Anchorage Digital in the context of Tether’s USA₮ launch

Mark Lagarde
Mon, 15 Sep 2025 07:58:56 +0000
Investor Briefing, Stablecoins, Anchorage Digital, Anchorage Digital Bank, BitGo, Cantor Fitzgerald, Coinbase Custody, custody, Diogo Monica, GENIUS Act, Nathan McCauley, OCC charter, Paxos, stablecoin, Tether, USA₮

Why this matters now: Stablecoin giant Tether says Anchorage Digital Bank, N.A will issue its new U.S.-regulated, GENIUS-compliant stablecoin USA₮. — the only U.S. national (OCC-chartered) crypto bank. This positions Anchorage at the center of on-shore stablecoin issuance just as U.S. policy (GENIUS Act) and institutional demand converge (Source: tether.io).

Read our report on the USAT launch here.

Who owns Anchorage & what it does

Anchorage Digital is a privately held group founded in 2017 by Nathan McCauley (CEO) and Diogo Mónica (President). At the holding-company level it has been backed by KKR (Series D lead), a16z, Goldman Sachs, GIC, Visa and others; the Series D (Dec-2021) valued the business at >$3bn. The operating bank, Anchorage Digital Bank, N.A., is a federally chartered national trust bank regulated by the OCC (Sources: anchorage.com)

Core activities: institutional qualified custody, trading/prime brokerage, staking & governance, settlement, and white-label stablecoin issuance—now including the USA₮ mandate. The firm also runs regulated entities in New York (BitLicense) and Singapore (MAS Major Payment Institution) to serve global clients (Source: anchorage.com).

Regulatory status: OCC granted the national trust charter in 2021; a 2022 OCC consent order relating to BSA/AML has since been terminated (Aug-18, 2025) after remediation (Sources: OCC.gov+1).

Scale & relationships: Anchorage cites “tens of billions” of assets under custody and has been added to BlackRock’s crypto custody network in 2025—both notable signals for institutional diligence.

Quick view — Summary table

Topic | Snapshot
Trading name | Anchorage Digital
Website | www.anchorage.com

Legal entities

Anchorage Digital Bank, N.A
Anchor Labs, Inc
Anchorage Hold, LLC
Anchorage Lending CA, LLC
Anchorage Services, LLC

Charter / Regulator | National trust bank (OCC); consent order terminated 18 Aug 2025.
Business lines | Institutional custody, trading/prime, staking, settlement, stablecoin issuance (white-label).
Investors / Valuation | $350m Series D (Dec-2021) led by KKR; valuation >$3bn.
Key licenses | OCC national trust, NYDFS BitLicense (Dec-2024), MAS Major Payment Institution (Nov-2024).
Role in USA₮ | Issuer of Tether’s planned GENIUS-compliant USA₮; Cantor Fitzgerald to safeguard reserves.
Scale signals | “Tens of billions” AUC; BlackRock added Anchorage as a custodian (Apr-2025).

Competitive landscape (U.S.)

Crypto-native custodians / trust companies

Coinbase Custody Trust (NYDFS limited-purpose trust) — scale, exchange adjacency. coinbase.com+1

BitGo Trust (SD & NY trusts) — long-standing institutional custody. sec.gov+1

Paxos Trust (NYDFS) — regulated issuer of USDP/PYUSD; seeking national trust charter. paxos.com+1

Fidelity Digital Asset Services (NYDFS trust) — TradFi brand, institutional focus. fidelitydigitalassets.com+1

Global custodians entering crypto

BNY Mellon — U.S. digital-asset custody live since 2022; expanding tokenization services. bny.com+1

Anchorage’s edge vs peers: the only OCC-chartered national trust bank today (federal preemption/standards), plus multi-jurisdiction coverage (NYDFS BitLicense; MAS license) and now stablecoin issuance at scale via USA₮. OCC.gov+2anchorage.com+2

Is there a similar “crypto bank” in the EU?

Not quite in the same legal sense. The EU lacks a single federal bank charter; instead, banks or EMIs operate under national licenses passported across the EU. Several EU banks now hold crypto custody licenses (notably Commerzbank under BaFin; Coinbase Germany was first to get BaFin’s crypto custody license; Deutsche Bank has applied and is preparing a launch). But none mirrors Anchorage’s U.S. national trust bank status. On stablecoins, Circle is MiCA-compliant via a French EMI; AllUnity (DWS JV) has BaFin approval to issue a euro stablecoin. Tether has not announced a MiCA-compliant coin. Reuters+4commerzbank.de+4coindesk.com+4

Strategic read-through: USA₮ + Anchorage

For Anchorage: Becoming USA₮ issuer could accelerate stablecoin-as-a-service revenues (issuance, compliance ops, treasury/settlement flows) and deepen relationships with exchanges, broker-dealers, and banks that prefer a GENIUS-compliant rail. The fresh termination of the OCC order removes a headline overhang; combined with BitLicense and MAS coverage, Anchorage is well-positioned to intermediate on-shore dollars while maintaining global connectivity. anchorage.com+3tether.io+3OCC.gov+3

For the market: USA₮ introduces a two-brand Tether (USDT offshore / USA₮ on-shore). Competitively, this pressures USDC and prompts other issuers (e.g., Paxos) to seek federal charters. Expect fee/margin compression in custody/issuance as regulated capacity expands. Reuters

Bottom line

Anchorage is moving from “custody-first” to infrastructure linchpin for U.S.-regulated stablecoins. With a unique federal bank charter, cleaned-up supervisory posture, and marquee relationships, it’s well placed to capture USA₮-driven flows and adjacent institutional business—while facing capable competitors (Coinbase, BitGo, Fidelity, BNY, Paxos). In the EU, no true analogue exists, though BaFin-licensed banks narrow the gap. Execution around USA₮ and continued regulator-grade controls will determine how much of this opportunity converts into durable economics.