{"id":97264,"date":"2026-05-20T14:45:50","date_gmt":"2026-05-20T11:45:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/?p=97264"},"modified":"2026-05-20T14:50:16","modified_gmt":"2026-05-20T11:50:16","slug":"euro-stablecoin-project-expands-to-37-banks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/euro-stablecoin-project-expands-to-37-banks\/","title":{"rendered":"Euro Stablecoin Project Expands to 37 Banks"},"content":{"rendered":"

The pan-European initiative to launch the Qivalis stablecoin<\/a> has expanded to 37 participants. An additional 25 credit institutions, including ABN Amro, Intesa Sanpaolo, and Rabobank, have joined the banking consortium, reports FT<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Among the institutions that previously supported<\/a> the initiative are BNP Paribas, ING, and UniCredit.<\/p>\n

Following its expansion, Qivalis has become the largest coalition in the EU banking sector aimed at creating blockchain-based digital infrastructure. The project is developing amid increasing efforts by European regulators to reduce the region’s reliance on dollar-based digital infrastructure.<\/p>\n

Europe Fears Dollar Stablecoin Dominance<\/h2>\n

In recent months, EU authorities have increasingly linked the development of their own \u201cstablecoins\u201d with issues of financial sovereignty and control over payment infrastructure. A note published by the EU Council for the Eurogroup emphasizes the need to strengthen the international role of the euro.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In May, European Central Bank President ECB<\/span> Christine Lagarde stated<\/a> that the growth of private stablecoins requires a stricter separation of the functions of money and payment instruments, as well as increased attention to risks for the financial system.<\/p>\n

Betting on Banking Infrastructure<\/h2>\n

According to FT, the key advantage of the single European stablecoin project should be not the technology, but access to the existing infrastructure of participating banks. The project is being built as a systemic tool for settlements, integrated into already functioning channels and client networks.<\/p>\n

Qivalis CEO Jan-Oliver Zell stated that the consortium does not intend to compete with regular consumer payments within Europe. The main focus is on cross-border transfers and instant transactions.<\/p>\n

The group has applied for a license with the Dutch Central Bank and expects to receive approval in the second half of this year.<\/p>\n

Europe’s Goals<\/h2>\n

Almost the entire global stablecoin market remains dollar-based. An ECB working paper states that dollar stablecoins create additional demand for US government debt and can enhance the global role of the US national currency through digital settlements.<\/p>\n

The authors of the document linked the growth of such tokens to the strengthening of the \u201cdollar-centric\u201d architecture of the global financial system. Against this backdrop, European projects still appear significantly smaller in scale.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Reuters reported<\/a> in the summer of 2025 that Societe Generale’s stablecoin had a total turnover of only \u20ac41.8 million. Meanwhile, the bank simultaneously launched USD CoinVertible<\/a>, effectively acknowledging higher demand for dollar instruments.<\/p>\n

This gap is one reason why European banks are attempting to build a joint project instead of multiple separate tokens with limited liquidity.<\/p>\n

Regulators Aim Not to Miss the Digital Currency Market<\/h2>\n

Previously, \u201cstablecoins\u201d in the EU were mainly perceived as part of the crypto market, but now they are increasingly seen as a component of international settlement infrastructure.<\/p>\n

In this context, European regulators are simultaneously trying to:<\/p>\n