A consortium of 21 financial institutions, including Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, Santander and Deutsche Bank, is reportedly committing USD 270 million to develop a bank-backed stablecoin challenging established issuers Tether and Circle.
According to Bloomberg, the initiative, internally called Project Faro, targets a US dollar stablecoin launch during the first half of 2027.
USD 270 Million Funding Supports Stablecoin Development
The reported investment would finance operational expenses, including technology, staffing, compliance and infrastructure development, rather than reserves supporting the token.
Individual bank contributions and financing structures remain undisclosed, while the consortium continues searching for a chief executive.
Under the US GENIUS Act, enacted July 18, 2025, permitted payment stablecoin issuers must maintain eligible reserves covering outstanding tokens at least one-to-one.
The consortium intends to comply with US requirements and Europe’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation where applicable.
Consortium Includes 21 Global Financial Institutions
According to the September announcement, participating institutions include Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Capital One, Fidelity Investments, UBS, BBVA and MUFG Bank.
The project initially targets dollar-denominated payments before potentially expanding into other Group of Seven currencies, prioritizing the euro.
Its proposed applications include institutional settlements, cross-border transfers and retail payments.
Tether and Circle Dominate Existing Market
According to DeFiLlama, Tether’s USDT held USD 175.69 billion in market capitalization on November 11, compared with USD 70.13 billion for Circle’s USDC. Together, the two tokens represented USD 245.82 billion, indicating the scale of Project Faro’s competition.
Existing stablecoins benefit from exchange liquidity, payment integrations and wallet adoption. Banking relationships alone may not overcome those advantages.
Regulatory Approval and Adoption Remain Critical
The consortium has not confirmed the reported funding commitments, selected a blockchain or disclosed final reserve arrangements. Its proposed issuer has not announced regulatory approval.
Separately, European banking consortium Qivalis, supported by 37 financial institutions, secured Dutch electronic-money authorization in October for its planned euro stablecoin.
Project Faro’s next milestones include appointing leadership, establishing its issuer and securing distribution partners. Its success will depend on redemption reliability, transaction costs and demand beyond participating banks.
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