French Finance Minister Roland Lescure emphasized the need for more euro-based stablecoins in Europe, urging banks across EU countries to explore the potential of tokenized deposits, as reported by Reuters. This statement suggests a shift in the French government's and its central bank's stance on the matter.
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 digital payments.
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 unsatisfactory compared to those pegged to the US dollar.
This stance marks a departure from the previous strict regulatory approach led by former Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire, who had expressed concerns about the impact of privately issued fiat-pegged cryptocurrencies on European sovereignty. More recently, Bank of France Governor Francois Villeroy de Galhau warned about the potential risks of stablecoins and tokenized private money, citing the threat of privatization of money and loss of monetary sovereignty.