SARTELL, Minn.—The $407-million St. Cloud Financial CU plans to launch Cloud Dollar, what it says is the first stablecoin from a U.S. credit union, by late 2025, CoinDesk reported.
“This initiative reflects smaller financial institutions' efforts to leverage blockchain technology to compete with fintech companies after the GENIUS Act brought federal regulation for stablecoins,” CoinDesk said.
The stablecoin, developed with Metallicus and DaLandCUSO, will be integrated into the credit union's banking system, offering members instant, low-cost transactions, CoinDesk explained.
"With CLDUSD, we're readying our shop for on-chain money movement — merchant payouts, member-to-member, institution-to-institution — at a fraction of card-network fees and with full transparency," said Chase Larson, EVP/CLO for St. Cloud Financial.
CoinDesk noted that Stablecoins represent a rapidly expanding $270-billion corner of the crypto market, most commonly pegged to the U.S. dollar. Once used primarily as trading pairs on exchanges, they are now gaining traction as a faster, lower-cost payment method. Their momentum accelerated earlier this year when President Donald Trump signed the GENIUS Act, the nation’s first comprehensive cryptocurrency law.
CoinDesk explained the CU’s token will be issued on Metallicus' blockchain banking stack the Metal Blockchain and integrated through DaLand CUSO’s Coin2Core software, which ties blockchain services to existing credit union infrastructure. The design aims to keep deposits on-platform while giving members a way to move money instantly and at lower cost in a regulated manner.
"Credit unions can't afford to watch digital assets evolve without them members need trusted institutions to navigate this space safely," Jeff Levesque, CEO of DaLand CUSO, said in a statement.