Goldman Sachs and Citigroup are among the banks that have committed about $270 million to a joint stablecoin company, Bloomberg reported. Banco Santander and Deutsche Bank have also joined the effort, according to sources familiar with the matter.
Project Overview
The funding is intended to cover five years of operations for a new company that will issue a dollar‑denominated stablecoin and is expected to be incorporated in the United States. The initiative, referred to as Project Faro, is still searching for a chief executive and has not finalized its name.
Consortium Development
Project Faro originated on October 10, 2025, when ten banks, including Barclays and BNP Paribas, announced they were exploring a 1:1 reserve‑backed digital currency on public blockchains for G7 currencies. On September 1, the group expanded to 21 institutions, adding Wells Fargo, Fidelity Investments, Lloyds Banking Group and Standard Bank, while Barclays and BNP Paribas were not on the updated list.
Planned Launch
The consortium plans to launch a dollar‑linked token in the first half of 2027, followed by a euro version. The stablecoin is intended for wholesale, institutional and retail markets, including cross‑border payments and digital‑asset settlement, and aims to comply with the U.S. GENIUS Act and the EU’s MiCA regulations where applicable.
Competing Initiatives
Other banks are pursuing separate blockchain payment projects. Bank of America, Citi and Wells Fargo are backing a tokenized deposit network called The Bridge, slated for launch in the first half of 2027. In Europe, a euro‑focused project is being run through Qivalis, an Amsterdam‑based company backed by 37 banks across 15 countries, which received electronic money institution authorization from the Dutch central bank.
Market Context
Existing dollar‑pegged stablecoins dominate the market, with Tether’s USDT holding roughly $176 billion and Circle’s USDC about $70 billion in circulation, according to DefiLlama data.
