Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, Banco Santander, and Deutsche Bank have committed roughly $270 million to a joint dollar-stablecoin venture codenamed "Project Faro." Bloomberg reported this funding move on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter. The capital covers five years of operations for a planned U.S.-incorporated company that will issue a dollar-denominated stablecoin. This commitment moves the initiative from blueprint to buildout, though the project still lacks a CEO and a final name. A spokesperson for the project declined to comment, as did Santander and Deutsche Bank, while Goldman and Citi referred questions to the project directly.
From Blueprint to Buildout
The group of global banks building a joint stablecoin has put real money on the table, committing around $270 million to fund the venture as it moves from blueprint to buildout. This effort builds on a September announcement by 21 institutions, now including Wells Fargo, Fidelity, UBS, and Lloyds. That consortium had more than doubled from an initial group of 10 banks that began exploring the idea in October 2025, and now spans North America, Europe, East Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. Participants also include Bank of America, PNC, Capital One, TD Bank, BBVA, and MUFG, among others. JPMorgan is not on the list. The token is being designed to comply with the U.S. GENIUS Act, which created the first federal framework for dollar-pegged tokens in 2025, and, where applicable, the EU’s MiCA regime. The group has said it wants the stablecoin used across wholesale, institutional, and retail markets.
Competing With Crypto Giants
Tether’s USDT and Circle’s USDC together account for about 85% of a market worth roughly $290 billion, nearly all of it dollar-pegged. When the bank consortium first went public in September, Circle’s stock fell about 6% as investors priced in the prospect of bank-backed competition for USDC. The banks are betting that institutional trust, regulatory alignment, and existing client networks can win them a share of a settlement business that promises round-the-clock, cross-border payments at lower cost than traditional rails. This venture joins a wave of bank stablecoin efforts, with Visa, Mastercard, and Stripe backing the issuer Open Standard, while European banks have formed Qivalis to issue a euro-denominated coin. For now, Project Faro remains pre-launch, with no issued token, no named CEO, not even a final name, and a 2027 target that leaves ample room for delay.
