21 Banks Plan Dollar Stablecoin for H1 2027

Twenty-one banks, among them Goldman Sachs, Citi and Bank of America, agreed to form a company in the second half of 2026 to issue a dollar stablecoin targeted for the first half of 2027. The group plans a euro version to follow and says the token will comply with the GENIUS Act and the EU’s MiCA rules.

Banks have pointed to clearer regulation and rising stablecoin use as reasons for acting. Stablecoin supply grew from about $27 billion at the end of 2020 to roughly $300 billion in recent years. Business-to-business stablecoin flows reached about $226 billion in 2025. Reported cross-border inflows into the U.S. have totaled nearly $127 billion a month, and stablecoin transaction volume extended into the trillions in early 2026.

Some banks have already launched or tested tokens. SoFi opened SoFiUSD to retail users after an enterprise roll-out. JPMorgan operates a deposit token on an internal network. HSBC plans a Hong Kong dollar stablecoin in the second half of 2026. Independent issuers also continue to expand: one large dollar token is roughly twice the size of other stablecoins combined, while new industry-backed tokens and public networks are under development with participation from major financial firms and payment operators.

For corporate customers, bank-issued tokens are described as a way to speed settlement and reduce fees on cross-border payments. One payment provider reported that a $100,000 international transfer that can carry 3–5% in fees and FX spreads on traditional rails was reduced to under 1% when converted on-chain and settled in minutes, lowering costs by several thousand dollars.

Regulatory and structural trade-offs are part of the conversation. Under current frameworks, a bank-issued stablecoin may not qualify as a deposit and therefore could lack FDIC insurance and traditional yield arrangements. Issuers may retain technical controls such as the ability to freeze or burn tokens. The GENIUS Act establishes a federal perimeter for issuance; proposed guidance would limit reliance on a sender’s KYC to federally regulated entities, which could require re-verification when tokens move outside that perimeter.

Interoperability is a key technical and commercial challenge. The Bank for International Settlements has raised concerns that much token activity sits on closed platforms and can replicate existing fragmentation. Tokens that do not interoperate across banks, wallets, public blockchains and payment apps risk remaining confined to individual institutions. Commercial acceptance is also a factor: a bank or third-party provider must be willing to hold and transact with a token issued by a rival.

Market participants emphasize that issuing a token is only one part of cost savings. Firms that control both the digital settlement leg and the local currency rails where the recipient operates report narrower spreads by managing conversion and local settlement directly. Where a bank issuer lacks those local rails, partners that provide them will capture the economic benefit of the corridor.

Alex Witt, a venture investor focused on payments, advised: “Move funds on-chain when cross-border settlement time is costing working capital; keep domestic, low-friction balances in deposit accounts.” Pablo Hernández de Cos, general manager of the Bank for International Settlements, noted at a recent forum that many bank and private token efforts remain limited to closed platforms.

The consortium’s timetable targets production of a dollar stablecoin in the first half of 2027. Independent projects and public networks continue to build acceptance and technical links while the consortium develops its charter and infrastructure.