From Boycott to Embrace? Wall Street Banking Giants Now Consider Issuing Their Own Stablecoins

According to a Wall Street Journal (WSJ) report, as stablecoins accelerate their penetration into payment and financial systems, traditional banks that once actively lobbied to restrict stablecoin development are starting to shift their stance. Some large banks have begun researching or advancing their own stablecoin initiatives to counter competitive pressure from crypto firms and non-bank giants. The report notes that JPMorgan Chase recently evaluated the possibility of issuing its own stablecoin, though no formal product plans have been finalized yet. Meanwhile, more than a dozen financial institutions, including Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and Santander, are advancing a global stablecoin project, which will initially focus on a U.S. dollar stablecoin before expanding to the euro and other G7 currencies, primarily serving commercial clients. Additionally, the BankChain Alliance—comprising 39 state banking associations and approximately 3,000 banks—plans to launch a bank-owned and governed blockchain platform in the first half of 2027, supporting both tokenized deposits and stablecoins. Banks previously leaned toward developing tokenized deposits, as these retain the regulatory, accounting, and credit risk frameworks of traditional bank deposits and keep funds within the banking system. However, as non-bank institutions including Visa, BlackRock, and Google have all entered the stablecoin market, the banking sector has grown concerned that stablecoins could erode traditional deposit and payment businesses, and has increasingly come to view issuing stablecoins as a potential defensive strategy.