Major US banks, including JPMorgan, Citigroup, Bank of America, are in early talks to form a consortium to launch a single stablecoin, The Wall Street Journal reported.
The magazine’s sources said that the launch of the stablecoin is facilitated by the demand for such tokens, as well as a favorable situation with legislation and regulation. The outcome of the negotiations will largely depend on the position of the regulatory authorities, the sources specified.
This week, the US Senate voted for a stablecoin bill that would lay the groundwork for regulating stable cryptocurrencies. The bill would require such tokens to be fully backed by US dollars or other liquid assets. And issuers of stablecoins with a capitalization of over $50 billion would be required to undergo annual audits. However, the bills have not yet been adopted in their final form.
In addition to banks, the new project will involve payment service The Clearing House and fintech firm Early Warning Services, which is behind the peer-to-peer payment system Zelle. It is not only the US that is preparing full-fledged regulation of stablecoins. For example, the Hong Kong Legislative Council recently approved a bill to regulate fiat-backed stablecoins.
