According to recent reports, French Finance Minister Roland Lescure emphasized the need for a greater number of euro-pegged stablecoins in Europe, and encouraged banks across the EU to explore the potential of tokenized deposits. This statement marks a significant shift in the government'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 of this initiative is to challenge the dominance of the US in the digital payments sector. Lescure stated, "This is what we need, and this is what we want. I strongly encourage banks to further explore the launch of tokenized deposits." He also noted that the current volume of euro-pegged stablecoins is relatively low compared to those pegged to the US dollar, describing this situation as "not satisfactory." This stance differs from that of former Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire, who previously advocated for strict regulations against privately-issued fiat-pegged cryptocurrencies, citing concerns about national sovereignty.
More recently, the Governor of the Bank of France, Francois Villeroy de Galhau, warned about the potential risks of stablecoins and tokenized private money, emphasizing the threat to monetary sovereignty.