According to a recent statement by French Finance Minister Roland Lescure, the European Union needs to see an increase in the number of euro-issued stablecoins, and EU banks should explore the potential of tokenized deposits. This statement, reported by Reuters, suggests a potential shift in the French government's and its central bank's approach to digital currencies. Lescure expressed his support for Qivalis, a consortium of 12 European banks, including prominent institutions such as BBVA, ING, UniCredit, and BNP Paribas, which plans to launch a euro-pegged stablecoin in the latter half of 2026.
The goal of this initiative is to counter the dominance of the US in the digital payments sector. "This is what we need, and this is what we want," Lescure emphasized, also encouraging banks to delve deeper into the launch of tokenized deposits. He noted that the current volume of euro-pegged stablecoins is significantly lower than that of dollar-pegged ones, describing this disparity as "not satisfactory." This stance marks a departure from the strict regulatory approach previously advocated by former Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire, who had expressed concerns about the potential threat posed by privately-issued fiat-pegged cryptocurrencies to the sovereignty of nations.
More recently, the Governor of the Bank of France, Francois Villeroy de Galhau, warned about the potential risks of stablecoins and tokenized private money, framing them as a threat to monetary sovereignty. The recent statement by Lescure signals a potential evolution in the French government's policy towards digital currencies and stablecoins.