99% of existing stablecoins are denominated in US dollars.
The project incorporated 25 new financial entities, consolidating a banking network of 15 countries.
The European banking consortium, Qivalis, expanded its base to 37 financial institutions with the aim of advancing the launch of a stablecoin in euros under the MiCA regulatory framework. The announcement was made on May 20, 2026, amid an acceleration of banking initiatives aimed at the issuance of digital money.
The project incorporated 25 new financial entitiesamong them ABN AMRO, ING and Rabobank, consolidating a banking network of 15 countries. The initiative of Qivalis seeks to issue a stablecoin in euros with 1:1 backing in the European currency, designed for use in payments and settlements within cryptocurrency networks.
The movement develops in a global market of stablecoins that exceeds $323 billion in capitalization, with annual transaction volumes exceeding $30 trillion, according to industry estimates. This market maintains extreme concentration: about 99% of stablecoins are denominated in US dollars, while the euro represents only between 0.2% and 0.3% of the global total.
In it European segmentthe stablecoin market is between 680 and 910 million dollars, equivalent to about 650 and 900 million euros. Although it has grown after the implementation of MiCA, It remains a small niche compared to the dominance of the dollar. Within this ecosystem, Circle’s EURC is one of the main assets in circulation, as reported by CriptoNoticias.
S&P Global projections suggest that the European stablecoin market could expand to 1.1 trillion euros in 2030, driven by institutional adoption, asset tokenization and the growing use of programmable payments on cryptocurrency networks.
However, the progress of the project occurs in a context of regulatory and structural debate. The European Central Bank has shown caution regarding the impact of stablecoins on financial stability, while uncertainty persists about the real demand for an alternative in euros compared to the liquidity and depth of the market dominated by stablecoins in dollars.
In parallel, Global competition for digital financial infrastructure continues to intensify. The United States, for its part, is advancing with specific regulations such as the Genius law for stablecoins, while other jurisdictions are consolidating their own regulations for digital assets, generating an environment of regulatory competition between regions.
In this scenario, the expansion of Qivalis reflects a coordinated attempt by the European banking system to reinforce the role of the euro in the digital economy. The outcome will depend on whether this infrastructure gains traction outside the institutional sphere, in a market where liquidity, adoption and network effects remain concentrated in dollar-denominated assets within the global cryptocurrency ecosystem.