U.S. Bank Joins Stablecoin Rush on Stellar Blockchain

U.S. Bank is testing its own stablecoin on the Stellar blockchain in partnership with consulting firm PwC and the Stellar Development Foundation.

The Minneapolis-based bank joins a growing list of traditional banking institutions exploring dollar-backed digital assets, following the signing of the GENIUS Act that regulates stablecoin issuance and trading across the United States.

U.S. Bank's senior vice president Mike Villano sees blockchain as an alternative payment rail and is interested in seeing which use cases will manifest from the technology and which customers will be most interested in the offering.

The Stellar network, live since 2014, currently ranks 19th by stablecoin market cap with around $212 million worth of stables on the network, mostly issued as Circle's USDC dollar-backed stablecoin.