A group of 21 financial institutions, including Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Citi and Deutsche Bank, plans to create a company this year to issue a cryptocurrency pegged to the dollar in the first half of 2027, the institutions said Tuesday. The group was first announced in October 2025, when only 10 banks were involved. It said in a statement that it also aims to expand into stablecoins pegged to other G7 currencies, with the euro a priority.
Stablecoins are used to move money around the world in the form of cryptocurrency and are mostly used in crypto trading. A rebound in crypto prices in 2024 and President Donald Trump’s support for the sector have renewed interest in using blockchain in the mainstream financial system.
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According to Reuters, the group will compete with a separate consortium of 37 financial institutions that formed a company called Qivalis and said it plans to launch a euro-pegged stablecoin later this year. Some banks, including Spanish lender BBVA, are members of both groups.
According to a press release, the group “will draw on the expertise of the participant institutions to offer a safe, robust and trusted solution that combines bank-grade compliance, strong governance, distribution and institutional risk management. The product will be utilized in a variety of use cases covering 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 release also mentioned that the initiative intends to be compliant with the GENIUS Act and the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation, or MiCA, as applicable. The group said it will continue to keep appropriate parties updated as the initiative progresses.
The stablecoin market is currently dominated by El Salvador-based Tether, which says it has issued more than $180 billion worth of its dollar-pegged token and made billions of dollars in profits by investing its reserves in assets including U.S. Treasury securities.
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France’s Société Générale, which is not part of either consortium, became the first major bank to issue a dollar-backed stablecoin through its digital asset subsidiary last year. However, the token has not been widely adopted, with a market value of just $12.5 million.
European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde has warned that privately issued stablecoins pose risks to monetary policy and financial stability.