DISCOVER

The Stablecoin Cohort For Credit Unions

A guided exploration of stablecoins, strategy, and organizational readiness.

By Wide Open Ventures.

Executive Summary

The Stablecoin Cohort is a three-month, guided learning experience designed to help credit unions explore the emerging stablecoin landscape together. Each session will progress participants through the same structured journey: Studying the terrain, mapping potential routes, and forming early expeditions.

By the end of the program, participating credit unions leave with a shared internal understanding of stablecoins, four executive-ready deliverables, and a clearer sense of how and when to engage as the landscape continues to evolve.

Why Join the Stablecoin Cohort?

Stablecoins processed over $9 trillion in value last year, placing them alongside established payment systems in economic relevance.

For credit unions, the stakes run through two things:

Payments infrastructure, where stablecoins enable near-instant settlement, lower transaction costs, and 24/7 availability.

And the member relationship itself, where the risk is that members slowly move their transaction activity to wallets and platforms outside the credit union while the account stays open.

Banks and fintechs have been building toward this for a while. Instruments like CUUSD, PYUSD, and TSDA are already in the market. Regulatory clarity has arrived. And credit unions are facing a question that doesn't have an easy answer: How do we stay ahead of this without betting everything on a path that's still taking shape?

Which is exactly what our Stablecoin Cohort is built to answer.

Rather than navigating the landscape independently, participating credit unions explore it alongside peers who are asking the same questions and weighing the same tradeoffs. The cohort emphasizes shared learning, peer dialogue, hands-on experimentation, and expert guidance — building grounded perspective while maintaining the flexibility to act when the time is right.

What Participants Receive

Participating credit unions receive four executive-ready deliverables over the course of the program, each combining core stablecoin education with synthesis from live sessions and peer discussion:

Stablecoin Landscape Brief: A concise briefing on stablecoin fundamentals, the current market, and key regulatory developments. Delivered end of Month 1.

Stablecoin Strategy Guide: A practical guide to strategic options, trade-offs, and organizational readiness considerations. Delivered end of Month 2.

Stablecoin Playbook: A forward-looking playbook focused on testing frameworks, partnership considerations, and practical next steps. Delivered end of Month 3.

Board-Ready Deck: An executive presentation that synthesizes cohort learnings and is designed for credit unions to present directly to their boards — delivered at the end of the program.

All four deliverables are designed for internal use and can be shared with executive teams, boards, and other stakeholders to support alignment and informed decision-making.

The Exploration Journey

Month 1: Studying the Terrain

Month 1 establishes a shared baseline. The focus is on orientation, vocabulary, and context.

Session 1 — Stablecoin Fundamentals and How They Are Different: Core stablecoin concepts, how they differ from traditional deposits and payment instruments, and how they combine crypto infrastructure with the stability of the U.S. dollar.

Session 2 — The Stablecoin Landscape and Regulatory Environment: An overview of the stablecoin market, key participants, emerging use cases, and regulatory developments including the GENIUS Act. Early implications for credit union payments, deposits, and liquidity.

Deliverable: Stablecoin Landscape Brief

Month 2: Mapping the Routes

Month 2 shifts to strategic implications, with a focus on understanding potential paths and trade-offs.

Session 3 — Strategic Options for Credit Unions: Strategic options ranging from integrating existing stablecoins like USDC to collaborating on a credit union-focused instrument. Where stablecoins could disrupt current models and where new opportunities may emerge. Role-based breakout discussion.

Session 4 — Tradeoffs, Leadership Alignment, and Readiness: Tradeoffs across strategic paths, including timing, risk, and resource commitment. Leadership alignment, governance considerations, and organizational readiness. Role-based breakout discussion.

Deliverable: Stablecoin Strategy Guide

Month 3: Forming the Expeditions

Month 3 turns attention toward action without pressure. Focus goes toward testing, experimentation, and continued learning.

Session 5 — Testing and Early Engagement: Practical next steps for early exploration: testing concepts, limited pilots, and participation in partnerships or coalitions. Learning by doing while maintaining flexibility. Role-based breakout discussion.

Session 6 — Staying Oriented as the Landscape Evolves: How to monitor developments, stay informed as market and regulatory conditions change, and communicate implications with boards and leadership teams. A natural introduction to the Advanced Stablecoin Cohort for institutions ready to move from understanding to action. Role-based breakout discussion.

Deliverable: Stablecoin Playbook + Board-Ready Deck

Program Structure and Benefits

Format: 6 live sessions, 60 minutes each, delivered via Zoom on a biweekly Tuesday schedule — September 8 through November 17, 2026. An optional Session 0 onboarding call is held September 1.

Cohort also includes: Between-session activities, a community platform, certificate of completion, and post-cohort monthly discussion, featuring an additional four calls.

Dates: The fall cohort meets 12:00–1:00 PM CT. Office Hours: Available during all five off weeks (September 15, September 29, October 13, October 27, November 10), with subject-matter expert support.

Between-Session Activities: Five hands-on activities using Coinbase and the Plover Credit Union app, providing participants with direct experience in buying, sending, spending, and converting USDC. Reflections posted in the cohort community after each activity.

Community Platform: Circle; Used for peer discussion, between-session engagement, and knowledge checks after each session.

Certificate of Completion: Awarded upon meeting completion criteria across attendance, activities, and knowledge checks.

Post-Cohort: Monthly stablecoin discussion call included through March 2027 for ongoing landscape updates and peer discussion.

Who Should Participate?

The cohort is designed for cross-functional participation across:

Executive leadership
Payments and deposits
Risk and compliance
Technology and digital banking

Up to 10 team members per organization are included.

Pricing

Organization Asset Size

Under $1B

Over $1B

Investment

$10,000 per organization

$15,000 per organization

Includes all 6 sessions, optional Session 0, office hours, Circle community access, all four deliverables, knowledge checks, certificate of completion, and monthly discussion call through March 2027.

Pricing is tiered by asset size intentionally. Stablecoins will reshape financial services regardless of institution size, and we believe every credit union deserves access to the knowledge and peer community to navigate that well.

Terms and Confidentiality

Participation requires a full three-month commitment.
Circle community is designed for peer-to-peer engagement; Wide Open Ventures does not provide continuous consulting responses.
Direct expert interaction occurs through live sessions and cohort deliverables.
Additional speaking or advisory services available separately upon request.
All cohort discussions and materials are treated as confidential and limited to approved participants.

What Participants Can Expect After Three Months

A shared internal understanding of stablecoins across leadership and key teams
Four executive-ready deliverables for board and leadership use
Hands-on experience transacting with stablecoins in a guided, low-risk environment
Clear strategic context to support timing, risk, and readiness decisions
Access to an ongoing peer community and monthly discussion calls through March 2027
A natural path forward through the Advanced Stablecoin Cohort for institutions ready to move from understanding to action

The Stablecoin Cohort is designed to help credit unions move with intention in a period of real change. Fall 2026 registration is open now.

Explore the landscape. Map your routes. Form your expedition.

To sign up or learn more, please email Wide Open Venture's Business Development Manager, Gareth Shimmon, at gareth@lamontblack.com.