12 European Banks Are Building a MiCA-Compliant Euro Stablecoin Launching in the Second Half of 2026

A consortium of 12 major European banks called Qivalis is in advanced talks with exchanges and liquidity providers to launch a euro-pegged stablecoin in the second half of 2026.

Who’s In

The group started with nine founding members when it was established in September 2025: ING, UniCredit, CaixaBank, Danske Bank, Raiffeisen Bank International, KBC, SEB, DekaBank, and Banca Sella. Three more have joined since. BBVA came in during February 2026. BNP Paribas and DZ BANK followed.

That roster matters. These aren’t crypto-native companies figuring out stablecoins. These are some of the largest retail and corporate banking institutions in Europe, collectively serving tens of millions of customers across the continent. When ING and BNP Paribas are in the same consortium building a stablecoin, the conversation about European digital currency shifts from theoretical to operational.

How It’s Structured

The token will be backed 1:1 by reserves. At least 40% held in bank deposits, the remainder in high-quality short-term eurozone government bonds. Redemptions are designed to settle within 24 hours, meaning holders can convert back to euros quickly without the friction that has historically made institutional stablecoin adoption difficult.

Qivalis has set up an entity in the Netherlands and is seeking authorization from the Dutch Central Bank as an electronic money institution under MiCA. That regulatory path is deliberate. MiCA compliance is the table stake for any stablecoin that wants to operate at scale across EU member states without running into the fragmented national licensing requirements that have slowed prior attempts.

The distribution strategy is dual-channel. Listings on regulated crypto exchanges for 24/7 trading and secondary market liquidity. Direct distribution through the participating banks to their corporate and retail clients. Spanish exchange Bit2Me has already held discussions with at least one member bank, suggesting the exchange partnership conversations are progressing beyond exploratory stages.

What It’s Actually For

The project isn’t primarily targeting retail crypto traders. The stated use cases are institutional and corporate: real-time B2B cross-border payments, global trade settlement, digital asset transactions. That focus makes sense given who’s building it. Banks with large corporate client bases are not building infrastructure for retail speculation. They’re building it because their clients need faster, cheaper, compliant rails for moving euros across borders.

Cross-border B2B payments in euros currently run through correspondent banking infrastructure that is slow, expensive, and opaque. A 1:1 euro-backed stablecoin that settles 24 hours a day on blockchain rails and is fully MiCA-compliant solves a real problem for corporate treasurers who don’t particularly care about crypto but very much care about payment efficiency.

The Bigger Picture

The US dollar accounts for the vast majority of global stablecoin supply. USDT and USDC together represent well over $200 billion in circulation, almost entirely denominated in dollars. Euro-denominated stablecoins have existed in small form but haven’t achieved meaningful scale.

Qivalis is the most serious attempt yet to change that. Twelve major European banks, MiCA authorization in process, exchange partnerships in negotiation, and a launch timeline of H2 2026. If it gets to market with genuine liquidity and regulatory clearance, it becomes the default compliant euro stablecoin for institutional use across the EU by simple virtue of being the only one with that combination of backing, compliance, and distribution reach.

That’s a significant position to hold. Whether they can execute on it is a different question.

The post 12 European Banks Are Building a MiCA-Compliant Euro Stablecoin Launching in the Second Half of 2026 appeared first on ETHNews.