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- French banking giant ODDO BHF has launched a Euro-backed stablecoin (EUROD) on Polygon and listed it on Madrid-based exchange Bit2Me.
- EUROD is reportedly designed for institutions and individuals seeking faster settlement and reliable payments.
175-year-old French banking giant ODDO BHF has announced that its first Euro-backed stablecoin (EUROD) has officially been launched on Polygon. Notably, Polygon has also launched the Rio Upgrade to bring near-instant finality and 5,000 transactions per second to on-chain payments, as detailed in our recent publication.
More About the EUROD Launch
According to the official release, the initiative to launch this project was motivated by the decision to have an asset that provides security and stability that can only be guaranteed by trusted financial institutions. The bank has clarified that the stablecoin has been designed to comply with the MiCA regulation.
Managed by ODDO BHF Asset Management, EUROD benefits from the expertise of a world leader in asset management. This ensures rigorous collateral management, thus reinforcing the security and liquidity of each EUROD issued.
According to the information available on the official website, EUROD was specifically designed for companies and individuals seeking transparent, secure, and instant payment. Additionally, it ensures that users gain immediate access to euro liquidity while ODDO BHF Asset Management ensures rigorous collateral management.
In all, EUROD is reported to have three key advantages, and they are 24/7 transferability for operational agility across trading and treasury, Euro rails on-chain for faster settlement and transparency, and institutional governance with robust risk, compliance, and reporting standards.
The asset is listed on a European-based crypto exchange platform, Bit2Me. It is reported to be fully supported by Flowdesk for liquidity, and Fireblocks for technical solutions.
EUROD’s dramatic entry into the market follows the growing talks around the European Union’s long-planned Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), which would not be launched until mid-2029. According to a report, a member of the European Parliament (MEP) may deliver the progress report on this matter on October 24. This initiative has been backed by Germany’s Central Bank, as highlighted in our earlier discussion.
Prior to this groundbreaking launch, a Reuters report disclosed that a consortium of nine European Banks, including UniCredit, is forming a company to launch a euro-dominated stablecoin. The original idea is to provide a clear alternative to the US-dominated stablecoin market.
Recently, the Bank of Italy disclosed that the euro-dominated stablecoins only make up $620 million of the almost $300 billion global stablecoin issuance.
The initiative will provide a real European alternative to the U.S.-dominated stablecoin market, contributing to Europe’s strategic autonomy in payments.
Earlier, ECB President Christine Lagarde informed policymakers that stablecoins issued by private entities pose a serious risk to monetary policies and financial stability. According to her, it is important to have legislation backing the launch of Euro-backed assets. Before this, Lagarde had cautioned that crypto is used to evade sanctions in Russia, as noted in our previous news brief.
Polygon has also been highly embraced by financial institutions, as Swiss-regulated AMINA Bank AG recently disclosed that it is offering staking on the blockchain, as mentioned in our recent coverage.