French Finance Minister Roland Lescure emphasized the need for more euro-denominated stablecoins in the European Union, encouraging banks to explore tokenized deposits, as reported by Reuters. This marks a potential shift in the French government's and its central bank's approach to digital currencies. Lescure expressed support for Qivalis, a consortium of 12 European banks planning to launch a euro-pegged stablecoin in the second half of 2026, aiming to counter US dominance in digital payments. He stated, 'That's what we need, that's what we want,' and encouraged banks to further explore tokenized deposits.
Lescure also noted that the current volume of euro-pegged stablecoins is 'not satisfactory' compared to dollar-pegged ones. This stance differs from the previous strict regulatory approach led by former Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire, who opposed privately-issued fiat-pegged cryptocurrencies.
Recently, Bank of France Governor Francois Villeroy de Galhau warned that stablecoins could pose a threat to monetary sovereignty, emphasizing the need for caution in their adoption.