Key takeaways:
U.S. Bank launched USBDC, a proprietary U.S. dollar-backed stablecoin, completing a live pilot transaction on the Stellar blockchain to enable a cross-border payment between North American and European entities.
As one of the first bank-issued stablecoins deployed on a public blockchain, USBDC offers 24/7 transaction capabilities while maintaining integration with U.S. Bank's core finance, risk, and compliance infrastructure.
U.S. Bank's Digital Asset Platform — validated through the USBDC pilot — supports minting, payment redemption, freezing, and clawback capabilities, positioning the bank to expand into liquidity management, collateral mobility, and cross-border treasury operations.
The launch demonstrates the bank's ability to move funds on-chain while leveraging traditional banking system controls and risk management
MINNEAPOLIS – U.S. Bank today announced the successful execution of a live pilot transaction utilizing USBDC, the bank's proprietary U.S. dollar-backed stablecoin, to enable a cross-border payment between U.S. Bank entities in North America and Europe.
As one of the first bank-issued stablecoins deployed on a public blockchain, USBDC promises the potential of leveraging a new technology to bridge gaps in the global banking system with 24/7 transaction capabilities.
The pilot transaction was completed on the Stellar blockchain, demonstrating the ability for U.S. Bank to transfer value on-chain while maintaining integration with the bank's core finance, risk, compliance and operations infrastructure. The pilot represents an important milestone in the continued development of U.S. Bank's digital asset and money movement capabilities.
“This live pilot demonstrates our ability to accelerate global cash management and money movement capabilities," said Gunjan Kedia, chairman and chief executive officer at U.S. Bank. “We are excited to create value for our clients and harness the power of a new technology within the banking system.”
The pilot, which evaluates minting, payment redemption, freezing and clawback capabilities, also validates U.S. Bank's internally developed Digital Asset Platform, which serves as the foundation for issuing, managing and moving tokenized assets and enables seamless interaction between traditional banking infrastructure and blockchain networks.
The initiative also builds on the strategic relationship between U.S. Bank and the Stellar Development Foundation. The Stellar network is a leading institutional-grade blockchain for regulated financial services with global reach, near-instant settlement and sub-cent costs. Combining the Stellar network with U.S. Bank's expertise in payments, treasury and banking services, the firms continue to evaluate new opportunities to improve how clients move and manage value globally.
Future applications under exploration include enhanced liquidity management, collateral mobility, cross-border treasury operations and other institutional use cases where blockchain technology can improve efficiency, transparency and settlement speed.
"This pilot is another step forward in our broader digital asset strategy," said Jamie Walker, head of Digital Assets and Money Movement at U.S. Bank. "Our focus remains on delivering solutions that solve real client challenges while maintaining the safety, security and reliability that clients expect from U.S. Bank."
About U.S. Bank
Headquartered in Minneapolis, U.S. Bancorp is the parent company of U.S. Bank National Association, the fifth-largest commercial bank in the United States. Our three major business lines serve 15 million clients globally, and our team of nearly 70,000 people invest our hearts and minds to power human potential every day. Ranked 110th on the Fortune 500, we are deeply respected for our culture and long-term stewardship and admired for our diversified business mix and product capabilities.
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