USBC Stablecoin Pilots and Circle Acquisitions Boost Cross-Border Payments

U.S. Bank has successfully completed a live cross-border payment using its proprietary USBDC stablecoin on the Stellar network.

The pilot tested the full lifecycle of USBDC, from issuance and transfer to redemption, while also checking whether U.S. Bank could use Stellar's freeze and clawback functions through its own Digital Asset Platform.

U.S. Bank described itself as the fifth-largest US bank by assets, and the pilot remained an intra-group test between U.S. Bank entities rather than a customer-facing rollout.

In a separate development, Circle has agreed to buy Singapore's Tazapay for $400 million in an all-stock deal to expand USDC cross-border payments.

Tazapay handles more than $25 billion in annualized payment volume and works with over 60 banking and fintech partners.