21 Global Financial Firms Plan Stablecoin Launch Amid Industry Skepticism

A group of 21 global financial firms, led by Goldman Sachs and MUFG Bank, plan to issue their own stablecoin, a move that has been met with skepticism by former Ripple executive Emi Yoshikawa. In a statement on social media platform X, Yoshikawa described the development as 'deja vu', suggesting that major banks often opt for closed infrastructure over external blockchain networks.

Yoshikawa, who worked at Ripple from 2016 to 2024 and was responsible for expanding XRP's institutional network in Asia, pointed out that large traditional financial institutions tend to choose solutions that allow them to directly manage liquidity, regulatory compliance, and transaction fees.

The project is notable because it involves major banks opting for a structure with greater in-house control rather than using outside blockchain networks. MUFG Bank's involvement ties in with its business in Japan, where it is also working with SMBC and Mizuho to launch yen stablecoin-based payments by March 2027.

The areas targeted by the bank consortium overlap with markets already served by regulated crypto stablecoins like RLUSD, which had a market value of more than $2 billion by September 2026. The target markets of the two models are not the same, with bank tokens aimed at areas requiring direct interbank audits.