Twenty-one financial institutions are joining forces to develop a dollar-pegged stablecoin, marking a major push by traditional banks into digital payments.
Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Citi and Deutsche Bank are among the banks helping establish the company this year. The group plans to launch the stablecoin in the first half of 2027, adding a bank-backed alternative to the growing market for dollar-backed digital assets.
The group started in October 2025 with 10 banks. Its membership has now reached 21. The banks also want to issue stablecoins for other G7 currencies, including the euro.
Stablecoins already play a role in crypto trading and international payments. The banks are looking at other uses, including payments between countries and financial transactions that currently take longer to process.
The banks will face competition from Qivalis, a 37-member consortium that plans to launch a euro-denominated stablecoin later in 2026.
Bank-issued stablecoins have yet to gain significant traction. Société Générale’s dollar-backed token has about $12.5 million in circulation, compared with Tether’s more than $183 billion.
That gap highlights the challenge banks face as they try to turn growing interest in stablecoins into products with significant market demand.
