Acquisition establishes first Credit Union Service Organization backed by blockchain core developer
San Francisco, CA — 19th December 2024 — Metallicus, a leader in blockchain technology for banking, has announced its acquisition of FinTech Bonifii, a Credit Union Service Organization (CUSO) formerly known as ‘CULedger’. The two entities will establish a CUSO, allowing blockchain based products to be leveraged by credit unions that deploy on The Digital Banking Network (TDBN), an open source blockchain banking protocol developed by Metallicus. The acquisition enables more than 70 of Bonifii’s current credit union customers to leverage the capabilities of Metal Blockchain, The Digital Banking Network’s Layer 0 blockchain.
“Bonifii has made great progress in bringing blockchain technology to credit unions, and we are excited to partner with them.” said Marshall Hayner, CEO of Metallicus. “With our blockchain development expertise, and Bonifii’s deep experience in the credit union sector, we’re excited to bring more financial institutions onchain, and significantly enhance financial services for their members.”
John Ainsworth, CEO of Bonifii, emphasized the historical significance of this merger:
“CULedger was originally founded to harness the potential of distributed ledger technology for credit unions. As the only CUSO directly connected to a blockchain core developer, we are uniquely positioned to accelerate the delivery of innovative tools that build member trust and enhance the competitiveness of credit unions globally.”
“This acquisition will strengthen Bonifii’s existing products such as MemberPass, and expand offerings into evolving areas of identity management, payments, smart contracts and more effective fraud fighting tools. We are excited about the future of the combined organization and what it can bring to credit unions and their members!” said Jim Phillips, EVP/CIO of Schools First FCU & Chairman of the Board at Bonifii.
The acquisition will allow Metallicus to offer its full-stack digital asset product suite to credit unions joining The Digital Banking Network, giving their members access to products like self-custody digital asset wallets and the ability to buy and sell cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin, via the Metal Pay fiat onramp, natively within their existing banking apps.
Current participants in Metallicus’ Banking Innovation Program are incubating use cases such as stablecoins, onchain identity, asset tokenization, single sign-on (SSO), and smart contracts. Metal Blockchain’s architecture allows financial institutions to operate their own private subnet on The Digital Banking Network, facilitating secure, instant payments between others without the need for a bridge, while meeting regulatory standards like BSA Compliance & ISO20022.
The acquisition follows Metallicus’ recent announcement of its enablement of instant payment capabilities through the FedNow® Service.
About Metallicus
Metallicus is a leader in blockchain technology for banking, bridging traditional finance and Web3 through The Digital Banking Network—a multi-layer blockchain network that enables instant, secure, and compliant digital asset transactions with integrated on-chain digital identity (DID/KYC), meeting regulatory standards like BSA and ISO20022. Backed by an Advisory Board of former Federal Reserve leaders and top banking executives, Metallicus delivers innovative solutions that enhance and modernize traditional financial systems. For more information, visit www.metallicus.com.
About Bonifii
Denver-based Bonifii, formerly CULedger, is an innovative financial technology company specializing in solutions that proactively protect credit union members from financial fraud.
Metal Blockchain Innovation Program
Financial institutions keen on participating in the Metal Blockchain Banking Innovation Program can express their interest or learn more by contacting bizdev@metallicus.com.
