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Barclays, one of the biggest banks in the United Kingdom, has revealed it has started exploring the potential use of blockchain in digital payments. As reported by Bloomberg, the financial firm is reaching out to technology providers that are developing related products for payment services.
Barclays to join rival banks
According to sources familiar with the matter, Barclays has issued a request for information to potential suppliers. The goal here is to develop new products to cater to its now diverse customer base. Per the report, the goal is to select a suitable supplier by April this year.
While there are different aspects of evolution in the crypto world, this new initiative from Barclays may focus on stablecoins and tokenized deposits. In the past year, crypto payments firms like Ripple Labs have been developing capabilities to advance tokenized funds. Ripple even partnered with the U.K.’s Aviva Investors to advance these tokenization efforts.
With the United Kingdom gradually warming up to new blockchain advances, Barclays efforts trail those of JPMorgan Chase. The American banking giant has been exploring crypto offerings for banking services for a long time.
In earlier reports, JPMorgan clearly favored Bitcoin over gold, a rare shift at a time when risk assets were facing a significant downturn in the macro market. This pivot is another signal that banks are becoming more pro-blockchain.
Stablecoin competition heating up
With regulatory clarity improving in multiple regions, the push into payments, with stablecoins in focus, has grown remarkably. From the Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) regulation in the European Union to the GENIUS Act in the United States, the financial market has made a big shift into Web3.
While the details of Barclays’ blockchain payments explorations are still speculative, fintech firms like Stripe and Revolut are already planning to launch their stablecoins. While the dominant pair to compete with includes USDT and USDC, Ripple’s RLUSD is beginning to gain broader market traction.