Pilot Program Details and Objectives
U.S. Bank, in collaboration with PricewaterhouseCoopers and the Stellar Development Foundation, announced on November 29 the pilot issuance of a custom stablecoin on the Stellar network.
This pilot could redefine traditional banking's integration with blockchain, aiming for compliance and efficiency, potentially influencing the stablecoin market with competitors USDT and USDC.
U.S. Bank, the fifth-largest U.S. financial institution, has embarked on a pilot to issue a custom stablecoin on the Stellar network. Collaborating with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) in a compliance capacity and the Stellar Development Foundation (SDF), the project was publicly announced on SDF's blog.
This pilot aims to produce a stablecoin with fast settlement times of 3-5 seconds, backed by a bank, providing features like transaction reversals. Such offerings may challenge existing stablecoins like Tether (USDT) and Circle’s USDC by integrating regulatory compliance within digital assets.
PwC, as a key partner, emphasized the significance of regulatory oversight in blockchain's current advancement. Kurt Fields from PwC noted, "The industry has moved beyond theory; now it's about proving blockchain's value under strict oversight." Official communications were made via U.S. Bank's Money 20/20 podcast and other leadership channels.
Market Context and Potential Implications
U.S. Bank's stablecoin pilot marks a pivotal step in combining traditional banking compliance with digital currency, paralleling JPMorgan's earlier foray into blockchain with JPM Coin.
CoinMarketCap reports Stellar (XLM) priced at $0.25 with a market cap of $8.13 billion, capturing 0.26% of market dominance. The token showed a 24-hour trading volume of $168.81 million, though it faced a 0.32% decrease in the same period. Over 30 days, XLM dropped 20.87%, with circulating supply at 32.31 billion tokens as of November 29, 2025.
The Coincu research team indicates this pilot could incentivize similar projects if U.S. Bank demonstrates secure and efficient processes. Regulatory frameworks may evolve, encouraging increased bank participation in digital asset markets as security and compliance thresholds are met.