Spanish bank Sabadell is the latest to join a consortium of European banks seeking to launch a euro-pegged stablecoin to make transactions more efficient and increase the dominance of Europe’s digital assets market.
Sabadell Joins European Banking ConsortiumSabadell’s CEO, César González-Bueno, said in a press conference that the Qivalis initiative “is primarily designed to make transactions more efficient and secure,” adding, “It is a European project that we believe makes sense, and we will indeed be part of it.
Notably, the project comprises a dozen European institutions, including ING, UniCredit, KBC, Danske Bank, and BNP Paribas. Last month, Spain’s BBVA, the country’s second-largest bank and one of the largest financial institutions globally, announced it had also joined the banking consortium.
Reuters noted that the growth of the digital assets industry has prompted traditional institutions to find uses for blockchain technology within their businesses. Therefore, more financial institutions are also considering joining the Qivalis project.
A spokesperson for Spain’s fifth-biggest lender by market value, Bankinter, said on Tuesday it was in talks with the consortium and would update in early summer. In addition, non-listed Spanish entities, including Abanca, Kutxabank, and Cecabank, are reportedly considering joining Qivalis, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.
Europe’s Push For Stablecoin DominanceThe European bank consortium’s initiative comes as local authorities and industry advocates also push to grow the bloc’s stablecoin market to weaken US dominance over its payment systems.
For context, euro-pegged stablecoins account for less than 1% of global stablecoin volume, which is significantly lower than the level that would be expected based on the euro’s broader influence in global markets.
The group noted that skepticism prevails among European policymakers regarding the trajectory of euro electronic money tokens (EMTs) and that it has placed Europe on the “downward-sloping part of the regulatory Laffer curve.”
To address this, the organization suggested multiple reforms to MiCA to improve the regulated European stablecoin market and maximize its positive impact on the bloc’s industry, citizens, and businesses.
