Amsterdam-based fintech group Qivalis has expanded its euro stablecoin consortium to 37 European banks as it advances plans to issue a regulated euro-pegged token in the second half of 2026.
The group has applied to De Nederlandsche Bank for authorization as an electronic money institution, a key step to launching a stablecoin fully backed by euros and high-quality liquid assets held with regulated custodians. The project is designed to create bank-backed infrastructure for onchain euro settlements across Europe.
Key developments
Major European banks join consortium
Among the 25 new members are ABN Amro, Intesa Sanpaolo, Rabobank and Luxembourg’s state-owned Spuerkeess. They join existing participants such as BNP Paribas, ING, UniCredit, CaixaBank and Danske Bank, which formed the initial consortium in December 2025.
The enlarged group aims to build what it describes as a primary settlement layer for tokenized finance in Europe, keeping issuance and reserves squarely within the banking system and European regulatory perimeter.
Operating under MiCA rules
Qivalis intends to operate under the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regime, whose rules for stablecoins took effect in mid-2024. Approval from the Dutch central bank would effectively endorse the consortium’s model of a fully backed, regulated digital euro.
The planned token would be backed one-to-one by euros and high-quality liquid assets, with reserves held at regulated custodians. The consortium expects this structure to meet MiCA’s standards for asset-referenced and e-money tokens.
Dollar tokens dominate, euro market still small
The initiative comes against a backdrop of sharp imbalance between dollar- and euro-denominated stablecoins.
Dollar-linked tokens have a combined supply exceeding $301 billion. Tether’s USDT accounts for around $190 billion in market capitalization, while Circle’s USDC stands at about $77 billion, making the pair the dominant issuers in the segment.
By contrast, euro-pegged stablecoins have a total market value of roughly $896 million. Within this smaller market, Circle’s EURC leads with about $443 million in circulation, followed by STASIS’ EURS at $151.9 million and Societe Generale’s EURCV at $122.3 million.
The consortium argues that a bank-issued, regulated euro token could significantly increase liquidity for euro-denominated digital assets and provide a domestic alternative to dollar-based coins widely used in Europe.
Strategic implications for European markets
The coordinated move by 37 banks signals a broader effort to ensure that the core rails of a tokenized economy in Europe remain under bank control and subject to regional regulation, rather than dominated by non-European, non-bank issuers.
A widely adopted, network-backed euro token could become a key settlement asset for both decentralized applications and traditional finance use cases, including securities settlement, payments and tokenized deposits.
Traders and market operators are expected to track how quickly such a token, if approved, gains traction relative to existing euro products from Circle, Societe Generale and others.
Policy debate and regulatory concerns
European policymakers have sent mixed signals on privately issued stablecoins.
French finance minister Jean-Noël Barrot Lescure has stressed that euro-denominated tokens remain limited compared with dollar products and has called for further work on tokenized deposits and euro-based digital solutions.
European Central Bank president Christine Lagarde has voiced concern that growing use of dollar-backed tokens inside Europe could deepen reliance on the U.S. currency. At the same time, she has warned that private stablecoins may pose risks to financial stability and complicate monetary policy, and has highlighted tokenized commercial bank deposits and public infrastructure as potentially safer paths.
Banks move ahead of possible digital euro
The Qivalis-led consortium positions itself as a regulated, private-sector response that aims to align with the safeguards sought by supervisors while offering a market-driven instrument for onchain settlement.
Member banks such as Intesa Sanpaolo, which has increased its digital asset exposure to more than $230 million, and ABN Amro, which is building tokenization services, are already expanding their presence in digital finance.
Their approach suggests that European lenders are not waiting for a potential central bank digital euro and instead are building parallel rails for a mixed ecosystem of bank-issued digital euros, tokenized deposits and regulated stablecoins, distinct from the dollar-centric market structure that has emerged globally.
For deeper insight into euro-pegged tokens and policy shifts, explore why global stablecoins matter for future finance.
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