Qivalis Secures Dutch Approval for Euro Stablecoin

Qivalis, a European banking-backed stablecoin initiative, has received authorisation as an Electronic Money Institution (EMI) from the Dutch central bank, clearing a major regulatory hurdle for its planned euro-denominated stablecoin.

The Amsterdam-based company announced on October 14 that De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) had granted the authorisation, making Qivalis eligible to issue euro-denominated electronic money tokens (EMTs). The company remains subject to ongoing DNB supervision.

The approval brings the project closer to launch, but the token is not yet available. Qivalis said issuance will remain subject to the applicable requirements under the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) and publication of its white paper. The company plans to begin issuing the token in the coming months.

37 European Banks Back the Initiative

Qivalis is backed by 37 financial institutions across 15 European countries. The consortium expanded significantly in May, when 25 additional banks joined the initiative, adding institutions including ABN AMRO, Rabobank, Nordea and Swedbank.

The project aims to develop a regulated euro stablecoin for digital payments and onchain settlement, providing financial institutions with a euro-denominated asset that can be used within blockchain-based financial infrastructure.

Unlock Blockchain previously reported on the consortium’s expansion in European Banks Scale Euro Stablecoin Initiative to 37 Members, covering the participating institutions and the project’s planned role in digital payments.

Unlike a conventional bank deposit, a stablecoin is a digital token designed to maintain a stable value against a reference asset, in this case the euro. Under MiCA, an EMT is linked to a single official currency and must be issued by an authorised credit institution or electronic money institution.

Distribution Will Target Banks and Financial Infrastructure

Qivalis plans to distribute its token through a business-to-business-to-consumer (B2B2X) model. Eligible counterparties will include banks, cryptocurrency exchanges, payment service providers and market infrastructure participants.

The company is developing the token under a full-reserve model and positions it as infrastructure for institutional payments and settlement. Potential applications include transferring liquidity between businesses and settling tokenised assets onchain.

One related initiative is Project Pangea, which brings together Qivalis, South Korean banking and blockchain participants, and Chainlink to explore real-time foreign exchange settlement using regulated euro and Korean won stablecoins. Unlock Blockchain covered the initiative in European and Korean Banking Groups Launch Project Pangea to Explore Real-Time Stablecoin FX Settlement.

These use cases remain dependent on the development and adoption of the underlying infrastructure; the EMI authorisation alone does not establish that such services are already operational.

MiCA Shapes Europe’s Euro Stablecoin Market

Qivalis’ approval comes as European regulators continue to refine the rules governing stablecoin reserves and supervision.

In September, Unlock Blockchain reported on proposals from the European System of Central Banks to revise MiCA’s reserve requirements for stablecoin issuers. The proposals included replacing fixed bank-deposit thresholds with liquidity-based requirements, highlighting the ongoing debate over how to balance redemption capacity and financial stability.

The developments were covered in ECB Seeks Changes to MiCA Stablecoin Reserve Rules.

For Qivalis, the Dutch authorisation establishes an important part of the regulatory foundation for its planned token. The next steps are to meet the remaining MiCA requirements, publish the white paper and proceed towards issuance. The project’s broader objective is to provide European financial institutions with a regulated euro-denominated settlement asset as they expand their use of blockchain-based payments and tokenised financial markets.