U.S. Bank moves USBDC onchain in cross-border pilot

U.S. Bank completed a live cross-border payment using its USBDC stablecoin on the public Stellar blockchain. The pilot moved USBDC between U.S. Bank entities in North America and Europe. USBDC was issued and transferred on the Stellar network. The pilot tested USBDC’s minting function. It also tested redemption, freezing and clawback functions. The pilot integrated the stablecoin with the bank’s existing risk systems. It also integrated with the bank’s compliance and operations systems. U.S. Bank said Wednesday that the transaction validated its internally developed Digital Asset Platform. The platform connects tokenized assets with U.S. Bank’s traditional banking infrastructure. U.S. Bank is exploring additional uses for the platform in cross-border treasury operations. The bank is also exploring liquidity management and moving collateral onchain. U.S. Bank is the fifth-largest commercial bank in the United States. It is the sixth-largest financial institution in the country by assets. In October 2025, U.S. Bank established a Digital Assets and Money Movement unit. The unit focuses on stablecoin issuance, crypto custody, asset tokenization and digital money movement. U.S. Bank has tested custom stablecoin issuance on Stellar since at least November 2025. The bank has worked with PwC and the Stellar Development Foundation on the testing. On Sept. 1, 21 major financial institutions announced plans to form a company to issue stablecoins. The group plans to launch a US dollar-denominated stablecoin in the first half of 2027. The group plans to expand the stablecoin to other G7 currencies. The token is expected to target wholesale, institutional and retail markets. The planned uses include cross-border payments and digital asset settlement. Fidelity entered the market in February with its Fidelity Digital Dollar. Fidelity Digital Assets issues FIDD through its national trust bank. FIDD is available to retail and institutional investors. FIDD had about $50 million in circulation at the time of writing according to DefiLlama data.