Twenty-one of the world's largest financial institutions committed on Tuesday to building a company that will issue a stablecoin pegged to the US dollar. Goldman Sachs, Bank of America and Citi lead the group, according to a joint statement. The company does not yet have a name, and its formation, planned for the second half of 2026, remains subject to closing conditions.

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

The distinction carries weight in the US 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 support private dollar-pegged stablecoins. So a bank-issued stablecoin is not necessarily a CBDC in disguise — it is the exact alternative Washington chose instead of one.

The list 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-denominated currency launches, a euro-denominated version is next in line, ahead of other G7 currencies. The venture is designed to comply with the US GENIUS Act and, where applicable, the EU's MiCA framework.

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

Banks are not the only ones building shared payment rails. In August, 39 state banking trade groups formed the BankChain Alliance, a separate network intended to give community and regional lenders access to tokenised deposits. And in June, Circle's own distribution partners, including Visa, Mastercard and Stripe, backed Open USD, a rival stablecoin. That sent Circle's shares falling 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 target remains fixed: a US dollar stablecoin on the market by the first half of 2027.

* Translated and edited with permission from Decrypt.

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