Barclays move reflects a growing trend among global banks to engage with compliant stablecoin infrastructure as part of future payment and settlement innovation while maintaining firm regulatory boundaries.
British banking giant Barclays has taken a significant step into the digital assets space with its first-ever investment in stablecoin infrastructure, acquiring an undisclosed equity stake in Ubyx, a U.S.-based startup building a global clearing and settlement system for regulated digital money, including stablecoins and tokenised deposits.
The bank described its investment as strategic, probably being part of a broader strategy to explore new forms of regulated digital money, rather than issuing its own stablecoin. Barclays representatives emphasised that the bank seeks to support technologies that allow traditional institutions to interact with tokenized assets within existing regulatory frameworks.
Founded in early 2025 by payments industry veteran Tony McLaughlin, Ubyx aims to address a key bottleneck in the stablecoin ecosystem: fragmentation among issuers and networks. The company’s platform acts as a clearing and redemption layer that connects multiple stablecoin issuers with banks, fintechs, and other regulated institutions, allowing holders to redeem stablecoins at par value directly into traditional bank or fintech accounts across jurisdictions.
By standardizing settlement messaging and enabling “singleness of money,” the platform seeks to make stablecoins function as seamlessly as conventional bank deposits for regulated financial players.
Prior to Barclays’ involvement, Ubyx raised $10 million in seed funding in June 2025. That round was led by Galaxy Ventures, with participation from notable investors including Coinbase Ventures, Founders Fund, VanEck, Mirana Ventures, LayerZero, Paxos, Boku, Payoneer, and Monerium. The funding was aimed at advancing development of the clearing network, expanding partnerships with issuers and preparing the platform for broader rollout.
