Twenty-one financial institutions, including Goldman Sachs, Bank of America and Citi, have announced plans to form a shared company to issue a dollar-backed stablecoin, with a market launch targeted for the first half of 2027.

Stablecoins are digital tokens designed to hold a steady value, typically by being backed one-for-one with cash or cash-like reserves, and they have become a core settlement instrument in crypto markets as well as an emerging tool for cross-border payments.

The venture will begin with a single US-dollar stablecoin, according to a press release issued via PR Newswire and published by BBVA, one of the participants. Over time, the group intends to issue coins in additional G7 currencies, with a euro stablecoin named as its next priority after the dollar version.

The new company, which remains unnamed, is expected to be formally established in the second half of 2026. The stablecoin is intended for wholesale, institutional and retail users, with cross-border payments and digital-asset trade settlement seen as early use cases.

The launch of a bank-backed stablecoin marks a new development, placing the coin into a market that has so far been dominated by non-bank issuers such as Tether, whose USDT token, and Circle's USDC, together account for the bulk of the roughly quarter-trillion-dollar stablecoin market. For banks, which already move customer dollars through legacy rails, the appeal of a shared token lies in offering faster settlement while keeping the issuance — and the reserve income it generates — within the regulated banking system rather than ceding it to crypto-native firms.

Ten banks in October, twenty-one now

The initiative is an expansion of an effort that went public last October, when ten global systemically important banks (G-SIBs — the lenders regulators treat as too big to fail) said they were studying a 1:1 reserve-backed token that would live on public blockchains. Eight of those original ten remain involved: Banco Santander, Bank of America, Citi, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, MUFG Bank, TD Bank and UBS.

Thirteen new names have joined for the second phase of planning, bringing the roster to five different regions. North America contributes Capital One, Fidelity Investments, PNC Financial Services, Scotiabank, Wells Fargo and WisdomTree in addition to the earlier members. Europe adds BBVA, Commerzbank, Crédit Agricole, Lloyds Banking Group and Rabobank. East Asia is represented by MUFG Bank, the Middle East by Abu Dhabi's Sirius International Holding, and Standard Bank joins from Africa. The remainder of the group consists of two US asset managers and the Abu Dhabi conglomerate subsidiary.

Why two rival stablecoin issuers joined

The most notable additions are Fidelity Investments and WisdomTree, both of which already run their own stablecoins. Fidelity launched FIDD in January via a federally chartered national trust bank, while WisdomTree issues USDW under a New York trust charter.

Their decisions to back a shared token may point to an emerging conclusion within the industry: no single firm's token is likely to acquire the reach and network needed to compete with the current non-bank issuers.

According to the group's press release, the initiative intends to comply with both the US GENIUS Act and the EU's MiCA guidelines, as applicable, indicating the stablecoin is being designed with two of the world's stricter stablecoin regimes in mind. The GENIUS Act, signed into US law in July 2025, sets federal reserve, redemption and disclosure requirements for payment stablecoin issuers, while MiCA has governed crypto-asset issuance in the EU since mid-2024.

How the shared venture navigates these overlapping regimes, and whether the planned 2026 company formation and 2027 launch stay on schedule, will be key markers to watch as the group moves from planning to operation.

Sources: Reuters, PR Newswire