Arab Bank’s AB Xelerate Makes Strategic Investment in Stablecoin Clearing Firm Ubyx

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AB Xelerate, the fintech-focused corporate venture arm of Jordan-headquartered Arab Bank, has made an undisclosed strategic investment in Ubyx Inc., a U.S.-based clearing and acceptance infrastructure provider for stablecoins and tokenized deposits. The partnership around cross-border digital money flows connecting the Middle East with global financial markets.

What Ubyx Does

Ubyx operates a clearing system designed to allow regulated banks and fintechs to accept stablecoins from multiple issuers across multiple blockchains and redeem them at par value into existing bank accounts. The company describes its model as analogous to card network infrastructure: just as a small bank can issue a Visa card without building its own merchant acceptance network, Ubyx aims to let any institution accept any compliant stablecoin without developing proprietary off-ramp infrastructure.

Founded in March 2025 by Tony McLaughlin a 30-year payments industry veteran who spent roughly two decades at Citigroup, where he conceptualized the Regulated Liability Network Ubyx is incorporated in the United States with operations out of New York. McLaughlin’s prior work at Citi included designing shared ledger frameworks for tokenized deposits, and he initiated the BIS/IIF Project Agora before departing to launch Ubyx.

Investor Profile: AB Xelerate

AB Xelerate was established in 2018 as a core unit within Arab Bank‘s innovation department. It operates a corporate venture capital model focused on early-stage fintech startups whose technologies align with Arab Bank’s strategic needs across the MENA region. Arab Bank itself, founded in 1930, maintains over 600 branches across five continents with a presence in financial centers including London, Dubai, Singapore, and Geneva.

AB Xelerate’s existing portfolio includes investments in companies such as Tabby, Khazna, GetBaraka, and Cartona, among others. Hala Zahan, who heads AB Xelerate, stated in the announcement that the investment reflects the firm’s confidence in Ubyx’s infrastructure to support “secure, compliant, and scalable adoption” of digital assets in the MENA region.

Funding History

Ubyx closed a $10 million seed round in June 2025, led by Galaxy Ventures. Participants in that round included Coinbase Ventures, Founders Fund (backed by Peter Thiel), VanEck, Mirana Ventures, LayerZero, Paxos, Boku, Payoneer, and Monerium.

In January 2026, Barclays made a separate strategic investment in Ubyx also at an undisclosed amount marking the British bank’s first direct stake in a stablecoin infrastructure company. Barclays stated at the time that the investment aligned with its strategy to explore tokenized money within the regulatory perimeter.

The total confirmed capital raised to date stands at $10 million, with two additional undisclosed strategic tranches.

Market Context

The deal arrives amid a surge in institutional interest in stablecoin infrastructure. Venture funding into the broader stablecoin sector reached approximately $5.285 billion in 2025. Notable recent rounds in the space include Rain’s $250 million Series C at a $1.95 billion valuation in January 2026, VelaFi’s $20 million Series B, and BVNK’s $50 million Series B in late 2024. In another recent development highlighting continued capital inflows into digital asset infrastructure, Kresus Labs secures $13 million in fresh investment, underscoring sustained investor appetite across the broader blockchain and tokenization ecosystem.

The total stablecoin supply has surpassed $317 billion, with rising institutional focus on settlement infrastructure rather than direct token issuance. In Europe, multiple bank-led consortia are developing euro-denominated stablecoins expected to launch in 2026. A group of 10 major banks including Barclays, Goldman Sachs, and UBS disclosed in late 2025 that they were exploring a shared stablecoin pegged to G7 currencies.

Ubyx lists over 15 stablecoin issuer partners including Paxos, Ripple, Agora, Monerium, and GMO Trust, though notably absent from its current roster are Circle and Tether. The company has indicated it plans to operate across Solana, Base, Arbitrum, Canton, and the XRP Ledger.

Looking Ahead

The AB Xelerate investment extends Ubyx’s institutional backing beyond crypto-native venture firms and into traditional banking. With Arab Bank’s footprint across the Middle East and North Africa, the partnership signals growing demand for compliant stablecoin settlement infrastructure in corridors historically underserved by existing crypto off-ramp solutions. Whether this translates into operational deployment within Arab Bank’s network remains to be seen.