U.S. bank consortium champions national stablecoin
A newly-formed consortium of U.S. banks has been announced, with the specific goal to lobby for a bank-backed stablecoin in the nation – the “USDF”.
The banks involved are New York Community Bank, NBH Bank, FirstBank, Sterling National Bank and Synovus Bank. Together they are proposing a coin built on the Provenance Blockchain, and developed by specialist fintech firm, Figure Technologies.
“USDF opens up endless possibilities for the expanding world of DeFi transactions,” Figure CEO Mike Cagney said in a press release. “The ease and immediacy of using USDF for on-chain transactions was demonstrated this fall when NYCB minted USDF used to settle securities trades executed on Figure’s alternative trading systems. We are tremendously excited that NYCB expects to be minting USDF on demand and on a regular basis in the coming weeks.”
The consortium is arguing that the USDF would resolve a lot of concerns that lawmakers and the community have with crypto. The stablecoin would be subjected to adequate consumer protection and regulatory requirements, and there would be a greater focus on security than with unregulated blockchains.
The news comes as elsewhere it was revealed that Donald Trump’s administration was being pushed towards crypto as far back as 2019. Senior White House official (and Trump’s son-in-law), Jared Kushner, was actively pushing for a U.S. digital dollar, according to documents just made public.
