BBVA Joins Banking Consortium to Issue European Stablecoin
BBVA has joined a consortium of eleven major European financial institutions that have formed a joint venture, Qivalis, to launch a euro-pegged stablecoin. The aim is to enable faster and cheaper payments, as well as the settlement of digital assets within a regulated environment backed by all the safeguards that a European bank can offer. The commercial launch is slated for the second half of 2026, once the technical and regulatory developments have been completed.
Qivalis is a joint venture promoted by the European banking industry to create a shared euro-pegged stablecoin that enables secure, simultaneous exchange between digital assets and faster, more efficient euro payments between banks. In addition to BBVA, the consortium includes Banca Sella, BNP Paribas, CaixaBank, Danske Bank, DekaBank, DZ BANK, ING, KBC, Raiffeisen Bank International, SEB and UniCredit.
The consortium has set up this joint venture headquartered in Amsterdam, operating under the solvency, governance and customer protection standards established by the European crypto-assets regulatory framework (MiCA). The new company is currently awaiting authorization as an electronic money institution from the Dutch central bank.
Its main objective is to issue a shared stable cryptocurrency that will allow European banks to offer their clients new payment solutions and settlement of tokenized financial assets using blockchain technology. For example, a self-employed professional could pay suppliers located in other countries, or working with other banks, more quickly and at lower cost, using a euro-linked solution directly integrated into their bank.
“Collaboration between banks is key to create common standards that support the evolution of the future banking model and deliver financial innovation to our clients in a consistent and practical way. In this regard, BBVA brings to Qivalis extensive experience amassed over years of exploring and developing use cases linked to digital assets,” said Alicia Pertusa, Head of Partnerships & Innovation at BBVA CIB.
Jan-Oliver Sell, CEO of Qivalis: “Having BBVA join the banking consortium marks an important step forward. With their addition, our network now brings together twelve European banks committed to building a secure, MiCAR‑compliant euro stablecoin framework. This growing alignment strengthens our ability to deliver a resilient institutional-grade on-chain infrastructure for businesses and consumers across Europe and the world.”
Joining Qivalis marks yet another milestone in BBVA’s long track record of exploring digital assets as a key component in developing innovative, secure, and regulated financial infrastructure for retail and corporate clients alike. Recent initiatives include BBVA’s collaboration with SWIFT to develop a blockchain platform to serve as a shared digital registry for banks worldwide, as well as its involvement in Agorá, a project headed up by the Bank for International Settlements to optimize wholesale cross-border payments using this technology.