Anchorage Digital is criticized for removing support for certain stablecoins.

Anchorage Digital is facing criticism from at least one stablecoin issuer after announcing plans to stop supporting three types of stablecoins, citing "expectations from regulators" and an assessment of internal risks.

Nick van Eck, co-founder and CEO of Agora, criticized Anchorage's decision in a post on X on Thursday, arguing that the removal of USDC stablecoins, Agora USD (AUSD), and Usual USD (USD0) was based on "verifiable and previously known discrepancies."

He also accused Anchorage of not disclosing its relationship with Paxos — a stablecoin issuer that could benefit if tokens from other platforms are removed.

Anchorage is one of the first cryptocurrency companies in the U.S. to receive a federal banking charter. In a statement on Tuesday, the company announced that it has implemented a "stablecoin safety matrix" to evaluate tokens according to regulatory guidelines for issuers. Accordingly, Anchorage plans to stop supporting USDC, AUSD, and USD0.

"Based on the Stablecoin Safety Matrix, USDC, AUSD, and USD0 no longer meet Anchorage Digital's internal criteria for long-term viability," said Rachel Anderika, Global Chief Operating Officer at Anchorage Digital. "Specifically, we identified a high concentration risk related to the organizational structure of the issuing entities — something we believe financial institutions need to assess carefully."

Anchorage's stablecoin safety matrix | Source: Anchorage Digital## Preparing for the GENIUS Act

This safety matrix, sarcastically dubbed by van Eck as "Genius Bill as a Service" (, is designed to prepare for the possibility of the U.S. Congress passing the GENIUS Act.

Anchorage stated that the evaluation process also considers the liquidity of stablecoins, the history of depegging )depeg(, and the level of risk concentration. Under this evaluation framework, the aforementioned tokens are determined to not meet the legal expectations in the U.S.

The total value of AUSD and USD0 is currently only about 700 million USD — a very small figure compared to the 61 billion USD of USDC. Meanwhile, Circle — the company that issues USDC — has just officially listed on the Wall Street stock exchange, attracting significant interest from investors, amid the growing attention to stablecoins by financial institutions.

Circle and Agora are both headquartered in the US, while Usual is headquartered in Paris.

"If Anchorage simply removes USDC and AUSD to prioritize stablecoins that they have economic interests in, I can understand that as a business decision," van Eck stated. "Private enterprises have the right and should act in their own interests. But deliberately undermining the credibility of AUSD and USDC for 'security' reasons, while intentionally disseminating misleading information, is unreasonable and lacking seriousness."

The stablecoin bill is getting closer to reality

The GENIUS bill was passed by the U.S. Senate on June 17, and President Donald Trump stated that he is ready to sign it "without any further additions" from the House of Representatives.

Meanwhile, many stablecoin issuers outside the United States are also trying to meet new regulatory requirements in different regions. However, some parties deliberately ignore compliance requirements.

Mr. Paolo Ardoino — CEO of Tether, the issuer of the USDT stablecoin — stated that there are no plans to register under the EU's MiCA regulatory framework, citing that this is too risky for stablecoins. Some exchanges have started delisting USDT and other stablecoins to comply with MiCA regulations.

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