Overview
- Ten banks including Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Citi, Deutsche Bank, UBS, Santander, Barclays, BNP Paribas, MUFG and TD said they will assess a 1:1 reserve‑backed digital money available on public blockchains.
- The planned tokens would be pegged to G7 currencies and are intended to deliver payment and settlement benefits while meeting regulatory and risk‑management standards.
- The consortium said it is coordinating with regulators and supervisors in relevant jurisdictions, emphasizing that the project remains exploratory with no launch timeline announced.
- Regulatory responses diverged in Europe, as the European Commission said MiCA already addresses stablecoin risks while the ECB and the European Systemic Risk Board urged additional safeguards focused on multi‑issuance and redemption risks.
- A separate group of nine European banks is building a MiCA‑compliant euro stablecoin targeted for launch in the second half of 2026, as the global stablecoin market remains largely dollar‑denominated with Tether and USDC leading supply.