Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and Santander Advance a Joint Stablecoin on Public Blockchains

More than a dozen of the world's biggest banks, including Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and Santander, are advancing plans for a joint global stablecoin, the Wall Street Journal reported. The consortium's plan starts with a token pegged to the U.S. dollar on public blockchains, with euros and other G7 currencies potentially following, marking a reversal for an industry that spent the past year lobbying Washington to constrain nonbank issuers.

From Lobbying to Building

JPMorgan, Bank of America, Citigroup, HSBC, and Wells Fargo spent months pressing for a tighter GENIUS Act, the stablecoin law signed on July 18, 2025, seeking harder limits on yield and stricter oversight of state-chartered issuers. An April report cited by Bloomberg Law estimated as much as $6.6 trillion could leave bank deposits for stablecoins if issuers offered savings-like returns. Now the same institutions are racing to build the instrument they fought.

A $308 Billion Market

The stablecoin market has grown to roughly $308 billion, and the bank consortium aims to capture liquidity currently held by Tether and Circle. The GENIUS Act provides a federal framework for bank stablecoin issuance through OCC-approved subsidiaries, though the OCC's proposed rule from February 2026 is still pending finalization. JPMorgan has explicitly opted out, doubling down on its JPM Coin and Kinexys deposit token infrastructure instead.

What Remains Unresolved

The consortium has not named its full membership, governance structure, or launch date, and the product work is running ahead of the final operating manual from regulators. Because the GENIUS Act bans paying interest directly to holders, the banks must compete on trust, liquidity, and integration with existing payment rails rather than yield. The outcome hinges on whether institutional users prefer a bank-backed asset over the established liquidity of USDT and USDC.