Qivalis consortium expands to 37 European banks for euro stablecoin

The Qivalis banking consortium has grown to 37 member institutions spanning 15 European countries after 25 additional banks joined the project. New members include ABN AMRO, Rabobank, Intesa Sanpaolo, Nordea, Erste Group, the National Bank of Greece and several Spanish lenders such as ABANCA and Banco Sabadell. Based in Amsterdam, the group is targeting a launch of a euro‑backed stablecoin in the second half of 2026 and is seeking an electronic‑money‑institution licence from the Dutch central bank under the EU’s MiCA framework.

The initiative aims to create a regulated on‑chain euro token that can serve institutional payments and tokenised finance, offering an alternative to dollar‑denominated stablecoins, which currently hold about 98 % of the market value. Qivalis chair Howard Davies said the effort is meant to embed European data‑protection, financial‑stability and regulatory rigour into digital money. The European Central Bank has voiced skepticism about stablecoins, but the banking‑led push continues as a strategic response to US‑dollar dominance.

Participating banks cover the Netherlands, Italy, Spain, France, Sweden, Finland, Greece, Ireland and Germany, among others, reflecting a broad pan‑European commitment to a unified, regulated digital euro infrastructure.