U.S. Bank Calls Ability to Freeze Stablecoins ‘Appealing’ as Crypto Has Completely Lost the Plot

US Bancorp, which does business as (and is better known as) US Bank, has begun testing its own stablecoin on the Stellar blockchain. pilot, Recently detailed bloomberg reportFocuses on using the token for faster and cheaper cross-border payments while incorporating security measures such as customer verification and transaction reversal. Mike Villano, the bank’s senior vice president for digital asset products, pointed to Stellar’s suitability for traditional financial services as a key selling point for the bank.

While US Bancorp CEO Gunjan Kedia said demand for stablecoin payments from customers remains low, these dollar-backed digital assets have emerged as crypto’s primary pitch in recent years, serving as the main use case beyond. Bitcoin’s role as a long-term store of value and gambling in Frequently-Rigged Memecoin Casinos,

And for crypto networks like Ethereum focused on decentralized finance (DeFi), stablecoin volume drives the majority of financial activity and user adoption. In fact, these blockchains are so dependent on centrally issued dollar tokens that it calls into question the real difference between this new blockchain technology and traditional fintech, other than whether DeFi can be decentralized mostly in name only.

DeFi skeptics have long cautioned against leaning on stablecoins as a shortcut to user adoption, a reliance now becoming apparent as fintech firms like Stripe, Coinbase, Robinhood, and various stablecoin operators have rolled out blockchains optimized for speed and ease of use at the expense of peer-to-peer financial sovereignty.

And this merger between crypto, fintech, financial services companies and traditional banks through stable coins is accelerating.

Here are just a few of the endless examples of this phenomenon: Klarna becomes the first fintech to issue a stablecoin, KlarnaUSD, On Stripe’s Tempo seriesMoneyGram is expanding the use of stable coins for remittances after a quick test of the technology, According to Crossmint co-founder Rodrigo Fernandez TauzaRevolut launches fee-free, one-to-one fiat-to-stablecoin swap for its 65 million users a few weeks agoNew Head of Deal Crypto announced A new crypto vertical for a payroll provider a few days ago. City And JPMorgan Chase Both have a stablecoin-related partnership with Coinbase.

These launches show how technology is evolving as an efficiency enhancer for incumbents, not necessarily a true disruptor. a line from bloomberg US Bancorp’s report on stablecoin interest should cut particularly deep for Bitcoin veterans: Vilano called the ability to freeze assets on Stellar “particularly attractive.”

This control mechanism directly inverts Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto’s vision of trustless, censorship-resistant money by prioritizing bank oversight over user sovereignty. On a related note, Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire also scoffed last week entry “Circle ♥️ Bank.”

Growing tensions between cyberpunks and those building technology for banks came to a head in October Ethereum Foundation researcher Dankrad Feist jumps on TempoWhich is leading to allegations that the sector is moving too far from decentralization towards bank-friendly infrastructure.

The stablecoin phenomenon also sheds light on Political enthusiasm for crypto from the Trump administrationFrom Washington’s perspective, stablecoins could be used to enhance the dollar’s hegemony globally, As codified in the Genius Act signed by President Trump in July,

Yet, in recent weeks, the co-founders of Bitcoin privacy wallet Samurai Wallet were sentenced to several years in prison for money transfer violations. The jail time handed down to the Samurai Wallet developers is particularly troubling When compared to the pardon granted to the former CEO of crypto exchange Binance For some similar allegations.

It’s clear that crypto has lost the plot at this point, assuming it ever had one.

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