European Banks Scale Euro Stablecoin Initiative to 37 Members, Advancing Unified Payment Infrastructure

A European banking consortium developing a euro-pegged stablecoin has expanded to 37 financial institutions following the addition of 25 new members, including ABN Amro and Banco Sabadell, as traditional lenders accelerate efforts to build regulated blockchain-based payment infrastructure within the eurozone.

The initiative is being coordinated through Qivalis, an Amsterdam-based entity established last year to oversee the development of the proposed euro-denominated digital currency. The consortium now includes major financial institutions such as ING, BNP Paribas, and BBVA, spanning 15 countries across Europe, reflecting a broad institutional alignment around sovereign currency digitization.

The expansion comes amid a broader strategic context in which European banks are increasingly seeking to assert greater control over digital payment infrastructure, while also positioning themselves for a potential shift toward tokenized financial markets. According to the consortium, the project is intended not only to support future blockchain-based settlement systems but also to strengthen Europe’s competitive position in global digital payments, where U.S. dollar–linked stablecoins currently dominate activity.

Jan-Oliver Sell, CEO of Qivalis, said the initiative reflects a view that on-chain financial infrastructure should be built around the euro and governed by European regulatory standards, emphasizing institutional control over emerging digital monetary systems.

The newly added members include Dutch lenders ABN Amro and Rabobank, Spanish banks Sabadell and Bankinter, Ireland’s Bank of Ireland, Sweden’s Handelsbanken, and Finland’s Nordea, among others. Reports had previously indicated that several of these institutions were preparing to join the initiative earlier this year.

The move highlights growing competitive pressure on traditional financial institutions as crypto-native stablecoins continue to scale globally. Dollar-pegged stablecoins issued by Tether and Circle currently dominate the market, with combined circulation exceeding $250 billion, underscoring the structural imbalance in global digital liquidity systems.

Despite this growth, euro-denominated stablecoin adoption remains limited. Société Générale’s SG-FORGE, which is not part of the Qivalis consortium, launched a euro-backed stablecoin in 2023; however, circulation remains relatively small compared to dollar-based alternatives, highlighting the early-stage nature of euro liquidity in tokenized form.

The consortium’s expansion signals a broader institutional response to the increasing tokenization of financial assets, where banks are no longer only exploring blockchain applications but actively building competing monetary infrastructure within regulated frameworks.

While the European Central Bank has expressed caution regarding some aspects of private stablecoin issuance, the growing participation of major commercial banks suggests that development of euro-based digital currency infrastructure is increasingly being driven at the institutional level, alongside—but not always aligned with—central bank policy debate.