U.S. Bank Moves Real Dollars on a Public Chain, But With a Kill Switch

On Wednesday, U.S. Bank sent dollars from North America to Europe on a public blockchain. However, while anyone can watch that network, only the bank can undo the payment.

The bank calls it a launch, but it’s own announcement describes it as a test. U.S. Bank paid itself, using a token, USBDC, that no customer can buy.

The Kill Switch for U.S. Bank

Crypto’s founding promise was that nobody could pull your money back. USBDC breaks that promise deliberately. The bank chose Stellar, whose token XLM ranks 19th by market value.

Stellar lets whoever issues a token cut off an account, while at the same time allowing that issuer to destroy coins sitting in someone else’s wallet.

U.S. Bank tried creating the token, cashing it out, freezing it, and taking it back. All four worked.

So this is not a rival to the dollar coins traders already use. It is a wire transfer with an undo button.

“This live pilot demonstrates our ability to accelerate global cash management and money movement capabilities,” read an excerpt in the bank’s statement, citing Gunjan Kedia, chairman and chief executive officer at U.S. Bank.

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Wall Street Split, and the U.S. Bank Stablecoin Walked Away

A week earlier, 21 banks and asset managers agreed to share one dollar token in 2027. Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, and Deutsche Bank signed up. U.S. Bank did not.

That is the part nobody is saying out loud. Most of Wall Street wants a shared coin. U.S. Bank wants its own name on the dollar.

Federal Reserve data ranked it sixth among domestic commercial banks in March, holding $683 billion in assets. Big enough to go alone.

Washington helps. BeInCrypto reported in August that new Treasury stablecoin rules favor chains built on licensed dollars.

The prize is dull and enormous. Weekend payrolls. Cash trapped between subsidiaries. Collateral that cannot move until Monday.

“Our focus remains on delivering solutions that solve real client challenges while maintaining the safety, security and reliability that clients expect from U.S. Bank,” said Jamie Walker, head of digital assets and money movement at U.S. Bank, in the same release.

Circle should worry, though not about this pilot. Rivals courting USDC’s enterprise users already show how fast that base can be taken.

Stellar’s XLM price barely moved, near $0.19 after a 0.6% gain in a day. Traders want the version they can hold.

Stellar (XLM) Price Performance. Source: BeInCrypto

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