UniCredit, ING Among Nine Lenders Developing Euro Stablecoin

Nine European banks have joined forces to develop a euro-based stablecoin, as they seek to establish an alternative in a US dollar-dominated market.

The lenders are , , DekaBank , Banca Sella, , Danske Bank AS, SEB AB, CaixaBank SA and Raiffeisen Bank International AG, according to a statement from DekaBank. The stablecoin is scheduled to be launched in the second half of 2026.

The aim is “to create a European alternative to the stablecoin markets dominated by the US so far, thus contributing to Europe’s strategic autonomy in payments”, the statement said.

The consortium has established a new company in the Netherlands to house the project. The group said in the statement it is open to other banks joining the initiative.

It is the latest sign of how European banks are starting to warm to digital assets, months after the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets regulation took full effect. Banco Santander SA was a push into the space while a company backed by Deutsche Bank’s DWS Group a euro-denominated stablecoin earlier this summer.

Stablecoins — tokens typically designed to maintain a constant value against a currency like the dollar — are of particular interest to banks as alternative payment rails. Tether Holdings SA, the biggest issuer, is earning billions of dollars each quarter in yield on the Treasury securities it holds to back its token.