Euro stablecoin project adds 25 new banks

By Elizabeth Howcroft and Jesús Aguado

Wed, May 20, 2026 astatine 6:42 AM CDT 2 min read

By Elizabeth Howcroft and Jesús Aguado

PARIS, May 20 (Reuters) - Twenty-five much banks, including lenders ABN Amro and Sabadell, person joined a European consortium ‌planning to motorboat a euro-pegged cryptocurrency aboriginal this year, the radical ‌said connected Wednesday.

The consortium - which acceptable up an Amsterdam-based institution called Qivalis past twelvemonth - present has ​37 fiscal institutions arsenic members, including ING, BNP Paribas and BBVA, from 15 countries.

The task is framed arsenic a mode to antagonistic U.S. dominance successful integer payments, arsenic good arsenic enactment successful a imaginable aboriginal strategy wherever assets specified arsenic ‌bonds and existent property are ⁠traded arsenic blockchain-based crypto tokens, though the European Central Bank is sceptical astir the benefits.

"The euro is Europe's currency, and ⁠on-chain fiscal infrastructure should transportation it - built by European institutions and governed by European rules," Qivalis CEO Jan-Oliver Sell said successful the statement.

The 25 caller members include: ​Dutch lenders ​ABN Amro and Rabobank, Spanish lenders ​Sabadell and Bankinter, Bank of Ireland, ‌Sweden's Handelsbanken and Finland's Nordea, among others.

Various quality outlets had reported earlier successful May that immoderate of the banks were owed to join.

The crypto manufacture is progressively competing with mainstream fiscal institutions, putting accepted lenders nether unit to find uses for blockchain exertion wrong their ain businesses.

Stablecoins - a benignant of cryptocurrency ‌pegged to a fiat currency - are mostly ​used successful crypto trading, and person surged successful ​size successful caller years. The ​market is dominated by El Salvador-based Tether and U.S.-based Circle, ‌which accidental they person astir $190 cardinal ​and $77 cardinal of their ​dollar-pegged tokens successful circulation respectively.

Still, determination are fewer signs of request for euro-pegged alternatives. Societe Generale's crypto arm, SG-FORGE - which is not portion ​of Qivalis - launched a ‌euro-pegged stablecoin successful 2023, but it has conscionable 105.6 cardinal euros ($122.40 million) ​worth of tokens successful circulation.

($1 = 0.8627 euros)

(Reporting by Elizabeth Howcroft ​and Jesús Aguado; editing by Philippa Fletcher)