Western Union launches USDPT on Solana, adds 400,000 cash agents

Western Union launched the U.S. Dollar Payment Token (USDPT) on Solana today. The stablecoin is issued by Anchorage Digital Bank and will be routed through Western Union’s global agent network of about 400,000 locations.

USDPT settles on the Solana blockchain and is issued by Anchorage, the first federally chartered crypto bank in the United States. Western Union said it will use its existing compliance and payout systems to move regulated digital dollars to physical cash points.

The company said initial use will be for internal treasury transfers and agent settlement, replacing slower correspondent banking flows with near-instant transfers on Solana. Pilot corridors for the program include the Philippines and Bolivia, both high-volume remittance markets.

Western Union operates hundreds of thousands of agent locations in roughly 200 countries, including cities such as Manila, La Paz and Lagos where banking access can be limited. Market participants will be able to move regulated digital dollars onto Solana for fast settlement and then convert them into local currency at agent locations.

Western Union plans a Digital Asset Network to connect licensed exchanges and custodians to its agent payout system. Fireblocks will provide settlement infrastructure for the network and support settlement between custody or exchange partners and Western Union’s payout and compliance stack.

A consumer-facing product called Stable by Western Union is scheduled to launch in 2026 across 40 countries. The company said the consumer rollout will follow the initial treasury and agent-settlement phase.

The wider stablecoin market is dominated by Tether (USDT) and USD Coin (USDC), which together hold about 80% of a roughly $321 billion market. Neither Tether nor Circle operates a comparable global retail agent network connecting digital dollars directly to cash-out points.