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Western Union, the 175-year-old money transfer company, is preparing a major expansion into crypto by launching its own U.S. dollar-backed stablecoin, USDPT, next month on the Solana blockchain.
Western Union said it will issue USDPT, a digital token designed to maintain a stable value by being backed by the U.S. dollar. CEO Devin McGranahan confirmed that USDPT is in its final stages of readiness and is expected to go live next month.
“At the foundation of our strategy is USDPT, our US dollar-backed stablecoin. USDPT is now in its final stages of readiness and is expected to go live next month.”
The company plans to use USDPT first as a new settlement tool for agents and partners in selected countries, potentially providing an alternative to older international settlement systems such as SWIFT.
Western Union pointed to Solana’s scale and speed for stablecoin settlement. The article says Solana processed $650 billion in adjusted stablecoin volume in a single month earlier this year, described as the fastest-growing stablecoin settlement network by global transaction volume.
For a company handling millions of transactions across 200 countries every day, the move is framed as a way to reduce settlement time and transaction costs, particularly for cross-border transfers.
The article also notes that PayPal and Fiserv, along with Western Union, have selected Solana as the chain for their stablecoins.
USDPT is being introduced as part of a broader ecosystem. Western Union said it is launching three connected products:
Digital Asset Network (DAN): Intended to connect crypto wallets to Western Union’s retail and agent network. With more than 600,000 agents across more than 200 countries, the article says users may be able to send tokens from a wallet and collect cash locally without needing a bank account.
USD Stable Card: A prepaid card backed by stablecoins, expected later this year. The card is described as being built with Rain and Visa and aimed at high-inflation countries such as Argentina.
USDPT stablecoin: The U.S. dollar-backed token expected to serve as the foundation for the ecosystem and as a settlement tool for selected markets.
USDPT is expected to launch as early as May 2026, beginning in selected markets before expanding globally.
The article adds that, despite the announcement, Solana’s price has remained mostly stable, trading around $86 after recently touching $91.
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