BofA, Citi, Goldman Sachs lead 21-bank stablecoin venture
Bank of America, Citi, and Goldman Sachs are among 21 major financial institutions planning to form a new company to develop and issue stablecoins, starting with a US dollar token targeted for the first half of 2027, subject to company formation and other conditions. The Tuesday announcement marks one of the largest bank-led pushes into digital dollars as US and EU crypto rules take shape.
Key Takeaways
- Twenty-one institutions—including BofA, Citi, Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank, UBS, Santander, MUFG, and Fidelity—plan a joint stablecoin venture.
- A US dollar stablecoin is slated for the first half of 2027, subject to company formation and other conditions.
- The group aims to expand into other G7 currencies, with a euro-denominated offering next.
- Target use cases include cross-border payments, digital asset settlement, and wholesale, institutional, and retail markets.
- The initiative builds on a 10-bank exploration announced last October and is designed to comply with the US GENIUS Act and EU MiCA.
Who is joining the stablecoin consortium?
The consortium announced Tuesday brings together 21 financial giants across North America, Europe, East Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. Beyond BofA, Citi, and Goldman Sachs, participants include Deutsche Bank, UBS, Santander, MUFG, and Fidelity Investments.
The group more than doubled in size since an initial 10-bank initiative last October explored a 1:1 reserve-backed form of digital money on public blockchains. That growth underscores how quickly traditional finance is consolidating around regulated stablecoin infrastructure.
When could the US dollar stablecoin launch?
According to the announcement, the planned venture will initially focus on a US dollar stablecoin, with a target launch in the first half of 2027. That timeline remains subject to the company's formal establishment and other conditions.
After the dollar offering, the consortium identified a euro-denominated stablecoin as its next priority before expanding into additional G7 currencies. The phased rollout suggests banks want a compliant dollar anchor before scaling across major developed-market currencies.
Why are banks racing into stablecoins now?
Regulatory clarity is a major driver. The consortium said its stablecoins are intended to comply with the US GENIUS Act and the European Union's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA), where applicable. Those frameworks have helped turn digital dollars from an experiment into a boardroom priority.
Institutional appetite was already building. A 2025 Fireblocks survey of 295 executives found 90% were using or planning to use stablecoins. Competitors are not standing still: Societe Generale's crypto unit has issued euro- and dollar-denominated tokens, Fidelity launched its FIDD stablecoin, and Standard Chartered recently backed a Hong Kong dollar venture.
On the same day, crypto startup Ethena rolled out a USDe-powered payments app across 48 countries with annualized rewards of up to 6%, highlighting the race between banks and fintechs for everyday digital money. Meanwhile, Bitcoin held steady near $78,000 as global bond yields climbed to multi-decade highs, with Japan's 10-year government bond yield hitting a 30-year peak.
What markets will the venture target?
The consortium said its stablecoin will serve wholesale, institutional, and retail markets. Planned use cases include cross-border payments and digital asset settlement—areas where tokenized dollars can move faster and more cheaply than legacy rails.
Singapore is also revisiting its stance, with officials considering whether to allow jointly issued cross-border stablecoins into its regulatory regime after earlier restricting the framework to domestic issuance. For more on how banks and regulators are reshaping digital finance, see our Fintech & Crypto Alerts coverage.
The full consortium announcement was reported by Cointelegraph.