U.S. Bank has placed a dollar-backed token, USBDC, on a public blockchain while retaining conventional banking controls, including the ability to freeze assets and reverse transfers.
The bank completed a live cross-border payment between its entities in North America and Europe using the proprietary stablecoin on the Stellar network. U.S. Bank describes itself as the fifth-largest US bank by assets.
Public Blockchain, Bank-Level Controls
The pilot tested the full lifecycle of USBDC, from issuance and transfer to redemption, while also checking whether U.S. Bank could use Stellar’s freeze and clawback functions through its own Digital Asset Platform.The bank was testing a public blockchain without giving up the operational safeguards it applies to regulated payments.
When U.S. Bank first disclosed the stablecoin test in November 2025, Mike Villano, its Head of Digital Asset Products, said the bank needed the ability to unwind or claw back transactions for its customers. Stellar provides the required functionality at the protocol level, he said at the time.
The pilot comes as payment networks and banks are testing stablecoin infrastructure for different parts of the settlement chain, from card-programme funding to bank-issued tokens for treasury transfers.
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Banks Take Different Routes Onchain
U.S. Bank is not the first banking group to issue value on a public blockchain. Sociеtе Gеnеrale–FORGE offers euro- and dollar-denominated CoinVertible tokens, while ANZ has used its A$DC stablecoin for payments involving tokenised carbon credits.
J.P. Morgan has taken a different legal route with JPM Coin, which it describes as a bank-issued deposit token rather than a stablecoin. It represents a commercial bank deposit and operates within the bank’s existing deposit framework.
USBDC broadly follows the controlled issuance and redemption model contemplated for bank-issued payment stablecoins under the GENIUS Act.
However, the law takes effect on the earlier of 120 days after federal regulators issue final implementing rules or 18 January 2027. The pilot alone does not establish that the token meets the final regime.
The transaction remained an intra-group test between U.S. Bank entities. The bank has not announced customer access, a commercial launch date or specific client use cases.
It also has not disclosed which legal entity would issue USBDC, what assets would back its reserves, or who could hold the token after a broader launch.
