Bank-Issued Stablecoins Accelerate On-Chain Adoption: Solana Emerges as the Key Battleground for Payment Infrastructure

On May 6, 2026, SoFi, a federally chartered US bank, announced at the Miami Solana Accelerate Conference that it has officially deployed its SoFiUSD stablecoin on the Solana blockchain. Ben Reynolds, SoFi’s Head of Corporate Banking, explained that Solana was chosen for its "lower costs, faster settlement speeds, and higher transaction volumes." This marks the third major financial or tech giant in 2026 to anchor its stablecoin payment infrastructure on Solana. Just days earlier, on May 4, Western Union launched its USDPT stablecoin on Solana, and the Solana Foundation, in partnership with Google Cloud, unveiled the stablecoin-based AI agent payment protocol Pay.sh. In less than a week, Solana has received consecutive endorsements from major institutions, signaling that the wave of stablecoin issuance by banks and fintech companies has moved from sporadic pilots to systematic advancement.

Beneath the surface excitement lies a profound industry shift. As PayPal’s PYUSD market cap soared from around $500 million to over $4.1 billion in a year, as Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan publicly warned that "interest-bearing stablecoins could siphon $6 trillion in deposits from the banking system," and as the stablecoin market surpassed $320 billion with Citi forecasting a baseline scenario of $1.9 trillion by 2030, traditional financial institutions can no longer remain on the sidelines.

Multiple Institutions Anchor to Solana in Just One Week

The first week of May 2026 saw an unprecedented influx of institutional activity in the Solana ecosystem.

On May 4, Western Union officially launched USDPT (USD Payment Token), a stablecoin issued by Anchorage Digital Bank—the first federally chartered crypto bank in the US—on Solana. Initial pilots were rolled out in Bolivia and the Philippines, with plans to expand consumer products to over 40 countries in 2026. USDPT aims to replace traditional SWIFT correspondent settlement paths, enabling 24/7 instant fund clearing between global branches.

On May 6, SoFi announced the expansion of SoFiUSD to Solana. Originally launched in December 2025 by SoFi Bank (a federally chartered US bank) and initially deployed on Ethereum, this marks SoFiUSD’s first cross-chain expansion beyond Ethereum. SoFi positions the product as a "stablecoin infrastructure provider" targeting banks, fintechs, and large enterprise platforms.

Additionally, the Solana Foundation and Google Cloud have launched Pay.sh, allowing AI agents to use Solana-based stablecoins for on-demand payments of Google Cloud API fees. Three institutions, three distinct approaches, one underlying network—this is not a coincidence, but a concentrated outbreak of a broader trend.

The Stepwise Evolution of Bank-Issued Stablecoins

Banks and fintechs entering the stablecoin arena did not happen overnight. From early internal settlement experiments to today’s public issuance, the evolution can be roughly divided into three stages.

Stage One: Internal Settlement Experiments (2019—2022). In 2019, JPMorgan launched JPM Coin for wholesale settlement between institutional clients, not for retail users. This stage was characterized by "closed networks and internal use," with stablecoins serving primarily as tools to enhance internal banking efficiency.

Stage Two: Consumer-Level Pilots (2023—Early 2025). In August 2023, PayPal launched PYUSD, becoming the first mainstream consumer finance platform to issue a stablecoin, with Paxos Trust Company as the issuer and deployed on Ethereum. In 2024, PYUSD expanded to Solana, entering the multi-chain era. During this period, Visa and Mastercard also began building stablecoin settlement infrastructure.

Stage Three: Proactive Bank Issuance (Late 2025—2026). The timeline accelerated:

• July 2025: The US Congress passes the GENIUS Act, establishing the first federal prudential regulatory framework for payment stablecoins. Issuers must hold 100% reserves, allow timely redemption, and are supervised by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC).
• December 2025: SoFi launches SoFiUSD, positioning itself as a "stablecoin infrastructure provider."
• January 2026: Bank of America CEO Moynihan warns that interest-bearing stablecoins could lead to $6 trillion in deposit outflows and reveals the bank is preparing to issue its own stablecoin.
• February 25, 2026: OCC releases a proposed rule to implement the GENIUS Act, opening a 60-day public comment period.
• March 2026: PayPal expands PYUSD to 70 markets, with its market cap surpassing $4.1 billion.
• May 4, 2026: Western Union launches USDPT; May 6, SoFiUSD officially lands on Solana.

This timeline clearly shows that the establishment of a regulatory framework is the core catalyst for banks entering the stablecoin market at scale. The GENIUS Act eliminated the biggest compliance concerns for traditional financial institutions, transforming stablecoin issuance from a "regulatory gray area" to a "commercial activity governed by explicit rules."

The Bank-Issued Stablecoin Matrix and On-Chain Migration

Bank-Issued Stablecoin Matrix Comparison Table

As of May 18, 2026, the current situation for bank and fintech-issued stablecoins (either launched or publicly announced) is as follows:

Three structural features emerge from the table:

First, issuer regulatory tiers are differentiated. Bank-issued stablecoins are issued by federal chartered banks, federal trust banks, state trust companies, and national banks, with varying levels of regulatory intensity. This differentiation means bank-issued stablecoins are not monolithic, but form an ecosystem with varying degrees of compliance and trust.

Second, public chain selection is converging on Solana. While Ethereum still leads in total value locked, Solana—with its ~400ms block times and ultra-low transaction fees—is becoming the preferred settlement layer for bank-issued stablecoins in payment and settlement scenarios. SoFi, Western Union, and PayPal (for part of their volume) all chose Solana. This trend signals Solana’s shift from a "speculative chain" to a "payment infrastructure chain."

Third, bank-issued and crypto-native stablecoins are competing in differentiated segments. Bank products focus on B2B settlement and consumer payments, emphasizing compliance, transparency, and brand trust; crypto-native stablecoins are entrenched in DeFi and high-frequency trading. While they are not direct competitors yet, their overlap is expanding rapidly.

Solana Stablecoin Transfer Volume Growth Curve

The growth of stablecoin transfer volume on Solana is key to understanding why banks are choosing Solana. According to a Grayscale report published March 4, 2026, and data from multiple on-chain analytics platforms, Solana’s monthly adjusted stablecoin transfer volume has trended as follows:

• October 2025: ~$300 billion (then a record high)
• January 2026: Solana overtakes Ethereum and Tron in monthly adjusted stablecoin transfer volume for the first time
• February 2026: ~$650 billion, setting a new all-time high—more than doubling the previous peak from October 2025 and leading all blockchains

This data reveals a critical fact: Solana, with a relatively small stablecoin supply (~$15.4 billion, much less than Ethereum), generates far greater monthly transfer volume. This "small supply, high velocity" characteristic shows that stablecoins on Solana are mainly used as payment and settlement media, rather than stores of value. Payment institutions value this—higher capital turnover efficiency means lower operating capital requirements.

As of Q1 2026, Solana’s total stablecoin supply exceeded $15.4 billion, with USDC maintaining about 53% market share. Daily active addresses on-chain number in the millions, and daily transaction volume holds steady at around 150 million.

Dissecting Market Sentiment: Optimism, Caution, and Concern

The influx of bank-issued stablecoins has generated three distinctive voices in the market.

Optimists believe bank participation will propel the stablecoin market from its current ~$320 billion level to the trillion-dollar range. Citi’s baseline forecast sees stablecoin issuance reaching $1.9 trillion by 2030, with an optimistic scenario exceeding $4 trillion. The core logic: traditional financial institutions have massive existing customer bases (PayPal alone has over 400 million users) and deep trust reserves, so their stablecoins could bring millions of previously unexposed users into the on-chain economy.

Cautious voices focus on compliance costs and competitive pressure. In a March 2026 research note, Mizuho Securities of Japan pointed out that USDC’s "adjusted transaction volume" has surpassed USDT this year, reaching 64% market share, indicating compliant stablecoins are eroding non-compliant competitors’ market share. However, bank-issued stablecoins face similar challenges—the GENIUS Act mandates 100% reserves, prohibits yield payments, and requires regular audits. These compliance costs are much higher than those for crypto-native issuers, potentially limiting banks’ flexibility in price competition.

Concerns mainly come from within the banking system. At Bank of America’s January 2026 earnings call, CEO Moynihan warned that if Congress allows stablecoins to pay interest, the banking system could lose up to $6 trillion in deposits—about 30% to 35% of all US commercial bank deposits. This warning is significant—even as Bank of America prepares its own stablecoin, executives recognize that stablecoin adoption poses a structural threat to traditional deposit models. The Independent Community Bankers of America also voiced concerns, stating that if legislation permits stablecoins to pay interest, small banks could face $1.3 trillion in deposit outflows.

Industry Impact Analysis: From Payment Infrastructure to the Reshaping of Banking Business Models

The systematic entry of banks into the stablecoin market will have far-reaching effects on at least four levels.

First, global cross-border payment infrastructure is undergoing a generational upgrade. The SWIFT network has dominated cross-border settlement for nearly half a century, but its T+1 or even T+2 settlement cycles and multi-layered correspondent bank structures lead to compounded fees. In contrast, Solana’s sub-second confirmation times and much lower transaction costs make SWIFT look increasingly fragile. Western Union’s USDPT pilots in the Philippines and Bolivia essentially replace correspondent networks with on-chain settlement—if successful, this model is highly replicable. SoFi has also partnered with Mastercard to enable SoFiUSD settlement via Mastercard’s global payment network. Once stablecoin settlement is embedded in card networks, on-chain payments shift from "alternative" to "default."

Second, the stablecoin market will move from "crypto-native dominance" to a "dual-track" system. One track features crypto-native issuers like Tether and Circle, focused on DeFi, exchange liquidity, and high-frequency trading. The other track features compliant issuers like banks and fintechs, targeting consumer payments, cross-border remittances, and enterprise settlement. These tracks are not substitutes, but serve different scenarios and client bases. However, the boundary is blurring—Circle is deeply integrated with US banks, and PayPal’s PYUSD is entering DeFi.

Third, stablecoin "float income" is becoming a new revenue engine for banks. Western Union’s Q1 2026 financial report explicitly noted that USDPT’s strategy will generate "float income opportunities." Float refers to the interest earned on stablecoin collateral (usually short-term US Treasuries, commercial paper, etc.), which is the core reason Tether can offer zero-fee transfers and still realize huge profits. By entering the stablecoin market, banks are essentially competing for this profit pool, already validated by crypto-native issuers.

Fourth, traditional banks’ deposit-lending model faces bottom-up disruption. When users can hold bank-issued stablecoins and (if policy allows) earn yield, the incentive to keep funds in low-interest bank checking accounts (often below 0.5% annual rate) diminishes sharply. Moynihan’s $6 trillion deposit outflow warning is not alarmist—even if banks issue their own stablecoins, whether float income can fully offset the net interest margin loss from deposit flight remains uncertain. By entering the stablecoin market, banks are, in a sense, choosing to "cannibalize themselves" rather than be cannibalized by others.

Conclusion

SoFiUSD’s deployment on Solana is a micro event, but it reflects a macro-level power shift in global financial infrastructure. Stablecoins have evolved from "trading tools" within the crypto industry to key entry points for traditional financial institutions into the on-chain economy. As banks and fintech giants begin systematically deploying their own stablecoins, as Solana’s monthly stablecoin transfer volume hits $650 billion, and as regulatory frameworks move from absent to robust, the simultaneous fulfillment of these three conditions marks the beginning of a structural transformation.

For industry participants, the focus should not only be on who has the largest market cap, but on who is defining the standards for payment infrastructure. The rise of bank-issued stablecoins does not necessarily spell the decline of Tether and Circle—in the short term, their differences in use cases, clientele, and technical roadmaps are significant. But in the longer run, as SWIFT-style traditional settlement layers are replaced by real-time on-chain settlement, whoever becomes the new payment infrastructure leader will gain the authority to set the rules for global capital flows.

According to Gate market data, as of May 18, 2026, SOL is priced at $84.92, with a market cap of approximately $49.107 billion and a 24-hour trading volume of about $862,200. Market sentiment is neutral. The Solana ecosystem is absorbing stablecoin deployments from traditional financial institutions at an unprecedented pace—a trend whose impact on SOL’s on-chain economic value merits ongoing attention.