Qivalis clears Dutch regulator to launch euro stablecoin with 37 banks

Qivalis won authorization from De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) as an electronic money institution, the regulatory stamp required to issue a euro-denominated stablecoin under the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets regulation (MiCA). The actual issuance is expected within the coming months, pending DNB's review of the consortium's white paper. Qivalis is an Amsterdam-based joint venture built by a bloc of European banks.

The group started with 12 founding banks and has swelled to 37 institutions across 15 countries. These aren't dabblers: members have committed capital, legal resources and board-level oversight, with the coin designed for institutional-grade payments, settlement and tokenized assets. According to Jan-Oliver Sell of Qivalis, the plan is a MiCA-compliant, 1:1-backed euro stablecoin meant to serve as a foundational piece of European financial infrastructure.

The market Qivalis is chasing is still tiny but growing fast. Euro-denominated stablecoins climbed from roughly €50 million in market cap at the start of 2024 to €450 million by January 2026, a sliver next to the $300 billion sitting in dollar-denominated stablecoins. Qivalis frames its regulated euro alternative as a way to cut that dependency and scale across Europe and beyond.

Qivalis will handle issuance, minting and redemption, but each member bank decides how to custody and safeguard the asset for clients, whether in-house or through a third party. Ripple Custody, already used by Qivalis members DZ BANK and BBVA, brings an API-first architecture that plugs into core banking and back-office systems, plus policy-as-code governance tools for access controls, approvals and jurisdictional compliance.