Barclays Invests in US Stablecoin Startup Ubyx

Barclays, one of the UK’s ‘Big Four’ largest banks, has bought a stake in U.S. stablecoin settlement startup Ubyx.

Ryan Hayward, Head of Digital Assets and Strategic Investments at Barclays, said that interoperability “is essential to unlock the full potential of digital assets.” The size or the terms of the investment were not disclosed.

Haward added, “As the landscape of tokens, blockchains and wallets evolves, specialist technology will play a pivotal role in delivering connectivity and infrastructure to enable regulated financial institutions to interact seamlessly.”

Founded in March 2025 by former Citi executive Tony McLaughlin, Ubyx is developing what is called a clearing system for stablecoins and tokenized deposits. This aims to allow users to deposit digital money from a variety of issuers and in multiple currencies into existing bank and fintech accounts. According to its white paper, the startup plans to help stablecoins achieve “cash equivalent status” so they can see more mainstream corporate adoption.

McLaughlin told Decrypt in an interview that he thinks stablecoins will eventually be able to address “every payments use case,” if it becomes easy enough for all banks and fintechs to on- and off-ramp them. This is the process by which crypto is converted to traditional fiat currency and vice versa.

He predicts what he calls a “pluralistic market structure” emerging, with many interconnected issuers, currencies, and chains, eventually creating a “full merger of Web3 and TradFi.”

This isn’t the first time Ubyx has seen major investment. In July 2025, the startup raised $10 million in a seed round led by Galaxy Ventures with participation from Coinbase Ventures, Peter Theil’s Founders Fund, VanEck, Mirana Ventures, LayerZero, Paxos, Boku, Payoneer, and Monerium.

UK follows U.S. on stablecoins

The news comes as the UK is finally codifying its stablecoin regulations, following the passage of the GENIUS Act in the U.S. last July.

In November 2025, the UK rolled out its proposed stablecoin regime, including caps on individual holdings and those of small and medium businesses. The rules are still awaiting industry input before coming into play.

A CryptoUK spokesperson told Decrypt that Barclays’ investment in Ubyx was a signal that UK institutions “are moving beyond exploration” and are now “taking practical steps to integrate digital money within regulated frameworks.” The industry lobbying group added that this type of “stablecoin settlement infrastructure” is a “critical component” for the future of tokenized markets.

Chris Jones, managing director at payments consultancy PSE Consulting, was impressed by Barclays’ “pragmatic” approach.

“By investing in settlement and clearing capabilities rather than backing individual tokens, this kind of move plays to banks’ strengths as trusted intermediaries in global financial markets,” he said, adding that this type of investment in real-world use cases was “essential for stablecoins to scale beyond experimentation.”