Barclays invests in stablecoin infrastructure firm Ubyx to explore digital money

Barclays has made its first direct investment in a stablecoin-related company by becoming a stakeholder in U.S. stablecoin-settlement firm Ubyx.

Without disclosing the exact details or nature of the investment, the multinational financial services company told Reuters that the move is part of a larger strategy to explore “new forms of digital money.”

Founded early last year, Ubyx describes itself as a global clearing and settlement system for stablecoins, which helps connect token issuers with traditional financial institutions like banks and fintech platforms.

Its platform allows for what it calls universal redemption, wherein individuals and businesses can deposit stablecoins from multiple issuers and blockchains directly into existing bank or fintech accounts.

Since its launch, Ubyx has raised $10 million in a seed funding round in June 2025, led by Galaxy Ventures with participation from Coinbase Ventures, Founders Fund, and Paxos, among others.

As a part of its investment, Barclays and Ubyx will work on developing “tokenised money within the regulatory perimeter,” the report said.

Barclays remains cautious about how it approaches the crypto space as it aims to operate firmly within regulatory bounds.

Its interest in blockchain can be traced back to 2018, when it filed multiple patents for various blockchain-based solutions and partnered with crypto exchange Coinbase in the same year. 

The bank has since continued to explore distributed ledger technology through various internal projects and strategic investments, including in firms like Fnality, a project creating a network of decentralized financial market infrastructures.

Barclays was also one of 11 financial institutions that participated in a joint venture to pilot tokenized deposits in the U.K. through the UK Regulated Liability Network, which hopes to improve payment systems using a shared ledger.

Last year, it joined a group of other major players, including Goldman Sachs and UBS, to explore the possibility of jointly issuing a stablecoin pegged to G7 currencies.

However, even as it looks to embrace regulated forms of digital money, Barclays has distanced itself from speculative cryptocurrencies by blocking all crypto purchases made with its credit cards since June 2025.

Like many of its peers, Barclays has remained skeptical of retail-facing crypto products but has increasingly warmed up to the stablecoin sector, especially after U.S. President Donald Trump’s support revived institutional interest in blockchain-based financial infrastructure.

Throughout 2025, a number of major financial institutions have announced plans involving stablecoins as part of a bigger transition toward blockchain-enabled settlement systems.