U.S. Bank Completes Cross-Border Stablecoin Pilot on Stellar Blockchain

U.S. Bank, the fifth-largest commercial bank in the United States, has completed a live cross-border payment using its proprietary USBDC stablecoin on the public Stellar blockchain. The pilot moved funds between the bank's North American and European entities, testing USBDC's minting, redemption, freezing, and clawback functions while integrating with the bank's existing risk, compliance, and operations systems. The transaction validated U.S. Bank's internally developed Digital Asset Platform, which connects tokenized assets with traditional banking infrastructure, the Minneapolis-based bank announced Wednesday.

The pilot is part of U.S. Bank's broader digital assets strategy. In October 2025, the bank established a dedicated Digital Assets and Money Movement unit focused on stablecoin issuance, crypto custody, asset tokenization, and digital money movement. The sixth-largest U.S. financial institution by assets has been testing custom stablecoin issuance on Stellar since at least November 2025, working alongside PwC and the Stellar Development Foundation. The bank is now exploring additional use cases including cross-border treasury operations, liquidity management, and moving collateral onchain.

U.S. Bank's push reflects a wider trend of major financial institutions entering the stablecoin market. On Sept. 1, 21 major financial institutions—including Bank of America, Citi, Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank, and UBS—announced plans to form a company to issue stablecoins, with a US dollar-denominated token expected to launch in the first half of 2027 before expanding to other G7 currencies. Fidelity also entered the market in February with its Fidelity Digital Dollar (FIDD), issued through its national trust bank subsidiary Fidelity Digital Assets, reaching approximately $50 million in circulation. These moves come as American banks have pushed back against allowing stablecoin issuers and crypto platforms to offer yield or rewards to users.