Altus, a fintech platform built by the team behind MPCVault, launched its public beta on August 22, enabling eligible investors outside the United States to buy real U.S. stocks and ETFs using USDC on Solana without a traditional bank transfer. The platform is operated by Metaloop Inc. (Palo Alto, California), which says its MPCVault team has managed over $2 billion in assets for more than 1,000 institutions over four years.
11,000+ U.S. Stocks and ETFs, Fractional Shares From $1
Per the launch announcement, the beta covers more than 11,000 publicly traded U.S. stocks and ETFs across major exchanges. Trading runs 24 hours a day, five days a week, spanning regular market hours alongside pre-market, after-hours, and overnight sessions.
The company says fractional shares are available from $1 with no stated minimum. Altus specifies that account holders own actual shares rather than synthetic instruments or blockchain tokens tracking an underlying price; dividends and corporate action participation are included. Brokerage execution runs through Atomic Vaults Securities LLC, a U.S.-registered broker-dealer and FINRA and SIPC member, with clearing provided by RQD* Clearing, LLC.
USDC on Solana as the Funding Rail
Users deposit USDC through the Solana network; those funds convert to buying power inside a brokerage account and can be returned to Solana as USDC on withdrawal. The setup removes the need for international bank wires to access a U.S. brokerage account from abroad.
The model differs from the on-chain tokenized equity products that have been generating DEX volume on Solana, as Compass covered in August. With Altus, Solana's role is confined to the deposit and withdrawal layer. The securities are held in a traditional U.S. brokerage account and carry standard SIPC protections, which do not extend to USDC balances.
Karthick Sivakumar, head of operations at Metaloop, described the gap the platform targets: stablecoins have become common infrastructure for moving money internationally, while the equity markets those holders want to reach remain tied to legacy brokerage rails.
Non-U.S. Access, SIPC Coverage, and the Roadmap
The beta is open through iOS, Android, and the Altus website. Residents of the United States and EU/EEA are ineligible, along with certain other jurisdictions listed in the platform's restricted trading policy.
Metaloop plans to expand Altus into perpetual futures, prediction markets, and international equities, and has announced an Altus Visa card for real-world spending. The press release gave no timeline for those additions.
