Conventional financial organizations throughout the US, Europe, and Asia are transitioning to stablecoins as regulatory ambiguities begin to diminish.<\/p>\n
Payment firms such as PayPal, Mastercard, and Visa are either introducing stablecoins, incorporating stablecoin settlement into their payment frameworks, or developing the necessary infrastructure to facilitate them.<\/p>\n
The competition isn’t confined to companies but is also evolving at the banking sector level. In early October, a coalition of prominent global banks, including Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank, Bank of America, BNP Paribas, and Citi, established a consortium to investigate<\/a> the issuance of \u201creserve-backed\u201d digital currency on public blockchains.<\/p>\n Progress has surged following the enactment of the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act, which was signed by US President Donald Trump<\/a> on July 18. Various players are opting for diverse models, ranging from fully collateralized retail stablecoins to tokenized deposits and wholesale settlement tokens.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s how the competition is developing.<\/p>\n Prior to the GENIUS Act, the main avenue for US stablecoins was New York\u2019s trust charter system. PayPal took this course in August 2023 by launching PayPal USD (PYUSD<\/a>) through Paxos, which is sanctioned by the New York State Department of Financial Services.<\/p>\n Wisconsin-based Fiserv unveiled<\/a> FIUSD in June 2025 and intends to embed it into banking and merchant settlement systems by year\u2019s end, utilizing Paxos and Circle infrastructure. After the signing of GENIUS, Fiserv broadened its stablecoin strategy<\/a> through collaboration with the Bank of North Dakota on the \u201cRoughrider Coin\u201d interbank settlement pilot.<\/p>\n Mastercard became part of Paxos\u2019 Global Dollar Network in June 2025 to facilitate stablecoin settlement across its merchant and payment channels, enhancing support for PYUSD, USDC, and FIUSD. Visa commenced settling USDC on Ethereum in 2021 and expanded that to Solana in 2023, enabling processors such as Worldpay and Nuvei to satisfy obligations directly in stablecoin instead of through wire transfers.<\/p>\n Related: <\/strong><\/em>What Mamdani\u2019s mayoral victory signifies for crypto in New York<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n Custody and trust banks have taken steps to secure the asset-servicing tier. BNY Mellon now safeguards stablecoins issued by Ripple and Soci\u00e9t\u00e9 G\u00e9n\u00e9rale.<\/p>\n Some banks are adopting a different strategy. JPMorgan is testing its deposit token, JPMD<\/a>, on Base. According to JPMorgan\u2019s blockchain division, Kinexys, deposit tokens serve as an alternative to stablecoins for cash settlements and payments aimed at institutional clients.<\/p>\n Major retailers are also investigating issuance. Walmart and Amazon are reportedly considering branded stablecoins<\/a>. Meanwhile, remittance service provider Western Union is preparing USDPT on Solana for international remittances<\/a>.<\/p>\n The GENIUS Act becomes effective following an 18-month implementation phase or 120 days post the issuance of final regulations.<\/p>\n Euro stablecoins still account for merely a small proportion of global stablecoin volume, with most liquidity concentrated in dollar-pegged USDC and USDT. This supremacy was established prior to the GENIUS Act. With US TradFi giants accelerating their entry into the stablecoin landscape, this dominance is anticipated to increase.<\/p>\n \u201cLacking a strategic response, European monetary sovereignty and financial stability could deteriorate,\u201d J\u00fcrgen Schaaf, payments consultant at the European Central Bank, cautioned in a blog entry<\/a>.<\/p>\n Europe\u2019s stablecoin transition is being influenced by the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation, which took effect for stablecoins in mid-2024<\/a>. The regulatory framework offers banks and regulated financial institutions a route to issue euro-denominated stablecoins, prompting accelerated compliant stablecoin operations.<\/p>\n In France, Soci\u00e9t\u00e9 G\u00e9n\u00e9rale\u2019s digital asset subsidiary, SG-Forge, has issued EURCV and USDCV, with custody managed by BNY Mellon. Germany\u2019s AllUnity, a collaboration involving DWS, Deutsche Bank, Galaxy, and Flow Traders, has launched the EURAU stablecoin<\/a> and plans to broaden it across multiple blockchains.<\/p>\n One of the most significant advances came from a group of nine European banks aiming to establish a shared alternative. ING, UniCredit, KBC, and DekaBank are part of a consortium in the Netherlands to issue a euro stablecoin<\/a>.<\/p>\n This initiative is expected to debut in 2026 and is positioned as part of the bloc\u2019s effort for payments sovereignty and lesser dependency on US-based stablecoin infrastructure.<\/p>\n Asia\u2019s approach to stablecoins is evolving along regional regulatory lines instead of through a cross-border framework like MiCA.<\/p>\n Japan established the earliest stablecoin framework among major economies. Revisions to the Payment Services Act came into force in June 2023, creating a legal category for \u201cissuer-backed\u201d stablecoins that must be fully redeemable at par and issued solely by banks, trust companies, or licensed money transmitters.<\/p>\nGENIUS initiates the US stablecoin competition<\/h2>\n
MiCA is active, yet US dollar continues to dominate stablecoins<\/h2>\n
Asia\u2019s fragmented stablecoin competition<\/h2>\n