In the shifting landscape where Traditional Finance (TradFi) and Web3 converge, few voices carry the weight of thirty years of institutional expertise. Enter Tony McLaughlin, a veteran of payments and treasury, who recognized a pivotal “uncanny feeling” following the 2024 US election: the world was ready for public blockchains, but the infrastructure to support them was missing.
Alongside his co-founders at Ubyx Inc., McLaughlin is building the critical “clearing system” that the digital asset world desperately needs. Since their launch in early 2025, Ubyx has moved with lightning speed—securing seed funding, going live, and recently announcing a strategic investment from Barclays. They aren’t just participating in the tokenization trend; they are solving the “many-to-many” problem to ensure stablecoins and tokenized deposits achieve true cash equivalence. We sat down with Tony to discuss why every bank on the planet needs a multi-chain wallet and how Ubyx is bridging the gap between regulated finance and the future of money.
1- Tell us about yourself / your co-founder(s).
I worked in tradfi for 30 years entirely focused on payments, treasury, cash management and transactional FX. After the US election I realised that banks and fintechs around the world would start to move into the world of public blockchains, and that tokenized money was likely to take off. I had the uncanny feeling that things I had learned over decades would give unique insights into the future market structure of stablecoins and tokenized deposits.
2- Who are your target customers, and what problem do you address for them?
Ubyx solves the looming many-to-many problem that will arise when there are many issuers of tokenized money, and many parties who wish to accept these new forms of money. This network cannot be resolved through bilateral connections. In the history of payments these networks are always resolved through clearing arrangements that have many beneficial effects. If successful, we will help make stablecoins and tokenized deposits ubiquitous.
3- What is your product / solution, who do you compete with, and what is your USP?
We provide a clearing system for tokenized money, a mutualised acceptance network and a way for stablecoins to achieve cash equivalence and singleness of money. We have no doubt that competitors will emerge because the clearing function is necessary for the maturity of the network. We are a neutral player in the market and look to bridge the worlds of crypto, regulation and traditional finance.
4- What is your current stage and traction, and how can our network help you in the next 6-12 months?
We launched the business in late March 2025, raised seed funding from great investors in June, built the team and went live in October. In January we announced strategic investment from our first bank, Barclays. We are processing live transactions, building our rulebook, building our company and preaching the good word about the benefits of tokenized money. In your network you may have regulated players wondering how to position themselves in a world of tokens and chains. I can say with confidence that they will hear from us an analysis of the tokenization game that they have never heard before – one that will give them clarity about their next concrete steps.
5- How do you go to market? How are banks or insurers working with you (or can work with you)?
We server regulated issuers and what we call receiving institutions. These are banks, fintechs and exchanges. There is a lot of FOMO in the market at the moment and people are leaping to conclusions, that are sometimes plain wrong. Most banks should not begin with issuing – they should begin with receiving.
6- Any relevant industry trends or market shifts we should be watching?
The mega trend is the merger between tradfi and web3. This will take place when every bank and fintech on the planet offers a multi-chain wallet to their customers. This is coming, it cannot be prevented. If the CEO of a regulated institution believes that there is a 10% chance of us entering a world of tokens and chains, then the measure that covers the greatest range of contingencies is to equip a multi-chain wallet. Ubyx can help every regulated institution on the planet future proof themselves for the paradigm shift from bank accounts to wallets.
7- What’s on your bookshelf or podcast app? Your favourite place for a coffee or a drink?
I have a very large set of bookshelves with many books waiting for my attention. One of the authors who has taught me the most is the American crime writer, James Lee Burke. He taught me that the bad guys take their own fall – you don’t need to conspire in their downfall because they make it for themselves. He also showed me that the past lives in the present, which is a great lesson when pattern matching between the history and future of payments.
As Tony McLaughlin poignantly notes, the merger of TradFi and Web3 is no longer a “maybe”—it is an inevitability. Ubyx Inc. stands at the threshold of this transition, offering a roadmap for regulated institutions to move from FOMO to functional implementation. Whether you are an issuer, a receiver, or an observer of the digital asset space, the message is clear: the leap from bank accounts to multi-chain wallets is the defining shift of our era. We look forward to seeing how Ubyx continues to rewrite the rules of the game. Stay tuned for our next edition, where we continue to explore the innovators redefining the boundaries of global finance.