- U.S. Bank is testing a proprietary stablecoin on the Stellar blockchain for institutional payments.
- The bank selected Stellar for its compliance tools, including the ability to freeze and claw back assets.
- This follows the bank’s September resumption of Bitcoin custody services for fund managers.
U.S. Bancorp has begun tests for a proprietary stablecoin on Stellar, one of the leading public networks built for asset tokenization. Bloomberg first reported the development, with confirmation from the Minneapolis institution.
The institution recently formed a dedicated digital assets and money movement unit to build products for stablecoin issuance and crypto custody. President and CEO Gunjan Kedia noted in an October call that the bank now studies two areas, i.e., safe storage of digital assets and stablecoin payments.
She said that the appetite for payment use cases is massive, though the bank continues to advance internal research.
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Why U.S. Bancorp Chose Stellar: The ‘Freeze’ Feature
Stellar was selected specifically for its built-in compliance controls. The network allows issuers to freeze assets and claw back transactions at the protocol level. Mike Villano, head of digital asset products, cited these features as critical for meeting regulatory standards.
These controls allow the bank to enforce KYC protections and halt asset movements when required by law. This aligns the speed of blockchain with the safety of traditional banking.
Meanwhile, the Stellar Development Foundation noted that the chain processed roughly $32 billion in transfers last year and reached 9.8 million unique addresses by late September, Bloomberg added. Circle, issuer of USDC, and Franklin Templeton already use the network for tokenized financial products.
Jose Fernandez da Ponte, president and chief growth officer at the Stellar Development Foundation, stated that institutional interest now rises on the back of clear rules and expanding client demand.
A Wider Push Into Digital Asset Services
The stablecoin test follows US Bancorp’s return to crypto custody in September after a halt due to a prior SEC rule. The current administration under President Donald Trump removed the requirement for banks to hold capital buffers for crypto activity, which allowed the bank to revive its custody plan.
US Bancorp started with Bitcoin custody for registered investment funds and ETF issuers. Expansion to other assets remains possible if future tokens meet the bank’s risk standards.
Meanwhile, BNY Mellon already holds Bitcoin and Ether for select clients. Deutsche Bank is preparing a custody service for release in 2026, while Citigroup is considering entry into related offerings through payment and safekeeping products.
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Source: https://coinedition.com/stellar-xlm-adoption-grows-us-bancorp-launches-stablecoin-pilot/
