Nine Banks Launch Euro Stablecoin: Will It Save Europe or Just Another Bubble? 💸

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Finance

What to know:

  • The MiCA-regulated stablecoin is expected to be first issued in the second half of 2026. 🗓️
  • The stablecoin consortium has formed a new company in the Netherlands, aiming to be licensed and supervised by the Dutch Central Bank as an e-money institution. 🇳🇱
  • CoinDesk previously reported that Dutch bank ING was working on a stablecoin project with some other financial institutions. 🧠

Nine major european banks have joined forces to launch a euro-denominated stablecoin regulated under the trading block’s Markets in Crypto Assets regime (MiCA). 🌍

The banking giants involved are: ING, Banca Sella, KBC, Danske Bank, DekaBank, UniCredit, SEB, CaixaBank and Raiffeisen Bank International. 🏦

Earlier this year, CoinDesk reported that Dutch bank ING was working on a stablecoin project with some other financial institutions. 📰

The nine bank-backed digital payment instrument, leveraging blockchain technology, aims to become a trusted European payment standard in the digital ecosystem, according to a press release on Thursday. 📣

The initiative will provide a real European alternative to the US-dominated stablecoin market, contributing to Europe’s strategic autonomy in payments, the banks said. 🇪🇺

The stablecoin will provide near-instant, low-cost transactions and enable 24/7 access to efficient cross-border payments, programmable payments, and improvements in supply chain management and digital asset settlements, the banks said in a joint statement. 🚀

The MiCA-regulated stablecoin is expected to be first issued in the second half of 2026. 🕰️

The stablecoin consortium, with the aforementioned banks as founding members, has formed a new company in the Netherlands, aiming to be licensed and supervised by the Dutch Central Bank as an e-money institution. The consortium is open to additional banks joining. A CEO is expected to be appointed in the near future, subject to regulatory approval. 🧑‍💼

Individual banks will be able to provide value added services, such as a stablecoin wallet and custody. 📦

“Digital payments are key for new euro-denominated payments and financial market infrastructure. They offer significant efficiency and transparency, thanks to blockchain technology’s programmability features and 24/7 instant cross-currency settlement. We believe this development requires an industry-wide approach, and it’s imperative that banks adopt the same standards,” said Floris Lugt, digital assets lead at ING and joint public representative of the initiative. 🧠

Earlier this week, French bank SocGen’s Forge subsidiary, which was the first big bank to launch a euro stablecoin under MiCA, announced that its USD-denominated stablecoin USDCV had chosen Bullish Europe as the first venue to list the token. 📈

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2025-09-25 10:26