Anchorage Digital, a U.S. federally chartered crypto bank, is shifting its focus in the stablecoin business. The company stated that while it still supports the Global Dollar stablecoin consortium (USDG), which includes institutions like Robinhood and Kraken, it will no longer hold a more prominent position in the stablecoin market as it has previously.
Shift to a more neutral stablecoin strategy
Anchorage co-founder and CEO Nathan McCauley stated that the company will take a more neutral stance in the stablecoin space going forward, and will not continue to focus on any particular project. As it begins offering white-label stablecoin issuance services to more institutions, continuing to favor a single stablecoin is no longer appropriate.
Approximately 20 institutions have approached us about issuing stablecoins.
Anchorage recently revealed that approximately 20 banks and technology companies have contacted them, hoping to launch stablecoins using their services. In April, Anchorage also announced a partnership with stablecoin issuance platform M0, whose partners include MetaMask and Bridge.
McCauley stated that when a company begins offering white-label issuance capabilities to multiple different clients, it needs to re-examine its incentive arrangements to avoid showing a clear bias towards any one stablecoin in the market.
Retains USDG membership
USDG currently has a circulating supply of approximately $3 billion. It is issued by Paxos Digital Singapore and regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore. Alliance members also include Galaxy Digital, OKX, Visa, Worldpay, and Bullish.
Anchorage stated that the company has not withdrawn from USDG, still hopes the project will progress, and will continue to retain its membership, but will reduce its public promotion and front-office involvement in the future.
Changes in the role of stablecoin service providers
This adjustment shows that as banks, payment companies, and technology platforms accelerate their deployment of stablecoins, infrastructure providers are more inclined to act as neutral service providers rather than being deeply tied to a single stablecoin network.
