Euro’s Digital Future: Major European Banks Launch Qivalis to Issue Euro Stablecoin by Mid-2026

Forget waiting for a central bank digital currency. The old guard is building its own bridge to the blockchain.

The Institutional On-Ramp Arrives

A consortium of Europe's banking heavyweights just fired a shot across the bow of both decentralized finance and sluggish regulators. They're not just dabbling in digital assets—they're constructing the plumbing for a new financial system, with a euro-pegged stablecoin named Qivalis set to launch by mid-2026. This isn't a side project; it's a strategic invasion.

Why This Cuts Through the Noise

This move bypasses the theoretical debates and goes straight to execution. While policymakers debate the risks, these banks are deploying the solution: a regulated, bank-backed digital euro that operates 24/7. It's designed to settle transactions in seconds, not days, and unlock liquidity trapped in traditional banking hours. Think of it as a high-speed rail line built on top of the existing, creaky tracks.

The Real Target Isn't Crypto

Don't mistake this for an attack on Bitcoin or Ethereum. The real competition is the inefficiency of legacy cross-border payments and the threat of being sidelined by agile fintechs and big tech. By issuing Qivalis, these banks aim to reclaim the narrative, control the stablecoin rails for corporate and institutional clients, and finally offer a credible digital asset that doesn't keep compliance officers up at night. It's defensive innovation at its most aggressive.

A Cynical Take on Finance's New Toy

Let's be real—the same institutions that once called crypto a fad are now racing to mint their own digital tokens. It's the ultimate validation through imitation, wrapped in a familiar layer of fees and gatekeeping. They've seen the future, and it has a profit margin.

The launch of Qivalis by mid-2026 isn't just a product release; it's a line in the sand. The era of digital assets being solely the domain of crypto natives is over. The banks have arrived, bringing the euro with them. The race to define the next generation of money just entered a new, intensely practical phase.

Ten major European banks have established Qivalis, a new Amsterdam-based company that plans to launch a euro-pegged stablecoin in the second half of 2026, according to an announcement made Tuesday.

Backed by leading European banks - @BNP, @Caixa, @Danske, @deka, @ING, @KBC, @RaiffeisenBank, @SEB, @Sella, @UniCredit - Qivalis, domiciled in Amsterdam, is working toward DNB authorization as an Electronic Money Institution to build a digital economy that works for all. pic.twitter.com/Bd4sXnTeTC

The consortium includes ING, UniCredit, BNP Paribas, Banca Sella, KBC, DekaBank, Danske Bank, SEB, Caixabank, and Raiffeisen Bank International, with BNP Paribas being the most recent addition to the group originally announced in September.

Jan-Oliver Sell, former CEO of Coinbase's German operations and a Binance veteran, will serve as CEO, while former NatWest chair Howard Davies will chair the company. The venture plans to hire 45 to 50 employees over the next 18 to 24 months, Reuters reported.

The initiative represents European banks' response to rapid growth in the stablecoin sector, which has been dominated by U.S. companies. Tether, based in El Salvador, currently has approximately $185 billion worth of dollar-based tokens in circulation. However, the euro stablecoin market remains underdeveloped compared to its dollar counterpart. Societe Generale's SG-FORGE launched a euro stablecoin in 2023 but has only 64 million euros in circulation.

While Qivalis positions its token as enabling fast, low-cost payments and settlements, Davies indicated the initial application will focus on crypto trading. The company is seeking an Electronic Money Institution license from the Dutch central bank, with the approval process expected to take six to nine months.

"European businesses and consumers deserve a digital economy built for their success, and we will enable new opportunities for European companies and consumers to benefit from on-chain payments and digital asset markets in their own currency," Sell said in a LinkedIn post.

ING's digital assets lead Floris Lugt, who will become Qivalis's CFO, said the European Central Bank has been "very supportive" of the initiative, viewing it as aligned with Europe's goal of achieving strategic autonomy in payments infrastructure.

BNP Paribas is also participating in a separate stablecoin exploration involving ten other global banks, including Bank of America, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, and UBS.