Thirty-nine American trade organisations for banks have set up the BankChain Alliance. The alliance aims to build a nationwide blockchain network owned by the banking sector. The network is planned to launch in 2027.
BankChain announced recently that the network should support, among other things, smart payment applications, tokenised bank deposits, stablecoins and automated settlement. The network must also be able to interoperate with other blockchains. BankChain is currently looking for a technology partner.
The participating organisations represent thousands of financial institutions in the United States. BankChain wants to give banks across the country the opportunity to become co-owners of the network. It has not been disclosed which banks have actually joined so far. It is also still unclear exactly how the network will be governed and financed.
BankChain is not the first initiative by American banks to set up a shared blockchain infrastructure. Since the end of 2025, several similar projects have been announced, involving both large banks and regional and local lenders.
In June, The Clearing House announced an initiative for money transfers on a blockchain. JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citi, BNY and Wells Fargo support the project. The proposed network must be able to process and settle tokenised bank deposits between banks and link blockchain transactions to existing payment systems.
Tokenised bank deposits differ from independently issued stablecoins. They represent a claim on a specific bank and remain part of regular commercial bank money. This allows banks to offer programmable payments that can be executed 24 hours a day, while the money remains on their own balance sheet.
Regional banks are meanwhile working on a separate network via Cari. That platform was developed with Huntington, First Horizon, M&T Bank, KeyBank and Old National. Cari launched a first version in March and had more than thirty participating banks by July.
Smaller banks are also working on a joint blockchain project. Through the Independent Bankers Association of Texas, community banks have set up the DTX Consortium. In June, the organisation reported that more than fifty banks had joined and that a trial with tokenised bank deposits was being prepared.
Stablecoin developers are also increasingly opting for partnerships. Open Standard reported in June that more than 140 payments, banking, technology and crypto companies had gathered around Open USD, a stablecoin pegged to the US dollar that is scheduled to appear later in 2026.
The project is intended to give companies the ability to create and redeem tokens at no cost. The proceeds from the reserves would then be distributed among the participating companies.
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