BBVA has joined a consortium of eleven major European banks known as Qivalis to launch a euro-pegged stablecoin. The move aims to enable faster and cheaper payments and to settle digital assets within a regulated environment backed by robust safeguards. The commercial launch is expected in the second half of 2026 after technical and regulatory developments are completed.
Qivalis is a joint venture promoted by the European banking industry to create a shared euro-stablecoin that enables secure, simultaneous exchange between digital assets and faster euro payments between banks. The consortium includes Banca Sella, BNP Paribas, CaixaBank, Danske Bank, DekaBank, DZ BANK, ING, KBC, Raiffeisen Bank International, SEB and UniCredit, with the venture headquartered in Amsterdam. It operates under MiCA standards and is awaiting authorization as an electronic money institution from the Dutch central bank.
Its stated objective is to issue a stable cryptocurrency that will help European banks offer new payment solutions and settle tokenized assets on a blockchain. For example, a self-employed professional could pay suppliers across borders more quickly and at lower cost using a euro-linked solution integrated into their bank. Alicia Pertusa, BBVA’s Head of Partnerships & Innovation at BBVA CIB, highlighted BBVA’s asset experience helping advance Qivalis. Jan-Oliver Sell, CEO of Qivalis, described BBVA’s addition as an important step that expands the network to twelve European banks and reinforces a MiCAR-compliant euro stablecoin framework.
Joining Qivalis marks another milestone in BBVA’s exploration of digital assets as part of a broader effort to build regulated, institutional-grade on-chain infrastructure. BBVA has previously collaborated with SWIFT on a blockchain platform for a shared digital registry for banks, and it participates in Agorá, a BIS-led project to optimize wholesale cross-border payments using this technology.
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