21 Major Banks Prepare Stablecoins, What's Driving This Trend?

The global stablecoin development trend is entering a new phase.

Technology that was previously mostly developed by crypto companies is now attracting the attention of traditional financial institutions.

Twenty-one financial institutions, including Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Citi, and Deutsche Bank, plan to form a new company to issue US dollar-based stablecoins.

Although often referred to as the “21 big banks” plan, it would be more accurate to call it a financial institution.

The stablecoin is targeted for release in the first half of 2027 and has not yet been launched.

Key Takeaways

• Twenty-one financial institutions are preparing USD stablecoins for the first half of 2027.

• Payment efficiency, cross-border transfers, and transaction settlement are the main use cases explored.

• Bank involvement does not eliminate the risks of stablecoins nor guarantee their adoption.

Bank Stablecoin Plans for 2027

Reporting from Reuters and Yahoo Finance, kThe “21 Big Banks” group plans to establish a publishing company in 2026.

Its first product will be a dollar stablecoin whose value is linked to the US dollar.

This initiative was actually introduced in October 2025 with only 10 banks.

The increase in membership to 21 institutions demonstrates the growing interest of the financial sector in crypto stablecoins.

After the USD stablecoin, the group is also considering stablecoins based on the euro and other G7 currencies.

However, the bank's plan to issue a stablecoin in 2027 is still in the preparation stage.

There is no guarantee regarding the scale of use, market demand, blockchain network, or commercial success.

What Are Stablecoins and How Do They Work?

In simple terms, a stablecoin is a digital asset designed to maintain value against a reference asset, usually a fiat currency like the US dollar.

One unit of a dollar-based stablecoin is generally targeted to be worth around US$1.

In a reserve-based model, the issuer holds cash or liquid assets as backing for the token.

Stablecoins are issued when funds are received and can be destroyed when holders redeem them.

Ownership and transfers are recorded through blockchain or digital ledger technology.

Bank of Englandexplains that stablecoins are different from money in bank accounts and unbacked crypto assets.

The value can still deviate from the benchmark if reserves are problematic, liquidity decreases, the system experiences disruptions, or confidence in the issuer weakens.

Why Are Big Banks Starting to Issue Stablecoins?

The main driver of bank stablecoins is not simply following the crypto trend.

Banks see opportunities in using digital tokens as a payment and fund transfer infrastructure that can operate outside banking hours.

The benefits of stablecoins for digital payments include the potential for faster transaction settlements, cross-border transfers, and easily traceable records.

Stablecoins can also be programmed for specific transactions and integrated with assets that have gone through the tokenization process.

Stablecoin technology has the potential to reduce costs and speed up cross-border payments.

However, these benefits do not always materialize as they remain dependent on network fees, interoperability, compliance, and the ability of users to exchange tokens for fiat money.

The bank has a customer base, compliance systems, corporate cash services, and experience managing payments.

This infrastructure can aid stablecoin development, but it doesn't automatically make the product more desirable than non-bank stablecoins.

Read Also:Buy USDT with Small Capital, How Much Can You Start With?

The Relationship Between Stablecoins and Blockchain Technology

The relationship between stablecoins and blockchain technology lies in the way value is issued, recorded, and transferred.

Blockchain allows network participants to see a consistent record of transactions without having to manually reconcile each fund transfer.

For banks, blockchain is starting to be seen as a new path for financial services, not just a technology that operates outside of banking.

Stablecoins can be a bridge between fiat money, digital asset markets, asset tokenization, and traditional payment systems.

However, the market is still dominated by non-bank issuers.

Tether has issued more than US$180 billion worth of tokens, while Societe Generale's digital subsidiary's dollar stablecoin has only about US$12.5 million in circulation.

The comparison shows that a big bank name does not necessarily result in big demand.

Read Also:Blockchain: The Technology Behind Cryptocurrency and Its Advantages

Stablecoin Regulation Becomes a Decisive Factor

Stablecoin regulations must address reserve quality, redemption mechanisms, audits, custody, cybersecurity, and money laundering prevention.

If widely used for payments, disruptions to stablecoins could also impact the stability of the financial system.

Therefore, regulators in various countries are seeking a balance between innovation and consumer protection.

Stablecoins that are designed to be stable still have issuer, depegging, operational, liquidity, and policy change risks.

Read Also:Is USDT Safe? Get to Know Tether's Proposal and Depeg Risks

The Development of Crypto Assets in Indonesia

In Indonesia, supervision of digital financial asset trading falls under the OJK.

As of July 2026, there were 22.93 million digital financial asset consumer accounts, with crypto transactions totaling Rp20.52 trillion and derivative transactions totaling Rp3.41 trillion.

The infrastructure includes two exchanges, two clearing houses, two custodians and 26 licensed traders, according toOJK at the Digination Day 2026 event.

The development of stablecoin regulations in Indonesia was also evident when the business model of the rupiah stablecoin issuer IDRP was declared to have passed the OJK regulatory sandbox in June 2026.

Sandbox graduation is a stage of business model testing, not the establishment of a stablecoin as legal tender.

Bank Indonesia continues to differentiate stablecoins from the Digital Rupiah and positions the rupiah as legal tender in Indonesia.

The crypto trading ecosystem is also increasingly diverse, from spot and staking to futures.

Bittime Futures which was launched on July 15, 2026 after obtaining permission from CFX under the OJK supervision framework.

Futures carry high risks because the use of leverage can magnify both profits and losses, so they cannot be compared to stablecoin ownership or spot trading.

Read Also:Bittime Secures First Futures Trading License in the Era of OJK Crypto Oversight

Stablecoins Bring Banks and Crypto to Common Ground

The plans of these 21 financial institutions show that blockchain is getting closer to the traditional financial system.

However, its success is still determined by the quality of backups, compliance, interoperability, costs, and real demand from users.

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FAQ

Are stablecoins the same as the US dollar?

No. The USD stablecoin is a digital token that attempts to track the value of the dollar, while the US dollar is the official currency issued by the United States central bank.

Are the stablecoins from these 21 institutions available yet?

Not yet. Issuance is still planned for the first half of 2027, and operational details may change during the preparation process.

Are stablecoins necessarily safe because they are issued by banks?

No. Stablecoins still have risks related to reserves, depegging, liquidity, technology, operational, and regulatory issues. The involvement of large banks does not guarantee success or security without risks.

What is the difference between bank stablecoins and non-bank stablecoins?

The main differences lie in the issuer, governance, reserve management, and oversight framework. Bank stablecoins are issued by banking institutions or financial consortiums, but this status does not automatically make them risk-free or more stable.

What are the benefits of stablecoins for cross-border transactions?

Stablecoins have the potential to speed up transaction settlements and enable the movement of funds outside of banking hours. However, their benefits depend on network costs, regulation, liquidity, interoperability, and the ease of converting tokens into fiat currency.