Top EU Banks Launch Qivalis to Build Regulated Euro Stablecoin by H2 2026
Ten major European banks, including ING, UniCredit and BNP Paribas, have formed a consortium called Qivalis to develop a regulated euro-denominated stablecoin. Qivalis will be based in Amsterdam and has applied for an Electronic Money Institution (EMI) licence from De Nederlandsche Bank. Leadership includes Jan-Oliver Sell as head of operations and Howard Davies as board chair. The group plans to hire up to 50 staff over two years and reports having filled about one-third of initial roles. Target launch is the second half of 2026. Qivalis positions the token as a bank-backed, euro stablecoin to enable near-instant, low-cost settlements with early use cases in crypto trading and institutional settlement before broader retail payment adoption. The initiative is framed as a response to global digital payments competition, intended to strengthen euro liquidity, reduce reliance on dollar-pegged stablecoins and improve cross-border and market settlement efficiency in Europe. Key issues to watch: regulatory approval timelines across EU jurisdictions, reserve transparency and audit regimes, exchange and custody listings, and initial liquidity/market-making. Traders should monitor partner bank announcements, EMI approval progress, exchange listings and reserve attestations — events that will materially affect euro-denominated crypto liquidity and institutional flows.
Bullish
A bank-backed regulated euro stablecoin developed by top European banks is likely bullish for the euro-denominated crypto market. In the short term, announcements around regulatory approval, hiring milestones and partnership confirmations will spur speculative interest and create onboarding events that increase euro liquidity on exchanges and OTC desks. Exchange listings and reserve attestations will further catalyze tradable liquidity and reduce spreads for euro pairs. Over the medium to long term, a trusted, regulated euro stablecoin can attract institutional flows previously routed through dollar-pegged tokens, increasing demand for euro-denominated trading and settlement services. Risks that could temper upside include slow or fragmented regulatory approvals across EU jurisdictions, delayed reserve transparency or weak market-making that delays usable liquidity. Overall, the net effect on the euro stablecoin and related euro trading pairs is expected to be positive as adoption and on‑ramps mature.