Pioneering consortium between Vast Bank, USBC Inc., and Uphold
Uphold customers worldwide are expected to open U.S. dollar deposit accounts at Vast Bank, a nationally-chartered U.S. bank
U.S. dollar-denominated tokenized deposits issued by Vast Bank
USBC has the ability to represent a superior form of digital U.S. dollars, offering credit formation capabilities, bank account credentials and wallet addresses

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 23, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Uphold, the infrastructure provider for on-chain finance, nationally-chartered Vast Bank, and USBC, Inc. (NYSE:USBC) ("USBC"), the architect of the first retail tokenized U.S. dollar deposit, have entered into a preliminary strategic partnership to launch U.S. bank deposit accounts.

Tokenized deposit accounts at Vast Bank will be available to Uphold's customers beginning in 2026. Customer bank deposits at Vast Bank will be represented by USBC and recorded on USBC's privacy-preserving blockchain. These digital U.S. dollars are designed to enable the underlying deposit to be eligible for FDIC insurance coverage through the issuing bank and Reg E protections.

Uphold customers will be able to hold, manage, move, and spend their U.S. dollars as tokenized dollars and enjoy the benefits of blockchain-powered finance—faster, always-on, and lower-cost financial services with international reach.

Tokenized deposits can represent a superior digital dollar when compared with stablecoins combining the benefits of blockchain with the safety and stability of the traditional banking system.

While stablecoins are synthetic dollars, often issued by a fintech, USBC is an on-chain representation of real dollars and is issued by a U.S. bank.

Accompanying the partnership announcement, USBC has published a white paper, outlining the vision for tokenized deposits. It can be downloaded here: http://usbc.xyz/i/whitepaper.

"This partnership allows Uphold customers worldwide to have direct access to a U.S. bank deposit account, powered by tokenized deposits and digital identity," said Simon McLoughlin, CEO of Uphold. "We're proud to be the first major crypto platform to offer our customers the future: real U.S. dollars on-chain, issued by a nationally-chartered bank, and backed by the strength and consumer protections of the U.S. banking system."

"We've been working on the tech behind the USBC vision for the better part of ten years and we're thrilled to finally bring tokenized deposits to market with our partners Uphold and Vast Bank," said Greg Kidd, Chairman and CEO of USBC. "We aim to provide access for people around the world to a U.S. bank account and real U.S. dollars while creating value for our shareholders."

"From Vast Bank's perspective, the opportunity to innovate by offering a progressive, identity-led deposit account with on-chain functionality is truly groundbreaking. As a product we see the ability for USBC to provide fair access and a data driven risk approach from Tulsa, Oklahoma to the world." said Linda Jenkinson, Chairman and CEO of Vast Holdings, Inc.

About USBC, Inc.

USBC, Inc. (NYSE:USBC) is an industry-leading, publicly traded multi-disciplinary technology company. Under the leadership of Chairman and CEO, Greg Kidd, USBC develops transformative financial services, including digital assets and banking solutions as well as non-invasive health monitoring research. USBC has implemented a bitcoin treasury strategy to bolster development and research across its various divisions. A key focus of USBC is the further development of the USBC tokenized deposit offering, a U.S.-dollar denominated tokenized deposit that operates on blockchain technology, is embedded with digital identity, and offers high-yield rewards. With a focus on inclusion, innovation, and risk management, USBC is dedicated to creating long-term shareholder value in a rapidly evolving financial landscape.

The USBC tokenized deposit white paper: http://usbc.xyz/i/whitepaper.

About Uphold

Uphold, is a financial technology company that believes on-chain services are the future of finance. It provides modern infrastructure for on-chain payments, banking and investments. Offering Consumer Services, Business Services and Institutional Trading, Uphold makes financial services easy and trustworthy for millions of customers in more than 140 countries.

Uphold integrates with more than 30 trading venues, including centralized and decentralized exchanges, to deliver superior liquidity, resilience and optimal execution. Uphold never loans out customer assets and is always 100% reserved.

The company pioneered radical transparency and uniquely publishes its assets and liabilities every 30 seconds on a public website (https://uphold.com/en-us/transparency).

Uphold is regulated in the U.S. by FinCen and State regulators; and is registered in the UK with the FCA and in Europe with the Financial Crime Investigation Service under the Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Lithuania. To learn more about Uphold's products and services, visit uphold.com.

About Vast Bank

Vast Bank, N.A., is a nationally chartered U.S. bank headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma, with a legacy of family ownership and a forward-leaning approach to innovation. Vast Bank continues to pioneer next-generation financial infrastructure within a fully regulated framework. Vast Bank is enabling tokenized U.S. dollar deposits that combine the trust and protections of traditional banking—FDIC insurance, Reg E protections, and U.S. bank account credentials—with the global utility, programmability, and efficiency of blockchain-based finance.

Vast Bank is focused on building inclusive, secure, and data-driven banking products that bring modern finance to global retail customers—on-chain and on demand.

To learn more, visit www.vast.bank.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the anticipated launch of tokenized deposit accounts, the expected benefits of the partnership between Uphold, Vast Bank, and USBC, Inc., and the timing and outcome of the definitive agreement. Forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and assumptions that are subject to risks and uncertainties, which may cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, regulatory approvals, market adoption, technological developments, and other factors described in USBC, Inc.'s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. USBC, Inc. undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this release.

Notes to Editors:

Uphold, Vast Bank and USBC have entered into a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to finalize the terms of their strategic partnership in a definitive agreement. While non-binding, the MOU reflects a shared intent to finalize the terms of the partnership during the fourth quarter of 2025, with the final agreement being subject to requisite board and regulatory approvals.

Contacts:

Uphold PR Contact:

Lauren Bukoskey

Senior PR Manager

lauren@serotonin.co

USBC PR Contact:

Fatema Bhabrawala

Director of Media Relations, Alliance Advisors

fbhabrawala@allianceadvisors.com

Vast Bank Holdings IR PR Contact

Bianca Lopes

Chief Strategy & Growth Officer

bianca.lopes@vast.bank

bianca.lopes@usbc.xyz

First U.S. Dollars issued on-chain specially designed for retail customers worldwide