Rich by Coin

On Friday (Feb. 6), the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) clarified that national trust banks may issue payment stablecoins. And since the start of this month, other financial institutions have made moves in the digital asset space. A European banking consortium expanded a shared euro-denominated stablecoin initiative; Fidelity Investments officially launched its FIDD stablecoin on Ethereum; VersaBank detailed plans for stablecoin custody and interest-bearing deposit tokens; and Goldman Sachs continued to advance stablecoin use cases in emerging markets. The early wave of stablecoins was dominated by nonbank issuers, filling a gap created by slow cross-border payments and limited access to dollar liquidity in crypto markets.

The emphasis is on shared infrastructure: a common settlement asset that could be used across multiple banks, rather than proprietary tokens locked inside a single balance sheet. In the United States, Fidelity’s FIDD launch signaled something different. As one of the world’s largest asset managers, Fidelity is positioning a dollar-denominated stablecoin as an extension of its digital asset services business, aimed at institutional clients who want on-chain liquidity without stepping outside a regulated ecosystem. Taken together, these moves suggest that stablecoins are no longer viewed as speculative side projects. They are being integrated into core strategies around payments efficiency, asset servicing and global market access.

One of the clearest themes emerging from bank-led initiatives is a deliberate focus on wholesale rather than retail use. Unlike consumer-facing wallets or payment apps, most bank-issued stablecoins are designed to sit behind the scenes, improving the economics of existing processes. What’s taking shape is not a single “bank stablecoin” model, but a family of instruments that reflect where inefficiencies are most painful, and where incumbents believe blockchain rails can quietly outperform legacy systems. Design choices around blockchain selection, programmability, interest and access controls will reflect those priorities.