Goldman, Citi Among Banks Committing $270M to Fund Joint Stablecoin Issuer for Five Years
Goldman Sachs and Citigroup are among the banks that have committed about $270 million to a joint stablecoin company, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday.
Banco Santander and Deutsche Bank have also joined the initiative, which is meant to cover five years of operations at the new company. The company will issue a dollar-denominated stablecoin and is expected to be incorporated in the US, according to sources familiar with the matter.
Project Faro dates back to October 10, 2025, when ten banks first announced they were exploring a 1:1 reserve-backed digital currency on public blockchains focused on G7 currencies. The group expanded to 21 institutions on September 1, 2026, with new members including Wells Fargo, Fidelity Investments, Lloyds Banking Group and Standard Bank.
Launch Plans
The consortium plans to launch a dollar token first, with a market launch targeted for the first half of 2027. After that, the group's priority is a euro version. The product will serve wholesale, institutional, and retail markets, including cross-border payments and digital asset settlement.
The group intends to comply with the US GENIUS Act and the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) rules where applicable. Project Faro is still searching for a chief executive, and its final name remains under discussion.
Competing Projects
Bank of America, Citi, and Wells Fargo also back a separate blockchain payment effort called The Bridge, being built through the Clearing House with a launch targeted for the first half of 2027. European banks run a separate euro project through Qivalis, an Amsterdam company backed by 37 banks across 15 countries.
New entrants have struggled to compete with established players. Tether's USDT has about $176 billion in circulation, while Circle's USDC is second at about $70 billion. All dollar-pegged stablecoins tracked by DefiLlama total about $293 billion.
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