French Finance Minister Roland Lescure has called on European banks to speed up work on euro-pegged stablecoins and tokenized deposits, warning that Europe’s financial system remains too dependent on U.S. payment infrastructure.
Speaking at a conference in Paris on Friday, Lescure pointed to a planned joint euro-backed stablecoin from ING, UniCredit, and BNP Paribas due in the second half of 2026, saying the project shows how the private sector can help build Europe’s own digital currency rails.
Dollar stablecoins overshadow euro market
Lescure’s comments come as dollar-linked stablecoins continue to dominate global crypto trading and payments.
Total circulation of dollar-pegged stablecoins has passed $300 billion. Tether’s USDT holds a market capitalization of around $186 billion, while Circle’s USDC stands at about $78.8 billion, cementing the dollar’s lead in the digital asset ecosystem.
Euro-pegged stablecoins are far smaller by comparison. According to CoinGecko, the total market value of euro-linked tokens is around $912 million. Circle’s EURC leads with about $426.9 million in circulation, followed by STASIS’ EURS at $150.3 million and Societe Generale’s CoinVertible (EURCV) at $126.7 million.
Lescure has described this imbalance as “unsatisfactory” for a region seeking greater monetary and financial autonomy in the digital era.
Push for European monetary sovereignty
Lescure’s intervention signals a clearer stance from a major eurozone government: Europe should not rely on U.S.-based providers for core digital payment infrastructure.
The minister highlighted the consortium of ING, UniCredit, and BNP Paribas, which plans to issue a jointly backed euro stablecoin through a venture known as Qivalis in late 2026. The initiative is framed as part of a broader strategy to strengthen Europe’s control over its monetary tools as finance moves on-chain.
By promoting bank-issued stablecoins and tokenized deposits, Lescure is backing a model in which regulated institutions extend the euro into blockchain-based markets, rather than leaving that role mainly to U.S. fintech and crypto firms.
Mixed signals on demand from banks and users
Despite the strategic push, European banks report limited appetite from clients so far.
Research from RBC Capital Markets shows that about two-thirds of surveyed European banks see minimal demand for stablecoins at present. That cautious stance contrasts with other data pointing to growing usage of digital assets for payments and savings.
A February study by BVNK, Coinbase and Artemis, based on a YouGov survey of 4,658 adults across 15 countries, found that:
- 54% of respondents held stablecoins in the past year
- 56% planned to buy more
- On average, respondents allocated around one-third of their savings to crypto and stablecoins combined
Separately, payment infrastructure firm Borderless reported that blockchain-based foreign exchange markets are closing the gap with traditional interbank rates. By March, 14 of 21 tracked digital currencies were trading within 100 basis points of conventional FX prices, based on more than 1.1 million observations across 51 national currencies.
These findings suggest that, even as many European banks remain cautious, usage of stablecoins and related digital assets is expanding in cross-border payments and digital savings.
Regulatory backdrop and outlook
The European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation is expected to be a key driver of further activity, by setting out clear rules for issuing and operating stablecoins within the bloc.
That regulatory clarity has already helped Circle’s EURC secure a leading share of the euro-pegged market, as the firm positioned itself early to comply with MiCA-style requirements.
Attention will now turn to whether bank-led initiatives can narrow the gap with dollar stablecoins. The Qivalis euro stablecoin launch in late 2026 will be a key test, particularly its ability to build liquid markets and gain traction in real-world use cases such as cross-border trade, corporate payments and on-chain treasury operations.
For traders watching the sector, the pace of adoption of new euro stablecoins, especially by corporate treasuries and payment platforms, will be a critical signal of whether Europe can translate policy ambitions on monetary sovereignty into meaningful on-chain euro usage.
Pour mieux comprendre l’essor des stablecoins, découvrez comment fonctionnent les stablecoins et leur rôle dans la finance numérique.
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