A consortium of 21 major financial institutions, including Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Citi, and Wells Fargo, announced plans to establish a company that will issue stablecoins for payments and digital asset settlement, marking the largest coordinated push by traditional banks into crypto-native infrastructure.
The company, yet to be named, will be established in the second half of 2026 and plans to launch a U.S. dollar-denominated stablecoin in the first half of 2027. The group said it also intends to expand into stablecoins tied to other Group of Seven currencies, with a euro-denominated token as a priority. The announcement grew from an initiative first revealed in October 2025, when 10 banks said they were exploring a digital payment asset backed one-for-one by reserves and available on public blockchains.
The scale of the consortium is notable. It spans five continents and includes institutions from North America, Europe, East Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. Beyond the four largest U.S. banks, the group includes TD, Scotiabank, UBS, Santander, BBVA, Deutsche Bank, Commerzbank, Lloyds, Crédit Agricole, Rabobank, MUFG, Standard Bank, PNC, Capital One, and Fidelity Investments.
The $6 trillion question
The consortium’s formation comes as bank CEOs grapple with a direct threat to their deposit base. Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan warned in a January earnings call that roughly 30% to 35% of U.S. commercial bank deposits, as much as $6 trillion, could migrate into stablecoins if banks do not compete in the space.
That warning echoes concerns raised by Pablo Hernandez de Cos, general manager of the Bank for International Settlements, at the Federal Reserve’s Jackson Hole symposium in late August. Hernandez de Cos said stablecoins could lower borrowing costs in theory, but bank funding costs could rise materially as deposits migrate into digital alternatives.
“Stablecoins are not a credible means of payment at scale,” Hernandez de Cos said at Jackson Hole, while acknowledging that tokenized deposits should handle day-to-day payments and stablecoins serve more specialized roles.
The BIS position creates an awkward dynamic for the consortium. The banks are simultaneously trying to protect their deposit bases and launch products that could accelerate the very migration they fear. The difference, from their perspective, is that issuing their own stablecoin lets them retain the customer relationship and the reserve income, rather than losing both to Tether and Circle.
Who is in and who is out
The full list of 21 institutions reveals as much by who is absent as by who is present. JPMorgan Chase, the largest U.S. bank by assets, appears on neither this consortium nor the separate Open USD initiative backed by Visa, Mastercard, and more than 140 other businesses. JPMorgan has evaluated launching its own stablecoin, people familiar with the matter told the Wall Street Journal, but has no active product underway.
JPMorgan already operates JPM Coin, a tokenized deposit used for institutional payments on its own blockchain. A spokeswoman told the Journal the bank would “evaluate all options in the future” depending on customer demand and regulatory evolution.
The consortium also differs from Open USD, a separate stablecoin initiative announced two months ago with backing from Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Stripe, Chime, Coinbase, and Ripple. BBVA is the only institution participating in both groups. BNY, U.S. Bank, Huntington, and Citizens back Open USD but not the new consortium.
| Initiative | Backers | Focus | Timeline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bank Consortium (new) | 21 institutions (Goldman, Citi, BofA, Wells Fargo, UBS, etc.) | USD stablecoin for payments and settlement | Company H2 2026, product H1 2027 |
| Open USD | 140+ businesses (Visa, Mastercard, Stripe, Coinbase) | Open-standard USD stablecoin | Launched, operational |
| Qivalis | 37 financial institutions | Euro-pegged stablecoin | Expected later in 2026 |
| JPM Coin | JPMorgan Chase (sole operator) | Tokenized deposit for institutional payments | Operational on JPM blockchain |
Regulatory timing
The consortium’s timeline aligns closely with the GENIUS Act, the U.S. stablecoin law that sets the federal framework for payment stablecoin issuers. The law requires stablecoins to be backed 1:1 by cash and short-term Treasuries, with monthly reserve disclosures and federal supervision through the OCC.
The GENIUS Act’s effective date of January 18, 2027, creates a narrow window. The consortium plans to have its company established by the end of 2026 and a product in market in the first half of 2027, positioning it to launch under the new regulatory framework from day one. The group said it “intends to meet requirements under the U.S. GENIUS Act and the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets framework.”
Tether, which controls 60% of the $303 billion stablecoin market, faces a different situation. The company is not U.S.-domiciled and has not obtained a U.S. license, making it ineligible for GENIUS Act compliance. Tether has moved to launch a separate U.S.-regulated token rather than reshape its flagship USDT. Circle’s USDC, which commands more than 20% of the market, is already GENIUS-compliant.
The competitive landscape
The stablecoin market has grown from roughly $200 billion at the start of 2025 to $303 billion as of this week, according to DeFiLlama data. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has called stablecoins a “digital revolution” that could cement the dollar’s position as the world’s top reserve currency and create demand for trillions of dollars in Treasuries.
The bank consortium enters this market with clear advantages: existing customer relationships, regulatory expertise, and the trust that comes with names like Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan. But it also faces challenges. The existing stablecoins have years of network effects, liquidity, and integration with crypto exchanges and DeFi protocols.
“While we have no plans to issue a stablecoin, depending on customer demand and the evolution of the regulatory landscape, we would of course evaluate all options in the future,” a JPMorgan spokeswoman told the Wall Street Journal.
The consortium’s press release described use cases including “wholesale, institutional and retail markets where client benefits can be achieved by utilizing a trusted form of digital money, including cross-border payments and digital asset settlements.” The emphasis on trust and compliance draws a clear contrast with Tether, which has faced ongoing questions about reserve transparency.
What comes next
The next six months will determine whether this consortium can execute on its ambitions. The company needs to be established, a product designed, reserves arranged, and regulatory approvals secured, all before the GENIUS Act takes effect in January 2027.
A consortium of 21 institutions is also harder to manage than a single issuer. Governance decisions, product design choices, and risk management policies all require coordination across banks that compete with each other in most of their businesses. The name of the new company, which the group said would be announced “in due course,” may signal how seriously the institutions are treating the venture.
The bigger picture is that traditional finance is no longer debating whether stablecoins matter. The question has shifted to who will issue them and under what terms. For banks, the answer increasingly seems to be: us.
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