A consortium of twelve major European banks is mounting the most coordinated challenge yet to dollar-dominated stablecoins, with plans to launch a MiCAR-compliant euro-denominated token backed by some of the bloc's largest lenders, and tapping on Fireblocks as its core infrastructure partner .
The group — spanning Banca Sella, BBVA, BNP Paribas, CaixaBank, Danske Bank, DekaBank, DZ BANK, ING, KBC, Raiffeisen Bank International, SEB, and UniCredit — is seeking authorization from the Dutch Central Bank through Amsterdam-based Qivalis, which is pursuing Electronic Money Institution status. Target launch is the second half of 2026.
The initiative addresses a striking imbalance in the $305 billion stablecoin market: euro-pegged assets represent just $650 million, or roughly 0.2%, of total supply. The consortium argues institutional payment flows have lacked a regulated, euro-denominated alternative — a gap it intends to close with full MiCAR compliance and a governance model anchored by systemically important banks.
Fireblocks will provide the tokenization engine and treasury management infrastructure, including its ERC-20F standard built for permissioned access, compliance controls, and audit-ready reporting, according to an announcement on Tuesday. AML/KYC, sanctions screening, and fraud monitoring are integrated directly into transaction workflows — designed to meet regulatory requirements without sacrificing operational speed.
Michael Shaulov, CEO of Fireblocks, said the consortium demonstrates how major financial institutions can deploy production-ready infrastructure for compliant euro-backed stablecoins at institutional scale. Jan Sell, CEO of Qivalis, said the platform gives member banks the tools to offer clients a credible European alternative for digital settlement.
Transaction volumes in the sector reached $11 trillion in Q4 2025 alone, bringing full-year 2025 totals to $33 trillion — a 75% year-over-year increase. Member banks will be able to offer custody, wallet services, and payment orchestration to their own clients, integrating 24/7 cross-border settlement into corporate banking, trade finance, and securities services.
