U.S. Bank launches USBDC stablecoin on Stellar in live cross-border pilot

U.S. Bank said it has launched USBDC, a U.S. dollar-backed stablecoin, and completed a live pilot transaction on the Stellar blockchain to support a cross-border payment between North American and European entities. The bank described the move in an official release announcing the USBDC launch.

The bank said USBDC is integrated with its existing finance, risk, compliance and operations systems, and that the pilot was designed to show how the stablecoin can move value on-chain while remaining tied into those internal controls. U.S. Bank also framed the effort as part of its digital asset and money movement work.

The announcement places the project on a public blockchain rather than a closed environment, but the bank’s description points to a pilot rather than broad availability. It did not say the stablecoin is already in wide use, only that the transaction demonstrated a live cross-border payment flow.

Bank-issued stablecoin use moves onto a public chain

U.S. Bank said USBDC is one of the first bank-issued stablecoins deployed on a public blockchain. In the release, the bank said the token offers 24/7 transaction capabilities and could support future institutional use cases, including liquidity management, collateral mobility and cross-border treasury operations.

The bank also said the work builds on its relationship with the Stellar Development Foundation. For now, the clearest confirmed change is that U.S. Bank has moved from announcing the concept of a stablecoin to showing a live pilot transaction on Stellar.

Whether that pilot expands into broader customer usage, and how quickly, was not specified in the announcement.