At least 14 of the world's largest banks have disclosed stablecoin or deposit-token initiatives since Q4 2025, a period in which crypto-native issuers Tether (USDT) and Circle (USDC) still command 89% of the $310 billion stablecoin market. JPMorgan's JPMD deposit token is live on Base, processing...
"We are ready to enter the stablecoin business once the rules are clear." — Brian Moynihan, CEO, Bank of America
At least 14 of the world's largest banks have disclosed stablecoin or deposit-token initiatives since Q4 2025, a period in which crypto-native issuers Tether (USDT) and Circle (USDC) still command 89% of the $310 billion stablecoin market. JPMorgan's JPMD deposit token is live on Base, processing over $2 billion daily through its Kinexys platform. SoFi became the first nationally chartered U.S. bank to issue a stablecoin on a public blockchain in December 2025. Wells Fargo filed a USPTO trademark for "WFUSD" on March 10, 2026. Société Générale-FORGE deployed USDCV on Ethereum and Solana with BNY as reserve custodian.
The structural question is whether bank-issued tokens — backed by FDIC-insured deposits or central bank reserves — can displace crypto-native stablecoins that operate outside the traditional banking perimeter. The OCC's proposed GENIUS Act rulemaking, published February 25, 2026, establishes a federal licensing framework for "permitted payment stablecoin issuers" with a $5 million minimum capital requirement and a 120-day auto-approval mechanism. Comment period closes May 1, 2026. The regulatory architecture is being built in real time, and banks are positioning before it solidifies.
Total stablecoin market capitalization stands at approximately $310 billion as of March 2026, according to DefiLlama data. The market remains concentrated:
| Issuer | Token | Market Cap | Share | |--------|-------|-----------|-------| | Tether | USDT | ~$184B | ~59% | | Circle | USDC | ~$75B | ~24% | | Others | Various | ~$51B | ~17% |
USDC posted a $4.5 billion net supply increase through Q1 2026 while USDT recorded a $2 billion decline, according to CoinGenius. Approximately 86% of surveyed institutional firms now use or hold USDC, compared to 68% for USDT, per JPMorgan research published in The Block. Total stablecoin transaction volumes reached $33 trillion in 2025 — a 72% increase year-over-year — with USDC accounting for $18.3 trillion and USDT at $13.3 trillion.
The revenue model is straightforward: stablecoin issuers hold reserves in U.S. Treasuries and equivalents, earning yield on customer deposits while paying zero interest to token holders. Tether reported $13.7 billion in 2024 profit, according to its attestation reports. Circle's S-1 filing disclosed $1.7 billion in 2024 revenue, predominantly from reserve interest income. This is the margin pool that banks intend to capture.
JPMorgan's Kinexys division launched JPMD on Coinbase's Base (Ethereum L2) in November 2025. The deposit token represents a direct claim on JPMorgan deposits — not a stablecoin in the regulatory sense, but a tokenized bank liability. Pilot clients included B2C2, Coinbase, and Mastercard for near-instant issuance and redemption.
Kinexys processes over $2 billion in daily transaction volume and has exceeded $1.5 trillion in cumulative notional value since inception, with payment volumes growing 10x year-over-year. In January 2026, JPMorgan announced plans to expand JPMD to the Canton Network, a privacy-focused institutional blockchain where Visa serves as a super validator, and to additional chains throughout 2026.
SoFi Technologies launched SoFiUSD on December 18, 2025, becoming the first nationally chartered U.S. bank to issue a stablecoin on a public, permissionless blockchain (Ethereum). Reserves are held 1:1 in cash at the Federal Reserve. SoFi is positioning itself as a white-label stablecoin infrastructure provider, allowing other banks and fintechs to issue interchangeable tokens through its platform at fractional-cent pricing.
SG-FORGE launched EUR CoinVertible (EURCV) in April 2023 and subsequently deployed it across Ethereum, Solana, XRP Ledger, and Stellar. The USD CoinVertible (USDCV) launched on Ethereum and Solana with BNY as reserve custodian. Both tokens are fully MiCA-compliant electronic money tokens (EMTs). SG-FORGE CEO Jean-Marc Stenger is a headline speaker at EthCC 2026, which opened in Cannes on March 30.
Wells Fargo, the fourth-largest U.S. bank by assets, filed a trademark application for "WFUSD" with the USPTO on March 10, 2026. The filing spans three USPTO classifications covering downloadable software for digital asset trading (Class 009), cryptocurrency exchange and payment processing services (Class 036), and SaaS for asset tokenization and blockchain infrastructure (Class 042). Product rollout is expected no earlier than late 2026 or early 2027, according to CoinDesk.
CEO Brian Moynihan confirmed in mid-2025 that Bank of America would launch a stablecoin once legislation passed. The bank is expected to move by mid-2026, contingent on GENIUS Act implementation, according to Brave New Coin.
Citi CEO Jane Fraser confirmed the bank is exploring a "Citi stablecoin" alongside tokenized deposit services for corporate clients. Citigroup is also the only non-European bank to join a European consortium developing a euro-denominated stablecoin, targeted for H2 2026, per CNBC reporting.
In October 2025, ten global banks announced an exploratory consortium to develop reserve-backed digital payment assets pegged to G7 currencies on public blockchains. The participants, according to CryptoBriefing:
| Bank | Headquarters | Role | |------|-------------|------| | Goldman Sachs | New York | Tokenization, market-making | | Deutsche Bank | Frankfurt | European regulatory navigation | | Bank of America | Charlotte | Cross-border payments | | Banco Santander | Madrid | Consortium coordination | | BNP Paribas | Paris | Euro-area distribution | | Citigroup | New York | Cross-border settlement | | MUFG Bank | Tokyo | Asia-Pacific reach | | TD Bank Group | Toronto | Canadian dollar peg | | UBS | Zurich | Swiss franc integration | | Barclays | London | Sterling-denominated issuance |
The consortium has confirmed contact with regulators across relevant jurisdictions. The project remains at an exploratory stage, with use-case testing expected in the coming months.
Separately, JPMorgan, Bank of America, Citigroup, and Wells Fargo held early-stage discussions about a joint stablecoin through Early Warning Services (the Zelle parent company) and The Clearing House, as first reported by the Wall Street Journal in May 2025.
The distinction matters for regulation, risk, and interoperability:
| Feature | Deposit Token (e.g., JPMD) | Stablecoin (e.g., USDC) | Bank Stablecoin (e.g., SoFiUSD) | |---------|---------------------------|------------------------|-------------------------------| | Legal nature | Bank deposit liability | E-money / stored value | E-money / stored value | | FDIC insurance | Yes (up to $250K) | No | Yes (up to $250K) | | Reserve location | Bank balance sheet / Fed | T-bills, cash equivalents | Cash at Federal Reserve | | Issuer regulation | OCC, FDIC, Fed | State money transmitter / GENIUS Act | OCC, FDIC, Fed | | Yield to holder | Possible (deposit) | Prohibited under CLARITY Act draft | Possible (deposit) | | Blockchain | Base (public L2) | Multiple public chains | Ethereum (public L1) | | Redemption | 24/7 near-instant | Variable by issuer | 24/7 near-instant |
The CLARITY Act's draft language, released March 24, 2026, proposes banning stablecoin issuers from paying yield to holders. This provision, if enacted, would structurally advantage bank deposit tokens, which as deposits can legally pay interest. Circle's share price dropped 20% in one session following the draft's disclosure, its largest single-day decline on record, according to Blockhead.
The OCC published its proposed GENIUS Act implementation rules on February 25, 2026, establishing a federal supervisory framework for "permitted payment stablecoin issuers" (PPSIs). Key provisions, per the Davis Polk analysis:
The GENIUS Act takes effect on the earlier of 18 months from enactment (January 18, 2027) or 120 days after final regulations are issued. The OCC's proposed rules carry, according to K&L Gates, "substantial market implications" for both bank and non-bank issuers.
For banks already holding OCC charters — JPMorgan, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Citigroup — the licensing pathway is effectively redundant. They can issue deposit tokens under existing banking authority. For non-bank issuers like Circle and Tether, the GENIUS Act creates a new federal option, but one that imposes bank-like prudential requirements they currently avoid.
The stablecoin business model is a spread trade: collect deposits, invest reserves, keep the yield. At current U.S. Treasury rates (~4.2% on short-duration), the economics are substantial:
| Metric | Tether (USDT) | Circle (USDC) | Bank Issuers (Projected) | |--------|--------------|--------------|-------------------------| | Reserves | ~$184B | ~$75B | TBD | | Estimated yield (annualized) | ~$7.7B | ~$3.2B | Dependent on scale | | Reported profit (2024) | $13.7B | $1.7B revenue | N/A | | Staff count | ~100 | ~1,000 | Existing infrastructure | | Regulatory cost | Low (offshore) | Moderate (state licenses) | High (bank compliance) |
For incumbent banks, the marginal cost of stablecoin issuance is low — they already maintain the reserve infrastructure, compliance systems, and regulatory relationships. The question is distribution. Tether dominates offshore and peer-to-peer markets. USDC leads institutional on-chain activity. Bank tokens must compete for use cases where counterparty trust, FDIC insurance, or regulatory compliance provide a tangible premium.
JPMorgan's Kinexys already handles $2 billion daily in institutional flows. Converting even a fraction of JPMorgan's $4 trillion in total deposits to on-chain tokens would dwarf current stablecoin market cap. The constraint is not capacity but demand: institutional treasurers must see sufficient utility in on-chain settlement to justify the operational shift.
From an economic value distribution perspective — consistent with the subsidy-driven analysis of blockchain ecosystems — bank stablecoins represent a potential transition from subsidy-dependent models to fee-revenue models. Unlike crypto-native tokens sustained by inflationary issuance and venture capital, bank deposit tokens are backed by existing revenue streams and regulated capital structures. Whether this translates to sustainable on-chain economic activity or merely repackages traditional banking in blockchain form remains an open question.
The bank stablecoin race is not a hypothetical. JPMorgan, SoFi, and Société Générale have live products. Wells Fargo, Bank of America, and Citigroup have disclosed intent. A ten-bank consortium is exploring multi-currency issuance on public blockchains. The OCC is building the regulatory framework in real time.
The competitive dynamic pits Tether's offshore liquidity network and Circle's regulated-first positioning against institutions that collectively hold tens of trillions in deposits and already operate the settlement infrastructure that stablecoins attempt to replicate. The $13 billion annual yield pool from stablecoin reserves is large enough to motivate entry but small relative to total bank revenue — suggesting banks view stablecoins less as a profit center and more as defensive infrastructure against disintermediation.
The next 12 months will determine whether bank-issued tokens gain meaningful on-chain distribution or remain confined to institutional settlement rails. The GENIUS Act's implementation timeline (January 2027 at the latest), the CLARITY Act's yield restrictions, and MiCA's enforcement in Europe will collectively shape whether the stablecoin market fragments along regulatory lines or consolidates around bank-grade issuance standards.