European banks choose Fireblocks to launch their euro stablecoin

Banking Europe is accelerating in the stablecoin field. The Qivalis consortium, now presented as a group of 12 major European banks, has chosen Fireblocks to build the infrastructure for a MiCA-compliant euro stablecoin, with a launch targeted for the second half of 2026 under Dutch supervision.

A banking offensive that becomes concrete

The euro stablecoin is no longer just a conference project. With Fireblocks, Qivalis is getting down to business and has a partner responsible for tokenization, treasury management and the asset life cycle. In other words, banks now want a tool ready to work, not just a regulatory promise.

This step matters because the project does not come out of nowhere. From September 2025, several large European banks joined forces to launch a stablecoin issuer in euros, before the arrival of BNP Paribas and then the formalization of Qivalis in Amsterdam. The choice of a supervised structure as an electronic money establishment shows a desire to follow the classic rails of finance.

Banks no longer want to watch the market from the dock. They themselves want to offer a stablecoin backed by the euro, usable for issuance, custody, payments and certain settlement flows. The project is primarily aimed at institutional uses, where speed, traceability and permanent availability really count.

Behind the stablecoin, a monetary battle

This project responds to an imbalance that has become all too visible. The global stablecoin market now exceeds $320 billion, and the gravity of the sector remains largely on the side of the greenback. Tether alone dominates a large part of the market, while euro versions still remain tiny.

This is precisely what Paris is aiming for. On April 17, Roland Lescure has called for more euro-pegged stablecoins to reduce European dependence on US-dominated infrastructure. His message was not decorative. He explicitly supported the idea that a digital euro asset could become a tool for sovereignty in payments.

The interesting point is that this vision is not directly opposed to the digital euro. Denis Beau, at the Banque de France, on the contrary defends a broader stacking: central bank money, tokenized deposits and stablecoins in euros issued by European players. Clearly, Europe is looking less for “its crypto” than for a digital monetary architecture that it can still govern.

MiCA reassures, but does not close the debate

The MiCA framework gives the project a serious basis. Qivalis aims for authorization under the control of the Dutch central bank, and Fireblocks highlights integrated compliance building blocks, such as KYC, AML, sanctions screening and stricter governance mechanisms. For systemic banks, this is not a detail. This is the entry requirement.

But MiCA doesn't solve everything. Denis Beau himself believes that the text only partially covers the risks linked to the rise of stablecoins issued by non-European players. He is therefore pushing for a tightening of the framework, in particular in order to limit the use of stablecoins not denominated in euros in everyday payments and to reduce regulatory blind spots.

The BIS is equally cautious. Pablo Hernández de Cos recalled on April 20 that runs on stablecoins could cause market tensions, and he added that some large issuers sometimes look more like investment products than money. This reminder comes at the very moment when Europe wants to show that a banking stablecoin can offer a more predictable profile.