Traditional financial institutions are moving rapidly into stablecoins, with banks, payment networks and established crypto firms competing to issue digital dollars and build the infrastructure used to transfer them.
One of the clearest signs of the shift is Project Faro, a proposed dollar-stablecoin venture backed by a 21-institution banking coalition. Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, Santander and Deutsche Bank are among the banks reported to have committed about $270 million to fund five years of operations. The coalition has grown from an initial group of 10 institutions. Its U.S.-incorporated issuer is targeting a 2027 launch, though it has not yet announced a token, a chief executive or a final name.
Project Faro aims to challenge Tether and Circle, which together account for about 85% of a stablecoin market valued at roughly $290 billion. Stablecoins were once used primarily within crypto markets, but the banks’ plans signal that established financial firms increasingly view them as potential tools for payments and settlement.
Some companies are already putting products into operation. SoFi recently expanded SoFiUSD, which it describes as the first stablecoin issued by a U.S. national bank, to the Polygon blockchain. The token is also available on Ethereum and Solana and is intended to reach SoFi’s more than 17 million members.
SoFi has also introduced SoFi Earn, a tokenized deposit product advertising a 4.40% yield that can be converted into SoFiUSD. The company says its entire card program already settles through Mastercard’s network.
Anchorage Digital, a federally chartered crypto bank, is developing a role in stablecoin settlement. Its tokens can now be used to settle transactions on Visa’s network, beginning with Western Union’s USDPT. Anchorage has also taken part in the U.S.-Mexico stablecoin corridor, holding tokens on both sides of a major remittance route.
The card networks are expanding their own services. Mastercard has launched a Global Money Platform with BVNK, a stablecoin company it acquired, and introduced a Stablecoin Security tool designed to screen payments for fraud. It has also announced Agent Pay for Machines, which is intended to let artificial-intelligence agents make transactions using stablecoins. Visa, meanwhile, has broadened its stablecoin settlement program across multiple blockchains.
Circle, one of the leading stablecoin issuers, is seeking to connect USDC to banking payment systems in Latin America. Its agreement begins with a pilot in Colombia and forms part of a wider push into dozens of emerging markets.
The GENIUS Act, signed in 2025, is a major factor behind the activity. It established the first U.S. framework for dollar-pegged tokens, giving regulated financial institutions a clearer route into a business they had largely watched from the sidelines. The Trump administration has also promoted dollar stablecoins as a way to extend the dollar’s global reach, while banks increasingly see the underlying settlement business as too important to leave to crypto companies.
The competition is still at an early stage. Project Faro has yet to establish its issuer or launch a token, and Tether and Circle continue to dominate the market. Bank-issued stablecoins will need to attract users and payment partners to win a meaningful share. But the expanding range of launches and partnerships shows that the infrastructure for digital-dollar payments is becoming contested ground for Wall Street, card networks and crypto-native firms alike.
