The credit union service organization’s Digital Asset Lab, announced Wednesday (Aug. 20), is designed to place credit unions at the forefront of the digital asset and stablecoin space.
“Stablecoins, which combine the speed of digital payments with the stability of traditional currency, are emerging to be a potentially pivotal force in global finance,” Vladimir Jovanovic, vice president of innovation at Velera, said in a news release provided to PYMNTS.
“As major financial institutions, fintechs and global retailers explore opportunities with stablecoins, it is vital for credit unions to understand their roles and responsibilities when it comes to these digital assets to meet members’ needs and uphold cooperative principles to help shape the future of digital finance.”
According to the release, the lab will focus on developing “Velera-engaged” joint ventures to address things like distributed ledger infrastructure and connectivity, blockchain networks, interoperability needs and core banking integrations.
The project’s first platform partner will be Metallicus, a digital asset banking network that will work with Valera to explore how its multi-purpose blockchain infrastructure allows for “quick learning, testing and building of solutions most important to Velera’s Digital Asset Lab efforts.”
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Metallicus Co-founder and CEO Marshall Hayner said the partnership is in keeping with his company’s efforts to deliver “safe, scalable and compliant” blockchain-powered solutions for the country’s credit unions.
“Through this collaboration, we can help credit unions gain hands-on experience with programmable money, reduced costs, and greater security and transparency – laying the groundwork for future innovation in digital assets,” Hayner said.
PYMNTS examined the ongoing integration of stablecoins into traditional finance earlier this week in a report on efforts by banks to plant a foothold in the crypto custody space.
“Banks entering the custody race are planting flags in a future financial architecture where tokenized assets and stablecoins become mainstream,” that report said.
If stablecoins manage to transform into a parallel payments system, the report added, controlling custody of reserves is like gaining control of the vaults of a new global currency.
“If tokenization turns equities, bonds and private credit into blockchain-based instruments, custody becomes the toll booth for trillions of dollars in transactions,” PYMNTS wrote.
“Banks don’t want to repeat the FinTech era, when startups captured payments, lending and retail trading flows while incumbents played catch-up. Custody gives them a chance to shape the rails early.”
