These Banks Are Banding Together to Launch a Stablecoin — WSJ

By Gina HeebBank of America, Citigroup and Goldman Sachs are among a group of nearly two dozen firms teaming up to jump into the world of stablecoins, or digital tokens that can be used for cross-border transactions.The Wall Street Journal reported last week that banks have shifted to a more defensive strategy on stablecoins, with some executives worried the tokens could rise in popularity and encroach on their businesses. Their coming stablecoin effort is intended to focus on commercial clients, the Journal reported, though use cases could vary by region and include retail markets. It will be dollar-denominated before expanding to other Group of Seven currencies.On Tuesday, the consortium said it would move to launch the stablecoin venture in the first half of 2027. The 21 firms plan to establish a company to support the venture.JPMorgan Chase has separately evaluated whether it could launch its own stablecoin, the Journal reported, though those discussions have been preliminary, with no active product underway.Banks have also banded together to launch a tokenized deposit system. Stablecoins are digital tokens pegged to the U.S. dollar or other currencies, while tokenized deposits are just traditional money represented as digital tokens.Here are the 21 companies by geographic region:North AmericaBank of AmericaCapital OneCitigroupFidelity InvestmentsGoldman SachsPNC Financial ServicesScotiabankTD Bank GroupWells FargoWisdomTreeEuropeBanco SantanderBBVACommerzbankCrédit AgricoleDeutsche BankLloyds Banking GroupCooperatieve Rabobank U.A.UBSEast AsiaMUFG BankMiddle EastSirius International HoldingAfricaStandard BankWrite to Gina Heeb at [email protected]