Citrea, the Bitcoin application layer, announced the launch of Citrea USD (ctUSD), a 1:1 fiat-backed stablecoin designed to serve as the foundational liquidity layer for the Bitcoin ecosystem. Powered by M0, the universal stablecoin platform, ctUSD is issued by MoonPay, the global leader in crypto payments with a rigorous compliance framework built on the highest U.S. standards. This partnership ensures ctUSD is designed to align with forthcoming GENIUS Act guidelines and an asset available to users in the U.S. (excluding NY) and over 160 countries worldwide (excluding Canada and the EEA).
ctUSD solves one of the most persistent challenges for Bitcoin and ecosystem development: worldwide access to native, compliant and unified stablecoin liquidity. This initiative aims to provide robust banking rails, seamlessly connecting on-chain Bitcoin collateral with off-chain fiat systems and solving the systemic challenges of liquidity fragmentation and third-party bridge reliance in decentralized finance.
“Liquidity on Citrea is forming now. With a native, compliant standard immediately, the ecosystem won’t fragment into dozens of incompatible, risky bridged tokens, creating systemic risk before the ecosystem even matures,” said Orkun Kilic, co-founder and CEO of Chainway Labs, the company building Citrea.
ctUSD provides strong distribution and compliance framework:
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Native & Unified Liquidity: Issued natively on Citrea, ctUSD ensures deep liquidity is safe from external bridge hacks and is designed to be 1:1 redeemable through regulated issuance and redemption processes.
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Compliant: Issued by MoonPay, ctUSD is designed to align with the forthcoming GENIUS Act guidelines and leverages MoonPay’s compliance framework, including its U.S state Money Transmitter Licenses (MTLs).
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Broad Access: ctUSD is accessible in the U.S. (excluding NY) and over 160 countries (excluding Canada and the EEA), tapping into MoonPay’s network of 30 million+ verified users. It is available for instant buy/sell via major payment methods like Visa, Mastercard, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and PayPal.
“Compliance is key to responsible scaling,” said Ivan Soto-Wright, co-founder and CEO of MoonPay. “Citrea applies that approach by aligning regulated issuance and global distribution from the start, creating safe and accessible ways for users to engage with the Bitcoin ecosystem.”
“Open, interoperable platforms are the foundation for scalable stablecoin infrastructure,” said Luca Prosperi, CEO of M0. “ctUSD is an example of how M0’s open infrastructure enables partners to launch application-specific digital dollars quickly, with robust controls and the flexibility to expand across networks and integrations over time.”
The ctUSD infrastructure also provides a complete toolkit for developers building the next generation of Bitcoin finance, including:
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Virtual Accounts (vIBANs): Fully supported by Iron (a MoonPay company) enabling developers to issue dedicated USD bank accounts (ACH/Wires) for seamless auto-ramping of fiat to ctUSD.
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Cross-Chain & Merchant Ready: Integrations with Swaps.xyz for non-custodial bridging from chains like Ethereum and Solana, and Helio for enabling “Pay with ctUSD” merchant cards.
ctUSD will be available soon. Initial access options include using stablecoins on Ethereum while bridging to Citrea, DEX pools on Citrea, MoonPay, and direct minting support for large orders.