Caitlin Long Sees Tokenized Dollars Displacing ACH Within a Decade

The Automated Clearing House network has long underpinned U.S. payroll, bill payments and bank-to-bank transfers, but its batch-based structure can make settlement slower and less transparent than blockchain-based alternatives. Caitlin Long, founder of Custodia Bank, argues that tokenized dollars can move more quickly, cheaply and transparently, potentially reshaping the core payment infrastructure used by traditional financial institutions.

Long said tokenized dollars are likely to make the conventional ACH network obsolete over the next five to 10 years as banks and customers adopt on-chain settlement. She identified faster processing, lower costs and improved traceability as the main technological advantages. The transition remains constrained, however, by regulatory barriers and a shortage of professionals who understand banking operations, compliance requirements and blockchain systems well enough to implement the shift.