Goldman Sachs, BofA Among 21 Banks Planning Joint Dollar Stablecoin

According to multiple media reports, 21 banks—including Goldman Sachs and Bank of America—are planning to jointly launch a dollar-denominated stablecoin designed to provide a compliant on-chain dollar asset for institutional-grade payments and cross-border settlements. The project is still in its early stages, with no specific issuance timeline, technical architecture, or regulatory approval path disclosed, but participants already include major U.S. banks and several international financial institutions.

The joint initiative is seen as a collective response by traditional banking to the existing stablecoin market, such as USDC and USDT. Unlike current stablecoin issuers, the bank-backed stablecoin is expected to be directly backed by bank deposit reserves and subject to stricter banking regulatory frameworks, including AML/KYC requirements and reserve audits. According to sources familiar with the matter, the stablecoin will prioritize interbank clearing, securities transaction settlement, and corporate cross-border payment use cases, rather than serving as a retail-facing payment tool.

If the project comes to fruition, it could significantly reshape the competitive landscape of the stablecoin market. A bank-issued stablecoin may gain broader institutional trust and regulatory acceptance, but it will also face competition from existing decentralized stablecoins in terms of liquidity and application ecosystems. Currently, the U.S. Congress has yet to pass comprehensive stablecoin regulation, and whether the project receives regulatory green lights remains a key variable.