According to Reuters, French Finance Minister Roland Lescure emphasized the need for more euro-based stablecoins in Europe and urged EU banks to explore the potential of tokenized deposits. This statement marks a potential shift in the French government's and its central bank's approach to digital payments.
Lescure expressed his support for Qivalis, a consortium of 12 European banks, including BBVA, ING, UniCredit, and BNP Paribas, which plans 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, 'That's what we need, and that's what we want.' He also encouraged banks to further investigate the launch of tokenized deposits. The current low volume of euro-pegged stablecoins compared to those pegged to the US dollar was deemed 'unsatisfactory' by Lescure. In contrast to his predecessor Bruno Le Maire, who had adopted a strict stance against privately issued fiat-pegged cryptocurrencies, Lescure's comments suggest a more open approach. Le Maire had previously stated that such currencies had no place in Europe and posed a threat to national sovereignty.
More recently, the Governor of the Bank of France, Francois Villeroy de Galhau, warned that stablecoins and tokenized private money could lead to the privatization of money and a loss of monetary sovereignty.