Goldman Sachs, BofA Among 21 Banks Planning Joint Dollar Stablecoin Launch

In brief

Twenty-one banks and asset managers, including Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, and Citi, committed Tuesday to form a company that will issue a U.S. dollar stablecoin, targeting a first-half 2027 launch.
The group has more than doubled since an initial 10-bank exploration first announced in October 2025, and now spans North America, Europe, East Asia, the Middle East, and Africa.
Circle shares fell roughly 6% Tuesday as investors priced in fresh bank-backed competition for USDC.

Twenty-one of the world’s largest financial institutions committed Tuesday to build a company that will issue a U.S. dollar stablecoin. Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, and Citi anchor the group, according to a joint statement. The company doesn’t have a name yet, and its formation, planned for the second half of 2026, is still subject to closing conditions.

It’s worth being precise about what this isn’t. A CBDC is a direct liability of a central bank—digital cash the Federal Reserve itself would issue and stand behind. This consortium’s token is the opposite: a private liability of a commercial company, backed by reserves the banks hold themselves, with no Fed balance sheet involved.

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The distinction has teeth in the U.S. specifically, since President Donald Trump signed an executive order in January 2025 banning federal agencies from developing or issuing a CBDC, while explicitly directing the government to back private, dollar-pegged stablecoins instead. So a bank-issued stablecoin isn’t necessarily a backdoor CBDC—it’s the exact alternative Washington chose over one.

The roster spans five regions. North America contributes Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Citi, Capital One, Fidelity Investments, PNC Financial Services, Scotiabank, TD Bank Group, Wells Fargo, and WisdomTree. Europe brings Santander, BBVA, Commerzbank, Crédit Agricole, Deutsche Bank, Lloyds Banking Group, Rabobank, and UBS, while MUFG Bank, Sirius International Holding, and Standard Bank cover East Asia, the Middle East, and Africa.

The banks want the token used across wholesale, institutional, and retail markets, with cross-border payments and digital asset settlement as the first applications. Once the dollar coin ships, a euro-denominated version is next in line, ahead of other G7 currencies. The venture is designed to comply with the U.S. GENIUS Act and, where applicable, the EU’s MiCA framework.

The idea isn’t new. JPMorgan, Bank of America, Citi, and Wells Fargo have been weighing a joint token since 2025 , months before an initial 10 institutions formally announced the effort. JPMorgan, notably, isn’t among the 21 names on this week’s list.

The banks aren’t the only ones building shared payment rails. In August, 39 state banking trade groups formed the BankChain Alliance, a separate network aimed at giving community and regional lenders access to tokenized deposits. And back in June, Circle’s own distribution partners, including Visa, Mastercard, and Stripe, backed Open USD, a rival stablecoin. This caused Circle’s stock to drop in response.

Boston Consulting Group and Brunswick Group are advising the venture, though both say they have no authority to bind the consortium or its members. The group’s own target remains fixed: a U.S. dollar stablecoin in the market by the first half of 2027.