Qivalis, the European banking consortium building a regulated euro stablecoin, expanded its ranks to 37 member institutions on Wednesday by adding 25 banks across 15 countries. Among the new members are ABN AMRO, Rabobank, Nordea and Intesa Sanpaolo. The Amsterdam-based group aims for a launch in the second half of 2026, according to a statement shared with Cointelegraph.
“We are not merely building payment rails; we are ensuring that European principles around data protection, financial stability and regulatory rigour are embedded into the next generation of digital money,” said Howard Davies, chairman of Qivalis’ supervisory board.
The expansion comes as European institutions intensify efforts to offer regulated alternatives to dollar-dominated stablecoins, which CoinGecko data show account for a large majority of the market. The push signals a broader push to embed euro-denominated on-chain infrastructure within the bloc’s regulatory framework.
Key takeaways
- Qivalis expands to 37 member banks, adding 25 institutions across 15 countries, with a targeted launch in H2 2026.
- Notable new members include ABN AMRO, Rabobank, Nordea and Intesa Sanpaolo, reinforcing cross-country participation.
- Spain emerges as the most represented country in the new wave, adding five banks and highlighting early euro-stablecoin adoption in the retail sphere.
- The expansion aligns with the European Union’s MiCA framework, as institutions seek a regulated euro-stablecoin backbone under EU rules.
- ECB President Christine Lagarde recently signaled a cautious stance on euro-stablecoins as Europe’s path to expanding the euro’s global role, illustrating regulatory tensions that accompany the initiative.
A broader push for a regulated euro stablecoin network
With 25 banks joining from 15 countries, Qivalis is accelerating its effort to create a unified, regulated euro-stablecoin infrastructure. The new members broaden the consortium’s geographic footprint, spanning Northern and Southern Europe, and reinforcing the bloc-wide ambition to offer a euro-denominated digital money system governed by European rules. Howard Davies framed the project as more than a payments layer; it is an attempt to embed core European values—data protection, financial stability and regulatory integrity—into a new form of money that can operate across borders and institutions.
In parallel with the expansion, the consortium has been engaging with crypto exchanges to prepare for a broader ecosystem around the euro stablecoin. Cointelegraph has reported that Qivalis has been in dialogue with venues ahead of the planned launch, signaling an intent to foster liquidity, trading access and custody within a compliant, MiCA-aligned framework. The plan is to tokenize, custody and manage on-chain euro-denominated assets with oversight suitable for European markets.
Spain leads the new member wave and euro adoption momentum
Spain stands out in the new roster, providing five additions: ABANCA, Banco Sabadell, Bankinter, Cecabank and Kutxabank. The country’s growing footprint among Qivalis members mirrors broader signs of euro-stablecoin uptake in Spain’s retail space, where data from Brighty has highlighted Spain as a leading market for Circle’s EURC usage. The strong presence from Spain reflects a wider European push to diversify away from USD-centric stablecoins toward euro-denominated on-chain services within a robust regulatory envelope.
In addition to Spain, Italy joined with two new banks, while France, Sweden, Greece, the Netherlands, Finland and Ireland each added two members. The spread across these markets underscores a pan-European appetite to integrate stablecoin rails into existing banking rails, blending traditional financial oversight with the benefits of digital asset rails under MiCA-compliant governance.
Tech backbone, governance and regulatory context
Qivalis is pursuing a covered, regulated pipeline for euro stablecoin issuance, with Fireblocks already chosen in a March collaboration to provide tokenization, wallet infrastructure and custody services, along with tools to support compliance. Jan Sell, the consortium’s CEO, has stressed that the euro should be carried on-chain by European institutions and governed by European rules, a stance that aligns with the bloc’s regulatory ambitions while inviting scrutiny from observers wary of how rapidly the sector evolves.
The push operates in a climate of contested momentum about the role of private sector money inside Europe’s monetary architecture. In early May, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde suggested that stablecoins might not be Europe’s best route to strengthening the euro’s international reach, cautioning against a reflexive move to euro-backed equivalents in response to US dollar-stablecoins. The Qivalis expansion, therefore, sits at an inflection point: banks are eager to provide a regulated euro stablecoin alternative, but policymakers are weighing how such tools fit into broader monetary and financial stability objectives.
According to Cointelegraph reporting, the consortium has been engaging with crypto exchanges in anticipation of a euro-stablecoin launch, signaling a readiness to build an ecosystem that includes liquidity venues, wallets and custody aligned with European standards. This ecosystem-building effort is paired with MiCA-ready frameworks already shaping custody, identity verification, anti-money-laundering controls and data protection, which are intended to reduce compliance risk while enabling cross-border euro transactions on-chain.
What changes—and what remains uncertain
The most visible change is the accelerated diversification of Qivalis’ member base, bringing more European banks into a shared project that seeks to encode euro-denominated digital money within a carefully regulated perimeter. The heightened country representation suggests that banks across the EU are ready to experiment with on-chain euro rails, potentially unlocking new forms of settlement, cross-border payments and digital asset services for customers who need faster, cheaper and more transparent transactions than traditional correspondent networks offer.
However, the path forward remains cinched with regulatory nuances. Lagarde’s comments frame a cautious stance on the euro-stablecoin thesis as Europe experiments with on-chain money, and MiCA’s ultimate implementation will shape what is permissible, how liquidity is created, and which institutions can participate at scale. The H2 2026 target for launch sets a concrete timeline, but adoption will depend on how quickly member banks can harmonize compliance, risk controls and interoperability with external exchanges and wallets within the EU’s supervisory framework.
For investors and builders, the development signals a persistent appetite among European banks to offer regulated alternatives to dollar-dominated digital assets. The expansion also foreshadows potential competition among regional euro-stablecoin ecosystems, each anchored in national banking standards yet interoperable under EU-wide rules. As the MiCA regime matures and the ECB’s stance evolves, watchers should monitor how liquidity channels develop, how custody and identity standards converge, and whether consumer demand lives up to the regulatory promise of a more stable, transparent euro on the blockchain.
Readers should keep an eye on when Qivalis begins to align more tightly with exchanges and liquidity providers, and how the consortium’s governance evolves as more banks verify and participate in the euro-stablecoin framework. The next steps will reveal whether this is a turning point for euro-denominated digital money or a measured experiment navigating a complex regulatory landscape.
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