TL;DR
- Ethena will shift USDtb issuance to Anchorage Digital Bank to comply with the GENIUS Act and operate under U.S. federal regulation.
- Anchorage will serve as the official issuer of USDtb, leveraging its banking license and digital dollar infrastructure.
- Backed by BlackRock’s BUIDL fund, USDtb will become available for integration into regulated financial services.
Ethena Labs and Anchorage Digital have partnered to issue the regulated version of USDtb in the United States, aligning the stablecoin with the legal framework established by the newly passed GENIUS Act.
Under this agreement, Anchorage Digital Bank will take over the issuance of USDtb within the U.S., leveraging its status as a federally chartered institution to provide a clear, compliant path for the stablecoin’s expansion.
The GENIUS Act imposes strict requirements on the reserves backing stablecoins and grants the Federal Reserve oversight authority over their issuance. To meet these standards, Ethena will transfer USDtb creation to Anchorage, currently the only crypto-native bank with a federal license in the U.S. This move transitions USDtb from an offshore model to a fully regulated structure—critical for building trust among investors and institutions.
Anchorage has built a digital dollar issuance platform that streamlines compliance for projects operating under federal oversight. By integrating USDtb into this system, Ethena ensures it meets the transparency and security requirements outlined in the law. The partnership also reinforces Anchorage’s role as a regulated digital asset provider for institutional clients.
Ethena Begins Path Toward Full Federal Compliance
USDtb was launched in December 2024 in partnership with Securitize, and represents shares in BlackRock’s tokenized BUIDL fund, which manages over $2.4 billion in short-term Treasury bonds. Until now, the stablecoin operated primarily on networks such as Ethereum, Aptos, Avalanche, and various layer 2s. With this new structure, U.S. financial institutions will be able to integrate USDtb into their platforms without regulatory conflict.
Guy Young, CEO of Ethena Labs, said that aligning with GENIUS compliance will allow partners and users to expand USDtb into new products and use cases. Nathan McCauley, CEO of Anchorage Digital, noted that federal bank backing brings the stability needed for stablecoins to play a central role in modern finance.
This initiative sets a crucial precedent for the industry by establishing a stablecoin with a defined path to full federal compliance. Both companies expect the full implementation of the GENIUS Act to unlock broader adoption of USDtb in the U.S. market, blending the speed and flexibility of onchain assets with the safeguards required by the traditional financial system
