Goldman Sachs Stablecoin Plans Raise Red Flags for Crypto Veterans

Emi Yoshikawa, former Vice President of Strategic Initiatives at Ripple, expressed 'déjà vu' over Goldman Sachs' and MUFG Bank's plan to launch a bank-backed stablecoin. This sentiment stems from her eight years of experience at Ripple, where she developed XRP's institutional presence in Asia.

The stablecoin is part of a consortium of 21 banks aiming to provide internal settlements between members and large corporations that require direct interbank auditing. However, this initiative overlaps with existing regulated crypto-native instruments such as RLUSD, which has already exceeded $2 billion in market capitalization by September 2026.

The technology may have won, but there's a catch: historical experience shows that complex governance challenges often arise when multiple stakeholders are involved, potentially hindering the consortium's progress. Meanwhile, independent regulated stablecoins like RLUSD and USDC could maintain their positions in the open fintech sector, retail payments, and DeFi ecosystems.