Briefly
- One of many UK’s largest banks has invested in newly based stablecoin settlement startup Ubyx.
- The agency goals to construct infrastructure that might permit totally different stablecoins to attain “money equal” standing throughout the present monetary system.
- Consultants within the UK crypto trade praised the ‘pragmatic’ funding because it backs funds infrastructure slightly than a single token.
Barclays, one of many UK’s ‘Large 4’ largest banks, has purchased a stake in U.S. stablecoin settlement startup Ubyx.
Ryan Hayward, Head of Digital Property and Strategic Investments at Barclays, stated that interoperability “is crucial to unlock the total potential of digital property.” The scale or the phrases of the funding weren’t disclosed.
🏦 @Barclays has made a strategic funding in Ubyx.
Our mission is to ship the ever-present acceptance of digital cash.
Ubyx solves the many-to-many drawback confronted by issuers, enabling a pluralistic market construction whereas preserving the singleness of cash.
Press launch👇 pic.twitter.com/FRgU52zpqM
— Ubyx (@ubyx_) January 7, 2026
Haward added, “Because the panorama of tokens, blockchains and wallets evolves, specialist expertise will play a pivotal function in delivering connectivity and infrastructure to allow regulated monetary establishments to work together seamlessly.”
Based in March 2025 by former Citi government Tony McLaughlin, Ubyx is growing what is named a clearing system for stablecoins and tokenized deposits. This goals to permit customers to deposit digital cash from quite a lot of issuers and in a number of currencies into present financial institution and fintech accounts. In response to its white paper, the startup plans to assist stablecoins obtain “money equal standing” to allow them to see extra mainstream company adoption.
McLaughlin instructed Decrypt in an interview that he thinks stablecoins will finally have the ability to handle “each funds use case,” if it turns into straightforward sufficient for all banks and fintechs to on- and off-ramp them. That is the method by which crypto is transformed to conventional fiat foreign money and vice versa.
He predicts what he calls a “pluralistic market construction” rising, with many interconnected issuers, currencies, and chains, finally making a “full merger of Web3 and TradFi.”
This isn’t the primary time Ubyx has seen main funding. In July 2025, the startup raised $10 million in a seed spherical 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 information comes because the UK is lastly codifying its stablecoin laws, following the passage of the GENIUS Act within the U.S. final July.
In November 2025, the UK rolled out its proposed stablecoin regime, together with caps on particular person holdings and people of small and medium companies. The principles are nonetheless awaiting trade enter earlier than coming into play.
A CryptoUK spokesperson instructed Decrypt that Barclays’ funding in Ubyx was a sign that UK establishments “are shifting past exploration” and are actually “taking sensible steps to combine digital cash inside regulated frameworks.” The trade lobbying group added that this sort of “stablecoin settlement infrastructure” is a “important element” for the way forward for tokenized markets.
Chris Jones, managing director at funds consultancy PSE Consulting, was impressed by Barclays’ “pragmatic” strategy.
“By investing in settlement and clearing capabilities slightly than backing particular person tokens, this type of transfer performs to banks’ strengths as trusted intermediaries in international monetary markets,” he stated, including that this sort of funding in real-world use circumstances was “important for stablecoins to scale past experimentation.”
