Anchorage Digital has selected LayerZero as its preferred interoperability partner for bank-issued stablecoins, according to a Sept. 21 announcement. Tether's USAT is the first asset confirmed to use LayerZero's Omnichain Fungible Token (OFT) standard under the arrangement.
LayerZero says its OFT infrastructure connects more than 170 blockchains and has processed approximately $280 billion in lifetime transfers, handling about 87% of cross-chain transfer volume. The partnership covers Anchorage Digital Bank's stablecoin issuance platform, which supports tokens linked to Tether, Western Union, OSL Group and Falcon Finance. Western Union's USDPT, OSL Group's USDGO and Falcon Finance's fUSD are expected to gain LayerZero interoperability over time, though exact activation dates and destination-chain lists have not been published.
Anchorage Digital Bank, which received its national trust bank charter from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency in January 2021, remains responsible for regulated issuance, while LayerZero supplies messaging and token infrastructure. The OFT standard lets issuers maintain a unified token supply while extending assets across multiple blockchains, with issuers retaining control over token contracts and security configurations.
USAT launched in January as Tether's U.S.-focused dollar stablecoin, with Anchorage Digital Bank acting as issuer. It initially deployed on Ethereum and later expanded natively to Celo. Tether itself is not the legal issuer of USAT, and the token is separate from its global USDT stablecoin. Anchorage's first monthly attestation for USAT recorded 17.5 million redeemable tokens and $17.6 million in supporting reserve assets.
Western Union launched USDPT on Solana in May as a U.S. dollar-backed payment token issued by Anchorage Digital Bank. OSL Group's USDGO launched on Solana with a $50 million mint in February and has since exceeded $1 billion in market capitalization, according to Anchorage. Falcon Finance's fUSD is issued for institutional treasury, settlement and collateral uses, with contracts on Ethereum and BNB Chain.
LayerZero argued on Sept. 22 that regulated stablecoin issuance is central to adoption by banks, payment providers and corporate treasuries. The company said banks will not deeply integrate unregulated instruments, citing U.S. GENIUS Act requirements for permitted payment stablecoin issuers to maintain reserves of at least 1:1 and comply with anti-money laundering, sanctions and customer identification rules.
