Mexican peso stablecoin expands to six blockchains with Anchorage custody

What happened

Anchorage Digital Bank has expanded its partnership with Bitso to support custody of MXNB, the Mexican peso stablecoin, across six blockchain networks. The announcement came on Tuesday and integrates Arbitrum, Base, Ethereum, Polygon, Avalanche, and Arc into Anchorage's custody infrastructure, giving institutional clients the ability to hold peso-denominated assets across multiple blockchain environments through a single banking relationship.

The expanded arrangement pairs Anchorage's custody services with Bitso's introduction of two U.S. dollar stablecoins on its platform: USDPT, issued by Western Union, and USAT, issued by Tether. Both dollar stablecoins are issued and custodied by Anchorage Digital Bank. Mexican customers can purchase and sell USDPT directly using pesos through Bitso's application, while Western Union agents operating Bitso Business accounts can exchange USDPT for other supported currencies.

The partnership targets the U.S.-Mexico remittance corridor, one of the world's largest cross-border payment routes, which moves tens of billions of dollars annually. Bitso reports that its infrastructure already handles 15% of remittance volume in the corridor. Most money in the corridor still travels through correspondent banking, wire transfers, and cash-pickup networks, all of which are slower and more costly than blockchain-based settlement.

Why it matters

By anchoring custody on both sides of the remittance corridor, Anchorage positions itself as the default institutional layer for any issuer or bank seeking to participate in cross-border payments between the two nations. The arrangement addresses a practical complication in stablecoin infrastructure: liquidity exists across different networks, and institutions need to manage assets without maintaining separate custodians for every blockchain. Stablecoins settle onchain in seconds around the clock, offering continuous availability and transaction traceability compared to traditional banking rails, though actual payment costs and processing times depend on the networks and services involved.

Background

Anchorage Digital Bank is a federally chartered crypto bank that issues and custodies stablecoins, including Tether's U.S.-regulated USAT stablecoin. The bank has deepened its stablecoin footprint through various partnerships and now positions itself as an institutional custody provider across multiple blockchain networks.

Bitso is a Latin American financial services and cryptocurrency platform that has been pushing its MXNB peso stablecoin across networks. The companies describe both dollar stablecoins as compliant with the U.S. GENIUS Act. The partnership reflects a broader race to integrate stablecoins into Latin America's payments infrastructure, with other players like Circle also expanding their presence in the region through initiatives like settlement pilots.

What to watch

The remaining question is how much of the corridor's traditional payment volume will ultimately migrate onchain. While blockchain-based remittances offer speed and transparency advantages, adoption depends on institutional willingness to transition away from legacy correspondent banking systems. The arrangement between Anchorage and Bitso establishes the infrastructure, but scaling will require continued participation from banks, payment networks, and remittance providers.

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