, has announced plans to launch a stablecoin, U.S. Dollar Payment Token (USDPT), on the Solana blockchain. The stablecoin is expected to go live during the first half of next year.

The financial services company has tapped Anchorage Digital, a crypto-native bank, as the issuer for the stablecoin.

Western Union Embraces Stablecoin

Western Union specializes in money transfers and bill payments. Upon the debut of the new stablecoin, the company’s 100 million user base will be able to send, receive, spend, and hold money. Users would access USDPT through the company’s partner exchanges.

Alongside the USDPT stablecoin, Western Union also plans to debut a Digital Asset Network. Highlighting its roles in the company’s overall activities, Western Union’s CEO and President, Devin McGranahan, said:

“We are excited to announce our Digital Asset Network, 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. Our Digital Asset Network and USDPT will be an enabler in achieving our mission to make financial services accessible to people everywhere.”

Harnessing the Solana network will enable Western Union to facilitate fast, low-cost USDPT transactions.

More Stablecoin Ventures

Like Western Union, more companies and blockchain projects have shown interest in developing a stablecoin. Since 2023, payment giant PayPal has brought its users closer to the PYUSD stablecoin. Currently, the U.S. dollar-pegged cryptocurrency boasts a market capitalization of $2.79 billion.

Earlier this month, Tempo, a blockchain backed by Stripe and Paradigm, raised approximately $500 million to fund its foray into stablecoins. Even European banks have joined the bandwagon.

Seeing that American companies are increasingly joining the movement is not entirely surprising. In July, the U.S. government signed the GENIUS Act (known as the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act). This provided the regulatory guardrails for the launch of stablecoins in the country.

The GENIUS Act has led Tether, the largest stablecoin issuer, to consider entering the country with a compliant stablecoin.