Layer-1 blockchain Aptos has partnered with World Liberty Financial (WLFI), a firm linked to the Trump family, to deploy the USD1 stablecoin on its network, signaling a significant development in the DeFi space.
Aptos CEO Avery Ching stated that discussions with the DeFi project had been ongoing and that WLFI “view us as some of the best tech partners they could work with.” Speaking at the TOKEN2049 conference, Ching explained that WLFI intends to develop products for retail and banking. The initial step is launching a stablecoin designed to return yield to its users. The USD1 stablecoin is scheduled to go live on the Aptos Network on October 6, with extensive support from the ecosystem at launch.
Liquidity pools and incentives will be available on several Aptos DeFi protocols, including Echelon, Hyperion, Thala, and Tapp. The launch will also be supported by wallets and exchanges such as Petra, Backpack, OKX, OneKey, Bitget Wallet, Nightly, and Gate Wallet. According to Ching, World Liberty Finance selected Aptos due to its low transaction costs, which are “less than a hundredth of a cent,” and its high speed, with transactions finalizing in “under half a second.”
Aptos aims to compete with Ethereum and Tron for stablecoin deployment, with a specific focus on capturing a portion of Tron’s market share. Tether (USDT), which launched on Aptos earlier this year, has seen significant growth. According to Tether’s data, there is currently $1.3 billion in USDT on Aptos, compared to $78.6 billion on Tron and $94.8 billion on Ethereum.
The total market capitalization of USD1 is $2.68 billion, with the majority of it residing on the BNB Chain, according to data from DefiLlama. While Aptos processes over $60 billion in monthly transaction volume and supports stablecoins like Tether, USDC, Ethena USD (USDE), and PayPal USD, its overall stablecoin market share is approximately 0.35%, as reported by RWA.xyz. Ethereum maintains a dominant position with a 59% total stablecoin market share. This figure increases to 69% when including its layer-2 and EVM-compatible networks.
Ching also announced new products in development. “Decibel” is a high-performance decentralized exchange designed for stablecoins, perpetual contracts, and spot trading. Its testnet is planned for October, with a mainnet launch scheduled before the end of the year. Another product, “Shelby,” is a “hot decentralized storage” system being developed in partnership with Jump Crypto. It is designed for real-time social media applications and training data, with a projected launch in 2026.
Before his role at Aptos, Avery Ching was the head of Meta’s Diem crypto project. Aptos is supported by investors including FTX Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz, Apollo, Franklin Templeton, and Circle Ventures.
