Banks Bet Big on Euro Stablecoin by 2026 – Uncanny Plan Unfolds

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Nine European lenders unite for a euro stablecoin

In the smoky salons of European finance, where the ink never dries and the coffee grows cold, Unicredit, ING and seven other venerable banks huddle like conspirators around a stubborn ledger, plotting a euro stablecoin with the solemnity of a church sermon and the swagger of a market day. The target? A launch in the second half of 2026, as if time itself could be minted. Bloomberg was the first to bell this tale, on a Thursday that smelled of fresh audits and fresh ambition. 😏

The chorus of nine lenders-Unicredit, ING, Dekabank, Banca Sella, KBC Group, Danske Bank, SEB, Caixabank and Raiffeisen Bank International-has formed a consortium to shepherd the scheme. A Netherlands-based company will serve as the windlass and juggle the ropes, according to a Dekabank statement relayed to Bloomberg’s Stephan Kahl, who twirls the news like a baton in a march past. 🎺

Their proclamation declares a simple aim: offer a European alternative and bolster “strategic autonomy in payments.” They promise openness to other banks joining the fold, as if the door to the guild stands wide and welcoming, though the hinges squeak with the weight of compliance scrolls.

The spectacle lands amid the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets rulebook taking effect, nudging banks to define where their digital assets fit in the grand tapestry. Banco Santander has weighed moves, while a venture backed by Deutsche Bank’s DWS already brewed a euro stablecoin this summer, like a sibling rivalry of invoices and interest rates.

Kahl’s notes tell of stablecoins-digital tokens designed to cling to fiat like a stubborn burr on a winter coat-that have become catnip for banks across Europe and the United States, eager to speed settlements and pretend they are modern wizards of finance rather than clerks of ledgers. 🪙🐱‍💻

If the stars align with the calendar, a euro stablecoin from nine household-name banks would test whether incumbents can win on regulatory clarity, distribution and trust. The open questions, alas, are many: governance, custody, and how this coin would talk to banks and merchants without tripping the long, relentless wires of compliance. 🤔

The latest tremor from the banking chorus follows remarks by ECB Executive Board member Piero Cipollone, who disclosed at a Bloomberg conference that a digital euro is likely to take the stage by 2029. Europe is, it seems, gathering its own digital dervish, spinning toward a CBDC that might outshine the old paper in the lamp-light of a modern metropolis. 💼✨

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2025-09-25 19:18