Anchorage to expand stablecoin team ahead of USAT launch

Anchorage Digital Bank is ramping up hiring as it prepares to more than double its stablecoin unit. The federally chartered crypto-native bank plans to expand its current 20-person stablecoin team over the next 12 months as demand for crypto dollars explodes in the U.S., and as new federal legislation clears the way for larger stablecoin operations.

Anchorage’s CEO, Nathan McCauley, confirmed the hiring in an interview, tying it directly to new regulations and Anchorage’s role in a major new stablecoin launch with Tether.

Nathan said Anchorage’s license, granted by the federal government, allows it to issue large-scale stablecoins in the U.S. under the Genius Act, which became law in July. This makes Anchorage the legal issuer of USAT, a new stablecoin designed to meet all U.S. regulatory requirements.

The coin will be built in partnership with Tether Holdings SA, the firm behind the world’s largest stablecoin USDT, which currently has a circulation of $169 billion. USAT will use Tether’s tokenization tech, called Hadron, rather than Anchorage’s infrastructure. Cantor Fitzgerald LP will manage the reserves for the new coin. USAT is expected to go live before the end of the year.

Anchorage builds out staff as USAT launch nears

Nathan said the partnership with Tether has been in motion for over a year. Anchorage began discussions with Tether around the same time lawmakers in Washington started drafting the Genius Act. “As Genius was getting drafted and passed, it was pretty clear to many in Washington that in many ways, the whole point of Genius was to think about what to do about Tether,” Nathan said.

The law splits stablecoin oversight between federal and state regulators, based on the size of the coin. Stablecoins with more than $10 billion in circulation must register at the federal level, while smaller ones fall under state rules. USAT aims to cross that $10 billion line, placing it directly under federal supervision and giving Anchorage a rare opportunity to operate on that scale.

The hiring spree isn’t just about headcount. Anchorage’s stablecoin team will handle compliance, legal operations, and business development tied to USAT. Nathan said distribution will start on Rumble Inc., a video-sharing site backed by Tether, but Anchorage is also targeting larger institutions for broader use. The goal is to get USAT circulating quickly and legally across multiple sectors.

Stablecoin use has exploded in recent years. What used to be a niche tool for crypto traders is now pushing toward mainstream payments. DefiLlama shows the total market nearing $300 billion. And Bloomberg Intelligence expects stablecoins to move more than $50 trillion in annual payment volume by 2030. That’s about 17% of all global consumer transactions, up from under 1% today.

Tether is also in talks to raise $20 billion through a private placement, as it seeks a $500 billion valuation, as Cryptopolitan reported.

Crypto firms race to hire amid xAI competition

Anchorage’s expansion is part of a bigger hiring war across crypto, finance, and xAI. Firms are fighting over a limited pool of engineers and legal pros who understand how stablecoins work inside both crypto and banking.

Marieke Flament, a former exec at Circle Internet Group, said she gets hit up three times a week by banks and even government offices asking for stablecoin help. “The talent pool is not really big, because even within the crypto industry there’s not that many people who’ve done stablecoins or worked in traditional finance,” Marieke said.

The scramble has pushed salaries higher. While the pay still lags behind private equity and hedge funds, it now lines up with managing director roles in corporate banking. That’s a big shift in less than two years. Stablecoin jobs used to sit on the fringes of finance. Now they’re locked in as standard roles at major firms.

The xAI boom is making things worse for hiring managers. AI companies are poaching crypto developers by offering token-based bonuses, high salaries, and perks. Firms like Anchorage now face pressure not just from each other, but from every sector trying to scale with blockchain tech.

Everyone wants the same few people, and time is short. If firms want to ride the stablecoin wave, they need staff ready now, not two years from now.

If you're reading this, you’re already ahead. Stay there with our newsletter.