Points of Focus 

• Partior’s latest PoC validated tokenized deposits as a settlement layer for stablecoin clearing using delivery versus payment.
• The trial with Tether-backed OpenAssets comes as banks explore tokenized deposits alongside stablecoins, not as a replacement.
• The PoC addresses a key challenge highlighted by the Bank of Italy, where fiat on and off ramps account for most stablecoin payment costs.

Partior has completed a proof-of-concept (PoC) showing that tokenized commercial bank deposits can be used to clear and settle stablecoin transactions, marking another step toward integrating regulated banking infrastructure with blockchain based payments.

The trial connected Partior’s multi currency tokenized deposit network with OpenAssets, a digital asset infrastructure provider backed by Valor Capital. OpenAssets also has close ties to Tether, which is one of its investors, while CEO Gabor Gurbacs serves as an advisor to Hadron by Tether, the stablecoin issuer’s tokenization platform.

Rather than focusing on issuing another tokenized asset, the project tested whether tokenized deposits issued by commercial banks could act as the settlement leg for stablecoin transactions using delivery versus payment (DvP), a mechanism that synchronizes payment and asset delivery to reduce settlement risk.

The announcement comes as financial institutions increasingly explore whether tokenized deposits can complement, rather than compete with, stablecoins in wholesale financial markets.

Settlement infrastructure, not token issuance, was the focus

According to Partior, the PoC integrated OpenAssets’ tokenization infrastructure with its tokenized deposit network to facilitate settlement between tokenized assets and bank backed digital money.

While the companies described the project broadly as supporting tokenized asset settlement, the primary use case demonstrated was stablecoin redemption and clearing.

That distinction is significant because stablecoins remain widely used for payments and trading, but institutions have continued searching for settlement assets that fit within existing banking regulation.

Unlike stablecoins, which are issued by licensed payment companies or crypto firms, tokenized deposits represent commercial bank liabilities held in digital form. Supporters argue they can combine blockchain efficiency with the legal and regulatory framework banks already operate under.

Delivery versus payment also removes one of the largest risks in digital asset settlement by ensuring that neither cash nor the underlying asset changes hands unless both transfers occur simultaneously.

The PoC addresses a problem highlighted by the Bank of Italy

The timing is notable following the Bank of Italy’s recent study into stablecoin remittances.

Researchers conducted a mystery shopping exercise involving 200 USDC transfers across ten international payment corridors and concluded that blockchain itself contributes only a small fraction of total transaction costs. 

Overall fees ranged from 0.30% to nearly 9%, with most costs generated by converting between fiat currencies and stablecoins rather than by the blockchain transfer itself. Settlement speed also depended largely on domestic banking infrastructure instead of distributed ledger technology.

The researchers described today’s payment flow as effectively a “stablecoin sandwich,” where users still depend on traditional banking systems before entering and after leaving the blockchain network. Those conversion stages remain the largest source of cost and delay.

Partior’s PoC tackles that challenge from a different direction.

Instead of making stablecoin transfers faster, it explores whether regulated tokenized deposits can reduce the need for repeated fiat conversions by allowing settlement to occur directly within tokenized banking infrastructure.

Banks are building complementary infrastructure for digital money

The latest proof of concept reflects a broader shift across institutional finance.

Over the past two years, banks have increasingly differentiated between stablecoins, tokenized deposits, and central bank digital currencies, viewing each as serving different roles within future payment systems.

Stablecoins have become the preferred settlement asset for public blockchain networks and decentralized finance, while tokenized deposits are increasingly being developed for regulated wholesale finance and interbank settlement.

Partior itself was established by a consortium of major financial institutions to modernize cross-border payments using tokenized commercial bank money, making the latest trial a continuation of that strategy rather than a standalone experiment.

The involvement of OpenAssets also highlights growing convergence between traditional banking infrastructure and the stablecoin ecosystem through shared technology providers and investors, including Tether.

Although the proof-of-concept does not represent a commercial launch, it demonstrates that tokenized deposits can function alongside stablecoins rather than replacing them. As institutions continue expanding tokenized financial markets, the next phase of adoption may depend less on creating new digital assets and more on building efficient settlement infrastructure that connects banking systems with blockchain networks.