Europe’s 37-Bank Consortium Moves Closer to Stablecoin Launch
Qivalis, an Amsterdam-based banking consortium established in 2025, expanded to 37 financial institutions in May 2026 after welcoming 25 additional members.
Participants include BNP Paribas, ING, UniCredit, BBVA, DZ BANK, ABN AMRO and Rabobank, representing institutions across 15 European countries.
According to Qivalis’ official announcement, the consortium received authorization from De Nederlandsche Bank as an Electronic Money Institution on October 14.
The approval allows Qivalis to issue euro-denominated electronic money tokens under MiCA, subject to remaining requirements, including publication of its white paper.
The initiative follows other European experiments with tokenized money, including Société Générale–FORGE’s euro stablecoin on the $XRP Ledger.
However, Qivalis has not confirmed that its own stablecoin will operate on XRPL, and its commercial launch remains pending.
Ripple Custody Gains Ground Among European Banks
Ripple’s European banking presence has expanded through direct relationships with institutions developing cryptocurrency custody and tokenization services.
Germany’s DZ BANK uses Ripple Custody infrastructure for digital securities, while Spain’s BBVA has adopted the technology to support cryptocurrency custody.
These relationships reflect a broader shift toward institutional blockchain infrastructure, as banks increasingly explore digital asset settlement alongside existing payment networks.
Ripple has also pursued European regulatory authorization, including MiCA licensing progress in Luxembourg to support its cross-border payment services.
Outside Europe, its institutional custody expansion continued when BNY added $XRP custody alongside $RLUSD support in October.
Together, these developments demonstrate growing demand for regulated custody technology as financial institutions experiment with blockchain-based assets.
Still, custody adoption is different from using $XRP for payment settlement, and banks can deploy Ripple’s infrastructure without purchasing the token.
Could Europe’s Stablecoin Growth Benefit $XRP?
The increasing involvement of European banks in stablecoins could create opportunities for Ripple’s payments, custody and tokenization businesses.
Regulated stablecoins may help financial institutions move funds across blockchain networks while meeting compliance requirements under MiCA.
Ripple has already expanded its institutional stablecoin capabilities through $RLUSD banking integrations, combining automated issuance and redemption with traditional banking services.
However, neither growing $RLUSD adoption nor the Qivalis consortium’s expansion guarantees additional $XRP buying.
Financial institutions can use stablecoins and custody services without holding $XRP as a reserve asset or using it for transaction settlement.
This distinction also applies to institutional $XRP demand, where access to custody infrastructure does not necessarily translate into new purchases.