U.S. Bank Completes Live USBDC Transaction on Stellar Between Its Entities on Two Continents
Key Facts
On September 9, 2026, U.S. Bank announced that it had completed a live transaction using its USBDC stablecoin in a cross-border payment between the bank’s entities in North America and Europe. The transaction was conducted on the Stellar blockchain, with the transfer connected to the bank’s core finance, risk, compliance and operations infrastructure. This places the test within the bank’s internal operations, rather than as a launch available to customers or the public. Chairman and Chief Executive Gunjan Kedia said, "This live pilot demonstrates our ability to accelerate global cash management and the movement of money." The announcement did not quantify any improvement in speed or efficiency compared with existing methods.
The trial tested USBDC issuance, payment redemption, and the freezing and recovery of tokens. The bank used its internally developed digital asset platform to issue, manage and transfer tokenized assets. These tests combine the movement of value on the network with operational controls related to token management, including freezing and recovery. The infrastructure also connected the transaction to the bank’s finance, risk, compliance and operations systems. The announcement described the trial as an assessment of these capabilities, without disclosing the transaction size or details on the number of transactions conducted.
The transaction follows U.S. Bank’s announcement in the previous November that it was testing the issuance of a dedicated stablecoin on the Stellar network. The new announcement indicates that the trial has advanced to a live transaction between the bank’s units in two regions, while remaining integrated with its core operating infrastructure. The step expands the bank’s testing from issuing and managing digital assets to executing and redeeming a cross-border payment. However, the announcement did not set a date for a commercial launch or make the coin available to the bank’s customers. The announced transaction remains a banking trial between the bank’s entities.
The bank said potential future uses under consideration include improving liquidity management, collateral mobility and cross-border treasury operations. These areas are being explored; they are not products the bank has announced it will launch, nor is there a timetable for putting them into operation. Liquidity and treasury management reflect an institutional scope beyond executing a single payment, while collateral mobility tests the possibility of moving assets between relevant parties. The announcement did not identify the markets or customers targeted for these uses. It also did not announce a date for a commercial launch of USBDC.
The trial is taking place as another group of financial institutions considers issuing a dollar-linked coin. A Reuters report said a group of 21 institutions plans to establish a company during 2026 to issue a dollar-linked cryptocurrency in the first half of 2027. But the report also cited limited evidence of demand for bank-issued stablecoins. It said Société Générale’s dollar-backed coin had only 12.5 million dollars in circulation at the time of the report, according to the coin’s website. These indicators place U.S. Bank’s test among broader institutional efforts, while commercial adoption remains unresolved.