In the world of crypto infrastructure, strategic investments rarely arrive by accident. So when Tether—the company behind the industry's dominant stablecoin—announced a $100 million equity stake in Anchorage Digital on February 5, the timing told its own story.
Just weeks earlier, Anchorage had begun serving as the U.S. issuer partner for USA₮, Tether's newly launched, federally regulated stablecoin. Now, with this investment made through Tether Investments, the relationship has formalized into something deeper: a $4.2 billion valuation that positions the federally chartered crypto bank as perhaps the most critical piece of infrastructure in America's evolving stablecoin landscape.
The figure represents roughly a 40% jump from Anchorage's last funding round—a $350 million Series D led by KKR in December 2021, when the company was valued around $3 billion. Not spectacular by the standards of the pre-2022 crypto boom, but respectable given the nuclear winter that followed.
Anchorage also launched its first employee tender offer alongside the announcement, though the split between primary capital and secondary liquidity remains undisclosed. Perhaps more notable is what the investment signals about Tether's ambitions in the United States, where regulatory scrutiny of its flagship USDT token has intensified.
The GENIUS Act Changes Everything
The investment deepens a partnership that, frankly, neither party could have fully anticipated two years ago.
When President Biden signed the GENIUS Act into law last July, the legislation established the first comprehensive federal framework for payment stablecoins—requiring one-to-one liquid asset reserves and Bank Secrecy Act compliance. For Tether, which has spent years navigating a patchwork of state regulations and skeptical federal agencies, the law represented both opportunity and obligation.
Enter Anchorage. The bank isn't working exclusively with Tether—it also issues USDtb in partnership with Ethena Labs and has inked an agreement with Western Union for its planned USDPT stablecoin. Last May, Anchorage signed a definitive agreement to acquire Mountain Protocol, issuer of the USDM stablecoin, further cementing its role as a one-stop shop for issuers seeking federal compliance.
That diversification matters. Anchorage is building what amounts to regulated infrastructure at scale, and Tether's investment essentially buys it a front-row seat.
The Quiet Rise of a Crypto Bank
Founded in 2017 by Nathan McCauley and Diogo Mónica—both former Square security executives—Anchorage made history in January 2021 when the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency granted it conditional approval as the first federally chartered crypto bank. At the time, it seemed almost radical.
Fast forward to mid-2024, and Anchorage reported approximately $45 billion in assets under custody. Not Coinbase numbers, certainly. But the clientele tells a different story.
BlackRock added Anchorage as a digital asset custodian last April, with the bank also supporting BlackRock's BUIDL tokenized fund. It serves as custodian for 21Shares' ARKB and CETH products. It acts as staking partner and exclusive qualified custodian for the REX-Osprey SOL + Staking ETF. And in a vote of confidence from an unexpected corner, the U.S. Marshals Service selected Anchorage in 2021 to custody seized crypto assets—a contract not typically awarded lightly.
Before Tether's investment, Anchorage had raised approximately $487 million across five rounds from a who's-who of institutional backers: Andreessen Horowitz, Singapore's GIC, Goldman Sachs, Visa, Apollo credit funds, funds and accounts managed by BlackRock, Blockchain Capital, Kraken, PayPal Ventures, and Wellington Management. That's the kind of cap table that suggests staying power, even when crypto markets don't cooperate.
Emerging from Regulatory Shadows
Of course, no crypto story is complete without regulatory complexity—and Anchorage has had its share.
In April 2022, the OCC issued a consent order related to deficiencies in the bank's Bank Secrecy Act and anti-money laundering programs. The order was terminated last August, suggesting Anchorage addressed the regulator's concerns. Still, media reports indicate that the Department of Homeland Security's El Dorado Task Force opened an investigation into Anchorage Digital Bank at some point, though the current status of that probe remains unclear.
Anchorage did receive a New York BitLicense in December 2024—no small feat in a state known for its exacting standards. It also secured a Major Payment Institution license from Singapore's Monetary Authority, positioning the company for expanded trading and custody services in two of the world's most important financial centers.
The combination of those licenses, federal charter status, and now Tether's capital creates a certain gravitational pull. If stablecoins are indeed becoming mainstream financial infrastructure—as the GENIUS Act implies—then Anchorage finds itself at the center of something bigger than any single funding round might suggest.
Whether that translates into sustained competitive advantage remains to be seen. But for now, at least, Tether seems willing to place a substantial bet on the answer.
