Western Union recently announced that it selected Solana to build a regulated stablecoin rail, departing from its earlier experiments with Ripple’s XRP technology.
The initiative consists of the US Dollar Payment Token (USDPT) stablecoin and Digital Asset Network, both to be launched in the first half of 2026.
XRP Pilot Delivered No Cost Savings
Western Union tested Ripple’s xRapid service and XRP token in 2018. The company’s CEO at the time, Hikmet Ersek, stated the trials were too small to demonstrate savings and remained “still too expensive.”
Ripple later confirmed the pilot involved only a handful of payments. The 2018 XRP test focused on using the token as a bridge asset for cross-border transfers.
Western Union processes over $100 billion in annual transactions, according to recent reports. The pilot’s limited scope failed to prove XRP could reduce costs at that scale.
Western Union CEO Devin McGranahan told attendees at Money20/20 that the company “looked at most of the other alternatives and came to the conclusion for an institutional use case like ours, the Solana blockchain was the right choice.”
Solana offered three decisive advantages. First, major payment networks have already validated the blockchain for settlement.
Visa expanded its USDC settlement to Solana and published a technical brief explaining how the network’s high throughput and low fees make it well-suited for card settlement.
Stripe reintroduced crypto payments with USDC on Solana as a supported rail. Second, Solana led stablecoin activity and usage in terms of volume through 2024 and 2025.
Artemis analytics revealed that the network commanded deeper liquidity and distribution than its competitors.
USDC launched natively on the XRP Ledger only in June 2025. XRPL’s Multi-Purpose Token standard went live in October 2025.
Western Union opted for a rail with a longer stablecoin track record. Third, Solana’s Token Extensions let issuers hard-code compliance controls.
Transfer hooks, allowlist capabilities, freeze authority through permanent delegation, confidential transfers, and protocol-level fees aligned with Western Union’s regulated stablecoin mandate.
The company framed USDPT as part of a cash off-ramp network requiring tight regulatory oversight.
Anchorage Digital Bank Provided Regulatory Foundation
Western Union partnered with Anchorage Digital Bank to issue USDPT. Anchorage operates as a federally chartered institution.
Its issuance platform launches GENIUS-compliant stablecoins across multiple chains with federal oversight.
Western Union’s announcement paired Solana’s performance with Anchorage’s bank-regulated structure to reduce regulatory and operational risk.
Devin McGranahan stated that USDPT would allow Western Union to “own the economics linked to stablecoins.”
The company positioned the move as an evolution in its 175-year history of connecting people through technology.
Western Union planned for users to access USDPT through partner exchanges. The Digital Asset Network aimed to provide seamless cash off-ramps by leveraging the company’s global footprint.
McGranahan described the initiative as enabling “compliant and secure digital movement across borders with certainty, trust, and at a lower cost.”
However, Western Union did not commit to moving its entire $100 billion annual volume onto Solana immediately. The company outlined a phased launch with scale dependent on rollout and adoption rates.
Solana’s combination of enterprise payment validation, mature and stablecoin infrastructure, programmable compliance features, and a federally regulated issuing partner is likely the reason why Western Union chose its infrastructure to build a regulated stablecoin rail.