U.S. Bank, the fifth-largest commercial bank in the United States, conducted a pilot cross-border payment in its dollar stablecoin USBDC between its divisions in North America and Europe. The transaction was processed on the public Stellar network with the bank's risk control and regulatory compliance systems integrated throughout. As noted in the bank's official statement, this is one of the first bank-issued stablecoins deployed on a public blockchain. USBDC is a digital asset pegged to the US dollar, issued by the bank itself for internal use.
The pilot transaction was executed on the Stellar blockchain and demonstrated U.S. Bank's ability to transfer value across the network while maintaining integration with the bank's core financial, risk, compliance, and operational infrastructure. According to U.S. Bank Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Gunjan Kedia, "this pilot demonstrates our capabilities to accelerate global cash management and the movement of capital." U.S. Bank's Head of Digital Assets and Cash Management Jamie Walker described the transaction as "another step forward in the bank's broader digital asset strategy."
As part of the pilot, U.S. Bank tested the issuance, redemption, freezing, and clawback of tokens. These operations were carried out through the bank's internal Digital Asset Platform, which connects tokenized assets with traditional banking infrastructure. The platform also serves as the foundation for issuing, managing, and moving tokenized assets, enabling seamless interaction between banking systems and blockchain networks.
The pilot follows an earlier phase: in November 2025, U.S. Bank announced testing of its own stablecoin issuance on the Stellar network in partnership with consulting firm PwC and the Stellar Development Foundation. In October 2025, the bank established a dedicated Digital Assets and Cash Management division focused on stablecoin issuance, crypto asset custody, asset tokenization, and digital money movement.