March 17, 2026 — A consortium of US regional banks is building a new tokenized deposit network using ZKsync’s privacy-focused Prividium infrastructure. The move aims to provide banks with a stablecoin-style payments rail while keeping customer deposits on their balance sheets as liabilities.
Cari Network Selects ZKsync’s Prividium Stack
Cari Network, a permissioned banking network led by former US Comptroller of the Currency Gene Ludwig, has chosen Matter Labs’ Prividium to power its platform. The system is built on ZKsync and anchored to the Ethereum blockchain.
According to a release shared with Cointelegraph, the platform will let participating banks issue and transfer tokenized deposits continuously. These tokens represent existing customer deposits and are designed to stay within a permissioned environment governed by bank compliance rules.
“Financial infrastructure is being redesigned in real time, and mid-sized banks are the ones being left behind,” ZKsync CEO Alex Gluchowski told Cointelegraph. He framed the network as a tool for banks to “lead that transition, rather than be displaced by it.”
Regional Banks Drive Development
Five US banks have been involved in designing and testing the network since February. These institutions are Huntington Bancshares, First Horizon, M&T Bank, KeyCorp, and Old National Bancorp, according to a Bloomberg report.
The Mid-Size Bank Coalition of America has endorsed the broader model. The coalition argues that keeping deposits within regulated institutions is critical for small business lending and local economies.
This development occurs as US lawmakers debate stablecoin frameworks like the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act. Stablecoin issuers have increasingly encroached on banks’ traditional roles in payments and deposit funding.
How Tokenized Deposits Differ from Stablecoins
Unlike stablecoins, which are often issued by non-bank entities, Cari’s tokens are direct representations of bank liabilities. They are not intended to circulate freely in decentralized finance (DeFi) markets.
Gluchowski argues that tokenized deposits “are complementary to stablecoins.” He added that ZKsync sees deposits being used as “the payment tokens by banks when money needs to move in and out” of their private infrastructure.
Prividium Focuses on Privacy and Auditability
ZKsync’s Prividium serves as a shared ledger enabling instant settlement between verified parties. The architecture separates transaction records and balances from personally identifiable data, which remains in each bank’s core systems.
Gluchowski stated the design considered US banking privacy and supervisory expectations. These include data protection, examiner access, and tamper-evident audit trails.
ZKsync’s public network has seen usage decline in the past year. Onchain data from Nansen showed transactions fell about 90% in 2025 as airdrop-driven activity cooled. The company’s 2026 roadmap now centers on institutional use cases requiring privacy, control, and interoperability.
What Comes Next for Bank Tokenization
The platform’s launch represents a significant test for blockchain technology in regulated finance. Success could provide regional banks with a competitive tool for real-time payments.
Industry observers will monitor how the system integrates with existing banking regulations and core processing systems. The initiative also highlights the ongoing convergence between traditional finance and blockchain-based settlement layers.
Updated insights and analysis added for better clarity.
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