MADRID, May 5 (Reuters) – Sabadell will join a group of European banks that have formed a company to launch a euro-pegged stablecoin in the second half of 2026, the Spanish bank’s CEO Cesar Gonzalez-Bueno said on Tuesday.
The Qivalis consortium is seen as a move to help counter U.S. dominance in digital payments.
“It is primarily designed to make transactions more efficient and secure (….) It is a European project that we believe makes sense, and we will indeed be part of it,” Gonzalez-Bueno, the outgoing CEO of Spain’s fourth-largest bank, told a press conference.
The alliance already comprises a dozen institutions, such as ING, UniCredit and BNP, Caixabank and BBVA
A spokesperson for Bankinter, Spain’s fifth-biggest lender by market value, said on Tuesday it was in talks with the Qivalis consortium and would provide an update in early summer.
Stablecoins – a type of cryptocurrency designed to maintain a constant value and backed by traditional currencies – have grown sharply in recent years.
Sources familiar with the matter told Reuters that non-listed Spanish entities such as Abanca, Kutxabank and Cecabank were also considering joining Qivalis, confirming an earlier report on Tuesday from Spanish newspaper Expansion.
The news was first reported by media outlet Blockstories.
Banks are grappling with the fast-growing stablecoin industry and the wider growth of cryptocurrencies, which are seen by some as providing direct competition.
That growth has put traditional lenders under pressure to find uses for blockchain technology within their own businesses.
(Reporting by Jesús Aguado; Editing by Mark Potter)
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