Real-world asset platform tx has launched USTX, a dollar stablecoin designed for its wallet and planned marketplace for tokenized stocks. According to a Tuesday announcement shared with Cointelegraph, users must deposit USDC to mint USTX, which can also be redeemed for USDC. The platform accepts deposits from eight blockchains, including Ethereum, Solana, and Base.
Ashley Ebersole, tx’s co-founder and chief legal officer, clarified that USTX is not a USDC-backed wrapper or synthetic representation of USDC. Instead, USDC serves as the mechanism for minting, while USTX maintains its own 1:1 reserve structure managed through Brale. Fintech provider Brale issues USTX, manages its reserves, and facilitates minting and redemption processes. Tx states that each token is backed by $1 in assets, comprising cash, bank deposits, government money market funds, and short-term US Treasury bills.
The launch aligns with a broader industry trend where blockchain networks and trading platforms introduce native dollar stablecoins via external providers to handle issuance and reserve management. These native stablecoins offer a common dollar balance for purchasing assets, settling trades, and posting collateral across networks. While some providers share reserve earnings with clients, eligible USTX users may receive rewards through tx’s wallet programs. Ebersole noted that the rewards program was designed based on legal advice to ensure compliance with the GENIUS Act, which prohibits stablecoin issuers from paying interest or yield solely for holding, using, or retaining a payment stablecoin.
The introduction of USTX represents a strategic move by tx to integrate liquidity directly into its infrastructure for tokenized real-world assets. By leveraging Brale for issuance and reserve management, tx avoids building proprietary financial rails while ensuring its stablecoin operates independently of simple USDC wrapping mechanisms. This distinction is critical for institutional adoption, as it suggests a more robust backing structure involving diverse liquid assets like Treasury bills and money market funds, rather than relying solely on another stablecoin's credit risk.
Regulatory navigation remains a central challenge for this model. The explicit reference to the GENIUS Act highlights the tension between offering user incentives and complying with prohibitions on yield for mere possession of payment stablecoins. Tx’s reliance on legal counsel to structure its rewards program indicates an attempt to differentiate utility-based incentives from prohibited interest payments. Success will depend on whether regulators accept these distinctions and if the multi-chain deposit capability effectively lowers friction for users moving capital from major networks like Ethereum and Solana into tx’s ecosystem.
