Combines traditional banking protections with blockchain innovation, bringing real U.S. dollar deposits securely on-chain with global accessibility
USBC, an industry-leading, publicly traded technology company that enables the transformation of traditional U.S. bank dollars into secure, compliant tokenized deposits, announced a preliminary partnership with Uphold, the infrastructure provider for on-chain finance, and nationally-chartered Vast Bank that will advance the next generation of digital finance. The new strategic partnership will introduce the world’s first retail tokenized deposit offering, providing unprecedented global access to U.S. dollar-denominated tokenized deposits and U.S. dollar deposit accounts worldwide for individuals, enterprises, and financial institutions.
USBC Chairman and CEO Greg Kidd is the lead architect of the Company’s blockchain banking vision, having spent the better part of a decade developing the building blocks that now make fully-compliant, tokenized U.S. dollar deposits possible.
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Expanding the Reach of U.S. Banking Worldwide
With this new partnership, Uphold’s customers will be able to open U.S. dollar deposit accounts enabling customers to hold and transfer digital representations of their U.S. dollar deposits at Vast Bank on USBC’s privacy-preserving blockchain beginning in 2026. Enabled by Vast Bank’s national charter and compliance framework, USBC tokenized deposits are designed to enable the underlying deposit to be eligible for FDIC insurance (in accordance with applicable limits and requirements) and subject to Reg E protections.
“Today’s announcement marks a defining moment for both USBC and the future of digital dollars,” said Greg Kidd. “By combining the regulatory strength of the national bank charter with the scalability and accessibility of blockchain technology, we’re not just innovating the U.S. dollar—we’re expanding its global influence. This new partnership with Uphold and Vast Bank positions USBC at the forefront of digital finance, building a transformative pathway to move money around the world in a fully compliant and regulated environment, unlocking meaningful opportunities to drive revenue and create shareholder value.”
The Next Generation of Digital Dollars
Unlike stablecoins, which are synthetic and lack meaningful consumer protections, USBC tokenized deposits are on-chain, digital representations of real U.S. dollars and are issued by a bank regulated under U.S. law. This breakthrough product offers three key advantages over other digital dollar initiatives:
- Unparalleled Safety — Every dollar represented by USBC tokenized deposits is held in a deposit account at a U.S. bank and is designed in a manner to enable the underlying deposits held at the bank to be eligible for FDIC insurance up to applicable federal limits and subject to Reg E protections.
- Regulatory Confidence — Leveraging traditional bank deposits underpinned by a permissioned blockchain and digital identity enables compliance with U.S. financial regulations, setting a global standard for trusted digital money.
- Programmable Finance — Blockchain technology enables instant settlement, real-time international payments, smart contract automation, and always-on financial access.
Creating Value for USBC Shareholders
This initiative opens vast new markets for U.S. bank accounts and strengthens USBC’s strategic position as a category-defining leader. The partnership is expected to:
- Accelerate Revenue: Global access through Uphold will drive revenue from the volume of deposits flowing into Vast Bank and deepen engagement with both retail and institutional clients.
- Amplify Shareholder Value: USBC’s integration of banking and blockchain broadens its market and growth potential. As the network operator, its revenue model is highly scalable with the support of the existing infrastructure.
- Solidify Regulatory Leadership: USBC is setting the industry template for compliant, scalable digital money, offering a framework for other U.S. banks to safely enter the tokenized deposit market by integrating with its tech stack.
- Ability to Expand Technology Licensing and B2B Opportunities: The partnership’s infrastructure is built to be scalable, inviting the future potential for additional financial institutions to leverage this blueprint for secure, on-chain bank operations.
Uphold, Vast and USBC have entered into a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to finalize the terms of their strategic partnership in a definitive agreement. While non-binding, the MOU reflects a shared intent to finalize the terms of the partnership during the fourth quarter of 2025, with the final agreement being subject to requisite board and regulatory approvals.
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