Crypto Exchanges
By Maheen Hernandez
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USDPT, the GENIUS Act, and the Bybit Tie-Up. Western Union rolled out USDPT back in May, and the timing wasn't accidental.
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MoneyGram Is Already in the Game. Western Union isn't doing this alone, and it's not doing it first.
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What the Expansion Actually Looks Like. Sixty-plus markets by year-end is the stated goal. That's a serious operational lift — licensing,…
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Western Union just launched Stablecard — a digital wallet and Visa card built around USDPT, a US dollar-backed stablecoin running on the Solana blockchain.
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Stablecard was developed with Rain, and USDPT itself is issued by Anchorage Digital Bank. Users can receive, transfer, and spend USDPT through the wallet, and the card plugs…
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Western Union rolled out USDPT back in May, and the timing wasn't accidental. The company lined the stablecoin up with the GENIUS Act, a US law that lays out rules for how…
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The company also struck a deal with Bybit — the crypto exchange started facilitating USDPT trades in June. That's an interesting pairing.
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The stablecoin-for-remittances idea isn't new. Startups have been pitching it for years. But Western Union's brand recognition, existing corridors, and compliance infrastructure…
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Western Union isn't doing this alone, and it's not doing it first. MoneyGram has its own stablecoin — MGUSD — running on the Stellar network.
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Read also: Bybit Payments GmbH Wins Austrian EMI License to Serve 30-Plus EEA Markets
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The competitive pressure is real. Traditional remittance corridors have always been lucrative but also notoriously sticky in terms of fees.
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But it's not all clear sailing. A Bank of Italy study took a hard look at stablecoin-based remittances and found they still struggle to beat traditional services on cost and…
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There's no detail yet on exactly how Western Union handles that last-mile conversion in each of the 37 markets.
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Sixty-plus markets by year-end is the stated goal. That's a serious operational lift — licensing, local compliance, currency support, and customer education all have to come…
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The Visa integration softens that last one considerably. People trust Visa. Apple Pay. Google Pay.
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