How Credit Unions Can Win With Digital Assets

Most credit union leaders already know this number: more than 15% of U.S. adults have bought cryptocurrency at least once, and among Gen Z and millennials that number is far higher. What’s less obvious is where those digital dollars are actually living — and spoiler: it’s usually not inside a credit union.

Here’s the thing about the future of money: it’s no longer a “wait and see” topic. Members are already moving funds into exchanges, apps, and DeFi platforms that don’t know their name, don’t care about their community, and won’t be there when life hits hard. That’s a direct threat to the balance sheet and to the member-centric model that makes credit unions different.

On a recent episode of The CUInsight Network, Jed Meyer, CEO at St. Cloud Financial Credit Union, and Jon Ungerland, CIO of Information/Innovation at DaLand CUSO, laid out a clear path: credit unions don’t need to chase every crypto fad — but they do need to own their role in the digital asset ecosystem.

This post breaks down what they’re doing, why it matters, and how you can build a member-centric digital asset strategy that actually protects your credit union.

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Why Digital Assets Are Now a Credit Union Issue

Digital assets aren’t just speculation anymore; they’re part of your members’ everyday financial lives.

Members are already:

• Moving paycheck leftovers into crypto apps
• Borrowing against digital assets held elsewhere
• Paying peers, gig workers, and even small businesses via stablecoins
• Experimenting with tokenized rewards, NFTs, and digital collectibles

Every dollar that leaves your ecosystem for a third-party app is:

• A dollar not sitting in deposits
• A dollar not funding loans
• A member interaction you don’t see or understand

Jed Meyer admitted he started out skeptical. About five years ago, he noticed a pattern: members were quietly building wealth in digital assets outside the credit union, and those flows weren’t showing up on traditional reports. Once he realized this trend would only grow, he made a call most leaders still avoid: lean in, but do it with guardrails and purpose.

“We have to get into the game of convenience so we can continue to prove that credit unions are the best financial institutions for consumers to partner with.” – Jed Meyer

That’s the core point. This isn’t about becoming a crypto startup. It’s about staying the most convenient, trusted place for members’ money — whatever form that money takes.

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From Skepticism to Strategy: The St. Cloud & DaLand Playbook

The future of money isn’t theoretical at St. Cloud Financial Credit Union; it’s already on the roadmap.

St. Cloud partnered with DaLand CUSO to connect their core to the emerging digital asset rails using DaLand’s Coin2Core solution. The idea is straightforward but powerful: bring digital assets into the member’s existing relationship instead of forcing them to go elsewhere.

What Coin2Core Actually Enables

Coin2Core is essentially a bridge between your core banking system and decentralized finance (DeFi) networks. While the tech is complex under the hood, the outcomes for a member-centric credit union are very practical:

• See the full financial picture: Surface member digital asset positions alongside traditional accounts
• Keep flows inside the CU: Reduce the need for external exchanges and wallets
• Support compliant access: Build controls, monitoring, and education into the experience
• Stay flexible: Connect to new tokenized money types (like stablecoins) as they mature

St. Cloud used this foundation to go a step further: offering their own white-label stablecoin, tied into their existing member experience.

Why a White-Label Stablecoin Makes Sense for CUs

Issuing or supporting a credit union-branded stablecoin isn’t about following hype. Done right, it’s about:

• Localizing digital money: Keep member funds moving inside a community-owned ecosystem
• Reducing friction: Let members transact digitally without bouncing between disconnected apps
• Creating new services: Think instant P2P, micro-savings, community rewards, and cross-border remittances

Most important: by being the trusted on-ramp and off-ramp for digital assets, you protect members from shady platforms, bad UX, and unclear risk.

The reality? This is a more member-centric approach than ignoring the topic and pretending digital assets will go away.

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The Real Risk: Being Late, Not Being Wrong

Jon Ungerland made a point that should make every board member sit up: leaders across banking, tech, and government are already deeply invested in tokenized, blockchain-based money. The train isn’t leaving the station — it already left.

Credit unions face three specific risks if they ignore digital assets:

1. Disintermediation of Member Relationships

When a member’s most frequently used “financial app” is a crypto platform, a big tech wallet, or a non-bank fintech, the primary relationship shifts away from the credit union.

That leads to:

• Fewer logins to CU digital banking
• Lower deposit balances
• Less visibility into member financial stress or opportunity

2. Balance Sheet Erosion

Funds flowing into external digital asset platforms often don’t come back quickly.

Over time, that means:

• Slower deposit growth
• Higher funding costs
• Tighter margins

You might not see the line item labeled “crypto leakage,” but you’ll feel it in pressure on your net interest margin.

3. Strategic Irrelevance

Members, especially younger ones, judge relevance by experience. If your app feels like 2013 while their other financial tools feel like 2025, they’ll still keep the car loan with you… until someone else offers a smoother, more modern package.

The bigger threat isn’t making a tactical mistake in digital assets. The bigger threat is standing still while the definition of money changes around you.

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A Practical Roadmap: How Credit Unions Can Engage Safely

You don’t need to go from zero to stablecoin overnight. But you do need a structured digital asset strategy anchored in member value and risk management.

Here’s a practical approach that works.

1. Start With Education — For Leaders and Members

Jed is blunt about this: education isn’t optional.

• Board & executive education: Run working sessions on DeFi, tokenization, stablecoins, and regulatory trends. Not glossy overviews — real working knowledge.
• Frontline training: Give staff simple, accurate talking points. If a member asks about crypto and the answer is “we don’t touch that,” you’ve already lost the moment.
• Member education: Publish explainers, host webinars, and build FAQ content that treats members like adults. Focus on risk, utility, and how the credit union fits in.

A useful framing I’ve seen work: “We’re not here to hype digital assets. We’re here to help you use them (or avoid them) wisely.”

2. Choose Your Role: On-Ramp, Guide, or Full Participant

Not every credit union needs the same depth of involvement. You can decide where you fit on this spectrum:

• On-Ramp: Safely connect members to third-party digital asset services through your ecosystem, with compliance and education built in.
• Guide: Provide tools that help members understand, track, and plan around digital asset exposure alongside traditional accounts.
• Full Participant: Integrate with DeFi rails, support stablecoins or tokenized deposits, and eventually support tokenized assets and programmable money.

St. Cloud, with DaLand’s help, moved toward full participation with Coin2Core and a white-label stablecoin. You might start earlier on that spectrum and move up as your risk appetite and capabilities grow.

3. Integrate Digital Assets Into Member-Centric Use Cases

Abstract strategy doesn’t move the needle. Specific member use cases do. Here are a few that align with a member-first philosophy:

• Digital savings buckets: Tokenized “envelopes” for specific goals, viewable in your mobile app.
• Instant P2P inside the CU: Member-to-member payments using a stablecoin that settles instantly while you manage the reserve and compliance.
• Small business settlement: Help local businesses accept digital payments that settle to their CU account without them needing to manage keys or exchanges.
• Cross-border remittances: Use stablecoin rails to move money faster and cheaper, while you own the member experience and KYC.

If a digital asset use case doesn’t clearly improve speed, cost, or clarity for the member, it probably isn’t worth your time yet.

4. Build Governance, Not Just Features

A serious digital asset strategy needs clear guardrails:

• A written digital asset policy aligned with your risk appetite
• Compliance workflows for KYC, AML, and transaction monitoring
• Vendor due diligence for any CUSO or fintech partner
• Clear incident response plans if something breaks

This is where working with a CUSO specialized in digital assets, like DaLand, can help. You’re not reinventing the wheel alone; you’re standing on someone else’s hard lessons.

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Where AI Fits: Member-Centric Digital Asset Support

Since this campaign is about AI for credit unions, let’s connect the dots.

AI isn’t just a shiny tool for chatbots. Used well, it’s a way to make digital assets safer and more understandable for members while scaling your team.

Here are concrete ways AI can support a digital asset strategy:

Personalized Member Guidance

AI models can:

• Flag unusual transfers to external exchanges and prompt proactive outreach
• Generate tailored education prompts (“You’ve started using crypto apps — here’s how we can help you manage risk.”)
• Support advisors with smart summaries of a member’s full financial picture, including tokenized assets

Smarter Risk and Compliance

AI can:

• Analyze transaction patterns for suspicious activity across both traditional and digital channels
• Help compliance teams prioritize alerts and investigate faster
• Support model risk governance by creating clear documentation and audit trails

Better Member Experience

AI-powered assistants can:

• Answer member questions about stablecoins, DeFi, and your own digital offerings in plain language
• Walk members step-by-step through safe setup and use of CU-approved digital asset tools
• Surface relevant financial wellness content at the exact moment a member needs it

This is what member-centric banking looks like in 2025: not ignoring digital assets, but wrapping them in guidance, guardrails, and smarter experiences.

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The Next Move Belongs to You

Digital assets and tokenized money aren’t waiting for anyone, and they’re certainly not pausing while credit unions form another task force. As Jed and Jon made clear, the opportunity is to shape this shift, not chase it.

If you’re a credit union leader, here’s a simple three-step starting point:

1. Get aligned at the top: Put digital assets on your next board and executive agenda with a clear objective: decide your role.
2. Map member impact: Identify where members are already interacting with digital assets and how that’s affecting deposits, lending, and engagement.
3. Find the right partners: You don’t have to build Coin2Core-style infrastructure yourself, but you do need partners who understand both DeFi and cooperative finance.

The future of money is already member-facing. The real question is whether those members will still see your credit union as the first place they turn when money gets more digital, more complex, and more confusing.

If you design your digital asset and AI strategy around that relationship — not around hype — you won’t just keep up. You’ll prove, again, why credit unions are the best financial institutions for people to partner with.