French Finance Minister Roland Lescure has emphasized the need for more stablecoins pegged to the euro, urging European banks to explore tokenized deposits, as reported by Reuters. This statement marks a significant 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 plan to launch a euro-pegged stablecoin in the second half of 2026. The goal is to counter the dominance of the US in the digital payments sector.
Lescure stated, "This is what we need, and this is what we want. I also strongly encourage banks to further explore the launch of tokenized deposits." He noted that the current volume of euro-pegged stablecoins is unsatisfactory compared to those pegged to the US dollar. This stance differs from that of the former Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire, who previously adopted a strict regulatory approach against privately issued fiat-pegged cryptocurrencies, viewing them as a threat to national sovereignty.
More recently, the Governor of the Bank of France, Francois Villeroy de Galhau, warned against the potential risks of stablecoins and tokenized private money, citing the loss of monetary sovereignty as a primary concern.