French Finance Minister Roland Lescure emphasized the need for more euro-denominated stablecoins and encouraged European banks to explore the potential of tokenized deposits, as reported by Reuters on Friday. This marks a significant shift in stance for the French government and its central bank.
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 move aims to challenge the dominance of the US in the digital payments sector.
"This is what we need, and this is what we want," Lescure stated, also urging banks to further investigate the launch of tokenized deposits. He noted that the current volume of euro-pegged stablecoins is significantly lower than that of dollar-pegged ones, deeming it "unsatisfactory." This stance differs from that of the former Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire, who previously adopted a strict regulatory approach towards privately-issued fiat-pegged cryptocurrencies, viewing them as a threat to national sovereignty.
In 2023, Le Maire was associated with an EU document outlining plans to restrict the widespread use of stablecoins as a substitute for traditional fiat currency. 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.