U.S. financial firms are preparing a shared payments infrastructure that would allow bank deposits to be transferred directly on blockchains, responding to the spread of stablecoins.

CryptoSlate, a blockchain outlet, reported on June 8 that The Clearing House said it is pursuing a system that can clear and settle interbank tokenised deposits on-chain 24 hours a day.

The initiative focuses on bringing a stablecoin-like digital-asset payment experience into the banking sector. The plan is for the new network to support large-scale clearing and settlement of interbank tokenised deposits and connect blockchain-based transactions to existing fiat infrastructure such as the Real-Time Payments (RTP) network and the Clearing House Interbank Payments System (CHIPS).

Stablecoins move dollar claims outside the deposit system, but tokenised deposits keep bank deposits with added digital features as bank liabilities. The attempt is to deliver 24-hour payments, automated fund movement and processing of more transaction data, while protecting customer balances, regulatory compliance and a deposit-based revenue structure.

The nature of the network is also tied to The Clearing House's governance structure. The Clearing House is a payments infrastructure operator owned by 25 large U.S. financial institutions. Banks are calculating that this structure would keep funds within bank rails while adding a digital-asset-style payments layer.

The backdrop is rapid growth in the stablecoin market. Stablecoins at one point reached $322 billion, and market data as of June 8 put the total at about $296 billion. Tether's USDT was about $187 billion and USDC about $76 billion. That means stablecoins have grown to a level where banks can no longer view them only as products around exchanges.

Regulatory dynamics also influenced banks' emphasis on deposit tokenisation. The GENIUS Act would require payment stablecoin issuers to maintain 1-to-1 reserves and ban structures that provide interest or returns simply for holding or using them. By contrast, it excluded deposits recorded via distributed ledger technology (P2P) from the definition of payment stablecoins. That means deposits could remain legally bank deposits even if recorded in a new way.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. also drew a line. In a regulatory summary released in April 2026, the FDIC said deposits held as reserves for payment stablecoins would not receive pass-through deposit insurance for stablecoin holders. It said whether deposit insurance applies is unrelated to whether deposit liabilities are recorded in a P2P manner. The reasoning that tokenised deposits can remain within the deposit-law framework even if they adopt blockchain-based payment methods leans on this.

In the market, some raise the possibility that tokenised deposits could grow alongside stablecoins as both substitutes and complements. Citi said in its "Stablecoins 2030" report that stablecoin issuance could reach $1.9 trillion under its base scenario and $4 trillion under a bullish scenario by 2030. It also said bank tokens and stablecoins would coexist and that bank-token transaction volumes could exceed stablecoins by 2030.

Banks' concerns are focused on the possibility of deposit outflows. The American Bankers Association and 52 state bankers associations warned Congress in December last year that stablecoin reward structures could weaken the intermediation function of deposits and loans. They argued that some funds could leave bank accounts if customers choose dollar tokens that move faster and also offer rewards. The White House Council of Economic Advisers, however, estimated in an April analysis that under a base scenario the impact on lending would be about $2.1 billion if stablecoin yield provision is restricted. If all worst-case assumptions are reflected, it calculated the additional total lending effect could grow to $531 billion.

The U.S. Federal Reserve also did not draw a firm conclusion on the impact. It said the effect on bank deposits could vary depending on where stablecoin demand arises, where issuers invest reserves and whether they obtain access to central bank accounts. Stablecoins could reduce deposits, but they could also only change the form of deposits. Even if total deposits do not fall, the possibility remains that banks' funding structures could change.

The key question is whether a bank-led network can actually match the speed and reach that users expect from stablecoins. The Clearing House has not yet disclosed the launch timing, ledger design, operating rules or how it would connect to public blockchains. Still, the direction is clear. Banks have begun putting forward a solution that makes funds move like tokens while keeping the money itself inside banks.