Anchorage steps back from USDG as stablecoin alliances decentralize

USDG, still issued by Paxos Singapore and regulated by MAS, will remain in market as one of many institutionally backed dollars as regulators, banks and VCs push toward a fragmented, multi‑issuer “economic OS.”

Anchorage Digital, the first federally chartered crypto bank in the U.S., is stepping back from a leading role in the Global Dollar (USDG) stablecoin alliance, signaling a shift toward a more neutral, multi‑issuer stablecoin landscape. The alliance — whose members include Robinhood, Kraken, Galaxy Digital, OKX and Visa — was originally framed as a way to build a consortium-backed alternative to single‑issuer dollar tokens, but Anchorage now says it does not want to be seen as the de facto champion of one specific stablecoin as its own issuance and custody business scales.

In comments reported by FinanceFeeds and other outlets, Anchorage co‑founder and CEO Nathan McCauley said the bank will adopt “a higher degree of neutrality” in the stablecoin issuance space, moving away from targeted support for any individual token to better align with its role as a white‑label platform. McCauley noted that roughly 20 potential partners are currently exploring launching stablecoins through Anchorage’s infrastructure, and that the firm needs to “reassess incentive structures and alignment of interests” to avoid conflicts between its own products and those of clients.

USDG itself is not going away. The token is issued by Paxos Digital Singapore and regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore, with a current circulating supply around $3 billion, according to figures shared with Coindesk. Paxos — which also operates other regulated dollar tokens — will continue to handle issuance and compliance, while alliance members like Robinhood and Kraken integrate USDG into trading, payments and yield products on their platforms.

What is changing is the balance of power inside the so‑called “stablecoin alliance.” With Anchorage deliberately stepping back from a leadership role, USDG is likely to evolve into one among several institutionally backed dollars rather than the flagship token of a single, highly coordinated consortium. Market participants quoted around the announcement argue that stablecoin issuance is now entering a “parallel development” phase, where multiple institutions and networks roll out their own regulated dollars, often on different chains and under different regimes, instead of converging on one or two dominant consortium coins.

That shift comes as regulators and banks fight over who controls the future of tokenized dollars. In the U.S., the stablecoin yield compromise now before Congress would ban interest‑like rewards on passive balances while still allowing activity‑based incentives, a structure community banks say is necessary to protect deposits but which issuers like Circle and exchanges such as Coinbase argue should not be written so tightly that it kills innovation. At the same time, venture theses from firms like Andreessen Horowitz increasingly describe stablecoins as the base layer of a new “economic operating system,” with multiple issuers, chains and regulatory homes rather than a single monolithic rail.

Anchorage’s recalibration slots neatly into that picture. By positioning itself as a neutral, regulated infrastructure provider that can help dozens of institutions launch their own branded dollars, rather than as the power behind one specific coin like USDG, the bank is betting that the long‑term prize lies in servicing a diversified, multi‑issuer stablecoin ecosystem. For USDG holders, the immediate impact is limited — Paxos still issues the token, MAS still supervises it and alliance members still have skin in the game — but the message to the market is clear: the era of single‑sponsor, single‑network “alliance coins” is giving way to a more fragmented, parallel world where many regulated dollars compete and interoperate, and where the real leverage sits with whoever builds the plumbing they all depend on.