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Vantage Bank and Custodia Release White Paper Unveiling "Hazel Network"New Live Infrastructure for Banks and Credit Unions Introduces a Unified Token Combining Tokenized Bank Deposits and Stablecoins SAN ANTONIO and CHEYENNE, Wyo., June 18, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Vantage Bank and Custodia today announced the release of their white paper, "Hazel Network: Unified Tokenized Bank Deposit and Stablecoin Token." The publication details a breakthrough, bank-architected token sub-ledger that safely and soundly bridges traditional banking with the tokenized systems, such as stablecoins, tokenized stocks and agentic commerce. Hazel Network offers attractive economics to banks of all sizes and delivers 24/7/365 programmable settlement, allowing banks to modernize payments directly from within the regulated banking system. Hazel Network programmatically executes the embedded compliance and operational controls that banks require, making it clear Hazel Network was built by banks for banks.
At the core of the breakthrough is a single, integrated smart contract that issues a dual-character tokenized U.S. dollar. Every tokenized dollar within Hazel Network begins its life cycle as a tokenized deposit issued by a consortium member bank, and it automatically transforms between a tokenized deposit and a stablecoin (or the reverse) based on who holds it:
Unlike incumbent stablecoins that can permanently drain a bank's core deposits, Hazel Network inverts this trend by creating a frictionless, programmatic path for the stablecoin to come back to the originating bank as a tokenized deposit. No conversion transaction between the tokenized deposit and stablecoin (or vice versa) is required, since the token programmatically transforms when it crosses the consortium boundary. This design eliminates conversion friction and costs, bypasses crypto exchanges, and protects primary customer-bank relationships from disintermediation. "Hazel Network delivers payments innovation from within the banking system in a compliant way, and we created it for banks of all sizes – including and especially community banks," said Jeff Sinnott, President and CEO of Vantage Bank. "We built a compliant, secure ledger that extends your core and enables banks to operate at software speed while fully preserving your core customer relationships." "Today's announcement was six years in the making," added Caitlin Long, CEO of Custodia. "Vantage helped us tailor our original design to solve real problems for banks, and we believe this white paper demonstrates why our teams erned the top two spots on American Banker's list of the top 50 Most Innovative People in Finance this year." Hazel Network features a "Compliance by Construction" paradigm. Every token transfer is automatically gated across three distinct screening layers before on-chain settlement can execute:
This protocol-level enforcement also applies directly to reserve requirements. The smart contract automatically blocks any out-of-consortium transfer that would exceed Custodia's verified, programmatic reserve balance. Designed to accommodate banks and credit unions of all sizes, Hazel Network functions as a digital asset sub-ledger—running alongside a bank's existing core and general ledger, without requiring banks to replace legacy systems. Banks can participate through three flexible integration models, the shortest of which requires only 4-6 weeks to implement:
Hazel Network's reference implementation on Ethereum mainnet has been live since March 2026. Vantage, Custodia and Infinant, their integration partner, have completed the first of four required testing phases of Hazel Network's production systems at scale, and will soon begin phase two. The first group of banks will soon be announced, and multiple large-scale pilots are in process (including one already announced with Participate to use tokenized bank deposits to facilitate bank-to-bank loan participation closings and servicing). Hazel Network is scheduled to be fully available for banks and your customers by Q4 2026. The foundational token design is protected by U.S. Patents 11,392,906, 12,450,578, 12,579,525 and others still pending. Additional patents are pending on Hazel's unified-token model that extends this design to dual legal characterization at the consortium boundary and still other subject matter. Banks and credit unions interested in exploring consortium membership are invited to contact Shawn Main at Vantage Bank for onboarding details at [email protected]. About Vantage Bank About Custodia Media Contact:
SOURCE Vantage Bank and Custodia 
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