Banks' $270M Project Faro leads Wall Street push into stablecoins, Decrypt says
In brief
- Banks are committing roughly $270 million to Project Faro, a dollar-stablecoin venture, Decrypt reported.
- Project Faro reportedly targets a 2027 launch and has no token, CEO or final name.
- Tether and Circle control about 85% of a roughly $290 billion market, according to Decrypt.
- SoFi, Anchorage, Mastercard, Visa and Circle have each announced stablecoin settlement or issuance moves.
The bank consortium
Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, Santander and Deutsche Bank were reported to be among banks committing roughly $270 million to a joint dollar-stablecoin venture codenamed Project Faro, Decrypt said. Decrypt didn't name its original source, and LeoDex News couldn't independently verify the figures or the list of banks.
According to the report, that capital would fund five years of operations for a U.S.-incorporated issuer targeting a 2027 launch. Project Faro is part of a 21-institution coalition that grew from an initial group of 10 (again, as reported).
The target is explicit. Decrypt said the goal is to challenge Tether and Circle, which together control about 85% of a stablecoin market of roughly $290 billion.
Project Faro has no token, no CEO, and no final name.
That's a reported $270 million commitment behind a project that doesn't have a name yet.
Who's already live
SoFi isn't waiting. Its SoFiUSD, billed as the first stablecoin from a U.S. national bank, expanded onto Polygon alongside Ethereum and Solana, reaching the bank's 17 million-plus members, per Decrypt's summary. SoFi also launched SoFi Earn, a tokenized deposit paying 4.40% yield that converts into SoFiUSD, and it settles its entire card program over Mastercard's network.
Anchorage Digital, the federally chartered crypto bank, has positioned itself as a settlement backbone. Its tokens can now settle transactions on Visa's network, starting with Western Union's USDPT, and it anchored both sides of the U.S.-Mexico stablecoin corridor (one of the world's largest remittance routes).
Mastercard launched a Global Money Platform with BVNK, the stablecoin firm it acquired, and rolled out a Stablecoin Security tool for fraud screening. It's also added Agent Pay for Machines, built for AI agents transacting in stablecoins. Visa expanded its own stablecoin settlement program across multiple blockchains. Circle struck a deal to bring USDC settlement to banking rails in Latin America, starting with a Colombia pilot.
The policy backdrop
Decrypt tied the push to Washington. The GENIUS Act, signed in 2025, created the first U.S. framework for dollar-pegged tokens, and the Donald Trump administration has framed dollar stablecoins as a tool to extend the dollar's reach and global hegemony.
Those are Decrypt's read of the trend and the companies' own announcements, not LeoDex News data.
Frequently asked questions
What is Project Faro?
Project Faro is a joint dollar-stablecoin venture that Decrypt reported Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, Santander and Deutsche Bank are among banks backing with roughly $270 million. The money would reportedly fund five years of operations for a U.S.-incorporated issuer targeting a 2027 launch. LeoDex News could not independently verify the report.
Who controls the stablecoin market today?
Decrypt said Tether and Circle together control about 85% of a stablecoin market of roughly $290 billion. Project Faro's stated goal, according to Decrypt, is to challenge those two issuers.
What did the GENIUS Act do for stablecoins?
The GENIUS Act, signed in 2025, created the first U.S. framework for dollar-pegged tokens, according to Decrypt. The Trump administration has framed dollar stablecoins as a tool to extend the dollar's reach and global hegemony.
