Key points
Nine banks from eight countries formed a Dutch company to issue a euro-pegged stablecoin, fully backed by reserves and MiCA-compliant.
Launch targeted for H2 2026; use cases include instant, low-cost cross-border payments and on-chain settlement.
The group says the project supports European payment sovereignty while welcoming additional member banks.
A coalition of nine European banks, ING (Netherlands), UniCredit (Italy), CaixaBank (Spain), Danske Bank (Denmark), Banca Sella (Italy), KBC (Belgium), DekaBank (Germany), SEB (Sweden), and Raiffeisen Bank International (Austria), has created a new Amsterdam-based company to issue a euro-denominated stablecoin under the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regime.
The token is slated for the second half of 2026 and will be pegged 1:1 to the euro with full reserve backing under an e-money license supervised by the Dutch central bank.
The banks pitch the coin as a 24/7, low-cost rail for cross-border payments and settlement, with programmable features that can automate treasury flows, supply-chain milestones, and asset-market operations.
Beyond retail P2P, the token is intended as plumbing for tokenized securities and crypto trading, giving institutions a European-issued settlement asset on public or permissioned chains.
The move follows months of reporting that ING and partners were exploring a MiCA-aligned consortium. Today’s reveal puts a timeline and roster behind those plans, with the consortium open to additional banks and a management appointment expected after regulatory steps.
How it fits with other European projects
This private initiative is separate from the ECB’s Digital Euro, a proposed central bank digital currency (CBDC). The ECB says any issuance decision awaits EU legislation, with officials floating 2029 as a possible go-live if laws are finalized and implementation proceeds.
The CBDC would function as a public money wallet, while the bank stablecoin would be private money under e-money rules.
It also differs from Wero, the European Payments Initiative wallet that runs on SEPA Instant account-to-account rails (no blockchain). Wero launched P2P in 2024 and is adding e-commerce in 2025, with point-of-sale and other features on its roadmap. The bank stablecoin would target on-chain use cases that Wero does not cover.
Competitive landscape
European banks are not first to a MiCA-compliant euro token. SG-FORGE launched EUR CoinVertible (EURCV) earlier, and Banking Circle introduced EURI, a bank-backed MiCA e-money token, although adoption has been modest compared with dollar stablecoins. The new consortium aims to change that by pooling distribution and integration across multiple major banks.
Disclaimer
This article is provided for information only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
