Amsterdam-based banking consortium Qivalis added 25 banks from 15 countries on Wednesday, expanding its membership to 37 institutions, according to Cointelegraph. The bank-led network is building a regulated euro stablecoin to challenge dollar-backed tokens that command nearly 98% of the market.
New Members: Major European Banks Join
The fresh intake includes ABN AMRO, Rabobank, Nordea and Intesa Sanpaolo. The consortium said in a statement it aims to go live in the second half of 2026. European lenders are pushing to offer a regulated counterpart to dollar stablecoins.
Howard Davies, chairman of Qivalis' supervisory board, said: "We are not merely building payment rails; we are ensuring that European principles around data protection, financial stability and regulatory rigour are embedded into the next generation of digital money."
Spain Leads Expansion with Five Banks
Spain contributed the largest single share — five lenders: ABANCA, Banco Sabadell, Bankinter, Cecabank and Kutxabank. This mirrors the country's early traction in euro-denominated tokens, with Brighty data showing Spain among top retail markets for Circle's EURC. Italy added two banks, while France, Sweden, Greece, the Netherlands, Finland and Ireland each added two more, extending the consortium's footprint across northern and southern Europe.
Qivalis aims to launch a single, regulated euro stablecoin under the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework.
ECB Resistance Doesn't Stop Bank Build
The expansion comes amid fresh debate over private stablecoins' role for the euro. ECB President Christine Lagarde said in early May that stablecoins are not an efficient way to strengthen the euro's international role. But bank-led projects keep building. Qivalis has been in talks with crypto exchanges ahead of rollout, and in March tapped Fireblocks for tokenization, wallet infrastructure, custody and compliance tooling.
Qivalis CEO Jan Sell said: "The euro is Europe's currency, and on-chain financial infrastructure should carry it — built by European institutions and governed by European rules."
The consortium was first formed in December 2025 by ING, UniCredit and BNP Paribas, starting the electronic money institution licensing process with the Dutch central bank. BBVA signed on in February, shelving its own stablecoin plans. By March, the alliance had locked in distribution partnerships including discussions with Spanish exchange Bit2Me.