Catenaa, Thursday, November 27, 2025- US Bank has begun testing custom stablecoins on the Stellar blockchain, marking one of the first large US financial institutions to run a pilot on a public network.
The effort examines how a commercial bank can issue programmable dollars while meeting compliance and operational standards.
The pilot is being developed with PwC and the Stellar Development Foundation.
The bank outlined plans to assess controls such as transaction freezing and reversal, tools built into Stellar that support Know Your Customer rules and other regulatory expectations.
These controls are seen as mandatory for any effort to place banking functions on blockchain rails.
Stablecoins tied to the US dollar are drawing interest among firms seeking faster and cheaper cross-border settlement.
Analysts say global payment volume for these tokens could reach the trillion-dollar range by 2030 as institutions test ways to use them in treasury management and internal flows.
US Bank said it is reviewing how programmable tokens might operate within its existing digital asset systems.
The project comes as financial institutions weigh which networks can support regulated activity at scale. The pilot also signals growing institutional interest in public networks rather than private or permissioned formats.
The program follows other efforts by global firms rolling out blockchain-based payment tools. The test will continue through early 2026 as the bank evaluates controls, settlement processes, and customer protection measures tied to public-chain settlement.
Stellar’s features have drawn attention from firms studying stablecoin issuance, and industry watchers say the pilot could shape how banks structure future token systems.
