USD
Goldman Sachs, Citi Back $270 Million Bank Stablecoin Venture Targeting 2027
Project Faro brings together 21 financial institutions to challenge established stablecoin issuers and expand into multiple currencies.
TL;DR
- Goldman Sachs, Citigroup and other major financial institutions have reportedly committed about $270 million to Project Faro, covering five years of operations.
- The consortium plans to launch a U.S. dollar stablecoin in the first half of 2027, followed by a euro-denominated token and other currencies.
- The initiative enters a market dominated by Tether and Circle, while several participating banks are also backing competing stablecoin projects.
Trade smarter on Jupiter, Solana’s leading DEX built for fast execution and deep liquidity.
Swap tokens at competitive rates, route across multiple liquidity sources automatically, and access perpetuals, DCA, and advanced trading tools — all in one place!
A consortium of 21 financial institutions, including Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, Santander and Deutsche Bank, has reportedly committed approximately $270 million to a joint stablecoin venture known as Project Faro, targeting the launch of a U.S. dollar-pegged token in the first half of 2027. Bloomberg reported the funding commitment on November 10, 2026, citing people familiar with the matter. The planned U.S.-incorporated company would allow participating banks to enter a stablecoin market currently dominated by crypto-native issuers.
Project Faro Secures Five Years of Funding for Dollar Stablecoin
The reported capital commitment is intended to cover five years of operating expenses for the new issuer. The venture remains in its pre-launch stage, with participants still searching for a chief executive and discussing its final name. A Project Faro spokesperson declined to comment, as did Santander and Deutsche Bank, while Goldman Sachs and Citigroup referred questions to the project. The initiative represents a more concrete financial commitment following the consortium's earlier announcement of plans to establish a jointly owned stablecoin company.
Project Faro emerged from an initial group of 10 banks that began examining a common stablecoin initiative in October 2025. The group expanded to its current membership and formally announced its plans in September 2026, bringing together institutions across North America, Europe, East Asia, the Middle East and Africa. Participants also include Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Fidelity Investments, PNC, Capital One, TD Bank, UBS, BBVA, Lloyds Banking Group, MUFG, Standard Bank and Rabobank.
The proposed issuer intends to develop stablecoins linked to the currencies of Group of Seven (G7) economies, prioritizing a euro-denominated token after the initial dollar launch. Its products are being designed to comply with the U.S. GENIUS Act, which established a federal regulatory framework for dollar-pegged stablecoins in 2025, and the European Union's Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation where applicable. The participating banks have identified wholesale, institutional and retail markets as potential areas of use, including round-the-clock payments and cross-border settlements.
Banks Back Competing Stablecoin Projects Alongside Faro
Several Project Faro participants are simultaneously involved in rival stablecoin initiatives. BBVA also supports Open USD and Qivalis, while Dutch lender Rabobank joined Qivalis in May 2026, when the European consortium added 25 banks to reach 37 members. BNP Paribas, which participated in early discussions about the initiative that became Project Faro, subsequently joined Qivalis.
Qivalis has advanced its euro-denominated stablecoin plans after receiving authorization from the Dutch central bank as an electronic money institution in October 2026. The consortium is preparing a regulated euro-backed token designed for payments, cross-border settlements and tokenized asset transactions. Its membership overlaps with Project Faro despite the two initiatives pursuing separate issuance arrangements and market strategies.
Another competing initiative, Open USD, is being developed through the Open Standard consortium, which includes payment providers and financial institutions such as Stripe, Visa, Mastercard and BlackRock. More than 140 companies joined the initiative in June 2026. These parallel projects bring traditional financial institutions and payment networks into stablecoin issuance through different partnerships, while some banks maintain involvement in multiple consortiums.
Tether and Circle Hold 85% of Stablecoin Market
Project Faro's planned entry comes as Tether's USDT and Circle's USDC account for approximately 85% of the global stablecoin market. According to DefiLlama, the sector was valued at roughly $290 billion as of November 10, with the two issuers holding the overwhelming majority of outstanding stablecoin value.
Established banking relationships and existing payment networks could provide Project Faro with distribution channels across businesses, financial institutions and retail customers. The consortium's stated strategy centers on using those networks to support institutional payments and settlement while competing with established digital dollar products. Similar distribution efforts are underway among other bank- and payment-provider-backed stablecoin initiatives.
The prospect of increased competition has already affected publicly traded stablecoin businesses. Circle shares fell approximately 6% when the banking consortium first announced its plans, reflecting investor concerns about potential competition for USDC. Project Faro's latest funding commitment moves the planned issuer closer to its proposed launch, although the consortium has yet to issue its first stablecoin.
This article has been refined and enhanced by ChatGPT.
