According to Reuters, French Finance Minister Roland Lescure stated on Friday that Europe requires more stablecoins pegged to the euro, and EU banks should investigate tokenized deposits. This declaration may signify a shift in the stance of the French government and its central bank. 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 to counter US dominance in digital payments. "This is what we need, and this is what we want," Lescure stated.
"I also strongly encourage banks to further explore the launch of tokenized deposits." He deemed the relatively low volume of euro-pegged stablecoins compared to dollar-pegged ones as "unsatisfactory." The former Finance Minister, Bruno Le Maire, had previously adopted a strict regulatory stance against privately issued fiat-pegged cryptocurrencies, viewing them as a threat to national sovereignty. In 2023, Le Maire was linked to an EU document outlining the European Commission's plan to restrict the widespread use of stablecoins as a replacement for fiat currency. Recently, Bank of France Governor Francois Villeroy de Galhau warned that stablecoins and tokenized private money could accelerate the threat of privatization of money and loss of monetary sovereignty during a live confrontation with Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong.