Aptos, a layer-1 blockchain platform, has revealed its collaboration with World Liberty Financial (WLF), a company associated with the Trump family, to launch stablecoins pegged to the US dollar, denoted as USD1.
Avery Ching, the CEO of Aptos, stated that discussions with the DeFi project connected to the Trumps have been ongoing for some time. He emphasized that Aptos is considered by WLF as a prime technology partner.
During the TOKEN 2049 conference held in Singapore, Ching told Cointelegraph that WLFI is developing solutions targeting retail consumers, banking institutions, and other areas. He mentioned that their initial goal is to introduce a stablecoin that distributes yield back to users.
The USD1 stablecoin is scheduled to launch on the Aptos network on October 6th, supported by immediate and extensive ecosystem integration. Liquidity pools and incentives will be available across prominent Aptos DeFi protocols like Echelon, Hyperion, Thala, and Tapp. Wallets and exchanges like Petra, Backpack, OKX, OneKey, Bitget Wallet, Nightly, and Gate Wallet will also provide launch support.
Ching explained that World Liberty Finance selected Aptos due to its “incredibly low” transaction costs, estimated at less than a hundredth of a cent. He also highlighted Aptos’ superior speed compared to other blockchains, with transactions completing in under half a second.
Competing for Stablecoin Market Share
The proof-of-stake blockchain Aptos is positioning itself as a competitor to Ethereum and Tron for stablecoin deployments.
According to Avery, Tether (USDT) was launched on Aptos earlier in the year and has demonstrated substantial growth within a brief timeframe. He anticipates further significant expansion.
Data from Tether indicates that Aptos currently holds $1.3 billion in USDT, while Tron possesses $78.6 billion, and Ethereum leads with $94.8 billion.
DefiLlama reports the current market capitalization of USD1 at $2.68 billion, primarily located on the BNB Chain.
Aptos Expanding Its Market Presence
While Aptos still has considerable ground to cover to rival established industry frontrunners, its stablecoin market share stands at approximately 0.35%, according to data from RWA.xyz. However, Avery noted that it already supports Tether (USDT), USDC (USDC), Ethena USD (USDE), and PayPal USD (PYUSD), and facilitates over $60 billion in monthly transaction volume.
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Ethereum dominates the stablecoin market with a 59% total share, which escalates to 69% when accounting for layer-2 and EVM-compatible networks.
Future Product Development
The Aptos CEO further unveiled “Decibel,” a high-performance, decentralized exchange designed for stablecoins, perpetual contracts, and spot trading. The testnet is anticipated to launch in October, with the mainnet launch expected before the year’s end.
Additionally, a “hot decentralized storage” system named “Shelby” was announced. Developed in collaboration with Jump Crypto, Shelby is intended for real-time social media applications and training data, with an expected launch in 2026.
Prior to his role at Aptos, Avery Ching led Meta’s “Diem” crypto project. Aptos has received backing from notable venture capital firms including FTX Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz, Apollo, Franklin Templeton, and Circle Ventures.
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