tl;dr
Ethena Labs and Anchorage Digital have partnered to launch a fully regulated version of the USDtb stablecoin in the US, complying with the GENIUS Act. Under this law, Anchorage, the only federally chartered crypto bank in the US, will issue USDtb, ensuring regulatory compliance and boosting investor...
Ethena Labs has teamed up with Anchorage Digital to introduce a fully regulated version of its USDtb stablecoin in the United States, aligning with the new GENIUS Act. This partnership marks a significant step as Ethena transitions USDtb’s issuance to a domestically regulated framework under the recent federal legislation signed by President Donald Trump. The GENIUS Act establishes a federal regulatory structure for stablecoins and grants the Federal Reserve oversight, imposing stringent requirements on reserve assets and operational compliance for US-based issuers.
Ethena confirmed that Anchorage, a federally chartered crypto institution, will now directly issue USDtb using its stablecoin platform. Anchorage holds the unique position of being the only crypto-native entity in the US with a federal banking charter, providing a streamlined route for compliant digital dollar issuance. This onshore move strengthens Ethena’s position in the US stablecoin market and boosts investor confidence through Anchorage’s regulatory credentials.
Nathan McCauley, CEO and Co-Founder of Anchorage Digital, emphasized the importance of the GENIUS Act in providing regulatory clarity, allowing federally regulated institutions to fully engage in the stablecoin ecosystem. He highlighted that stablecoins are becoming a foundational component of modern finance and need to be built on secure, compliant, and durable infrastructure.
Ethena’s CEO, Guy Young, revealed strong demand for USDtb, which motivated the transition to GENIUS compliance. He expressed optimism that this compliance would empower partners and holders to expand their use of USDtb across new platforms and products. Initially launched in December 2024 with Securitize, USDtb is tied to BlackRock’s BUIDL fund, holding over $2.4 billion primarily in short-term US Treasury bills. BUIDL stands as the largest tokenized treasury fund, operating across multiple blockchains such as Ethereum, Aptos, Avalanche, and layer-2 networks including Arbitrum, Optimism, and Polygon.