European banks back Amsterdam-based Euro stablecoin project Qivalis 

• Qivalis has secured support from 37 European banks, including BNP Paribas, ING and UniCredit, for its Euro-pegged stablecoin project.
• The Euro-pegged project is expected to counter the growing dominance of US Dollar stablecoins in the crypto market.
• Qivalis stablecoin will not compete with payments in the European region but will focus on cross-border transfers and atomic settlements.

Qivalis, an Amsterdam-based financial company, has gained the support of 37 European banks to launch a Euro-pegged stablecoin in the second half of 2026. The project seeks to challenge the dominance of US Dollar (USD) stablecoins, including Tether's USDT and Circle's USDC.

European lenders back Qivalis stablecoin initiative

Key lenders in the European region, including BNP Paribas, ING and UniCredit, have pledged their support for a stablecoin project planned by Qivalis. Traditional banks are increasingly exploring stablecoins to speed up transactions, cut costs, improve interbank settlements and manage payments and collateral.

Qivalis is eyeing mass support for the Euro-backed stablecoin at a time when European financial institutions are concerned about the dominance of US Dollar-pegged coins, which account for the lion's share of the sector's approximately $320 billion market value.

European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde weighed in on the matter earlier this month, saying that the use of US Dollar-denominated stablecoins poses "a legitimate concern that risks entrenching dollar," according to a Financial Times report.

Jan-Oliver Sell, CEO of Qivalis, believes that the European region's sovereignty is critical to prompting people to rethink stablecoin use and seek alternatives to the US Dollar. Although several Euro-denominated stablecoins already exist, they lag significantly behind major stablecoins such as USDT and USDC. Circle's EURC token has the highest market capitalization at $443 million, according to CoinGecko.

Sell is working on expanding the support base for the new project, targeting non-European banks operating in countries with notable remittance flows from Europe, the Financial Times reported.

The CEO clarified that the Qivalis stablecoin project is not "competing with payments in Europe because payments in Europe work," but seeks to enhance activities such as cross-border payments and atomic or instant settlements.

Qivalis has filed with the De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB), the Dutch central bank, for a license and will go live immediately after approval, hopefully in the second half of this year.