21 Banks Including Citi, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America Commit to Joint Stablecoin Venture

Twenty-one financial institutions, including Bank of America, Citi, Goldman Sachs, UBS and Deutsche Bank, said Tuesday they have committed to establish a new company in the second half of 2026 to issue a stablecoin, with a US dollar token targeted to reach market in the first half of 2027, according to a joint announcement on Tuesday.

The new company, whose name has not yet been decided, will focus first on a USD-denominated stablecoin for wholesale, institutional and retail use, including cross-border payments and digital asset settlement, with an ambition to later add stablecoins in other G7 currencies, starting with the euro. The group said the product would combine bank-grade compliance, governance, distribution and risk management, and is intended to comply with the US GENIUS Act and the EU's MiCA framework where applicable.

The 21 members span five regions: Bank of America, Capital One, Citi, Fidelity Investments, Goldman Sachs, PNC Financial Services, Scotiabank, TD Bank Group, Wells Fargo and WisdomTree in North America; Banco Santander, BBVA, Commerzbank, Crédit Agricole, Deutsche Bank, Lloyds Banking Group, Rabobank and UBS in Europe; MUFG Bank in East Asia; Sirius International Holding in the Middle East; and Standard Bank in Africa. Boston Consulting Group and Brunswick Group are advising the group but said in the release that they have no authority to bind the consortium or any of its members.

Tuesday's announcement is an update to an effort that has been underway for almost a year, not a new initiative. An initial group of ten banks first disclosed in October 2025 that they were exploring a 1:1 reserve-backed digital payment asset issuable on public blockchains, and the consortium has since more than doubled as additional institutions joined.

It is also a separate track from the stablecoin work JP Morgan has been reported to be considering on its own. As Blockhead reported last week, JP Morgan has held preliminary internal discussions about launching a stablecoin of its own, distinct from JPM Coin, its existing tokenized deposit product. JP Morgan is not among the 21 members of this consortium, and a bank spokeswoman has said any decision to issue a stablecoin would depend on customer demand and how regulation develops. A third effort, the BankChain Alliance, groups thousands of smaller lenders under 39 state banking associations around a shared blockchain network for tokenized deposits and bank-issued stablecoins, targeting a 2027 launch.

The three efforts reflect the same competitive pressure playing out at different scales of the banking industry: a stablecoin market that stood at roughly $300 billion in late August has grown large enough, and fast enough, that banks now see standing outside it as the bigger risk. The 21-member group's statement did not disclose reserve composition, technical architecture or distribution partners, leaving those details, along with the new company's name, for a later announcement.