Spanish banking giant BBVA joins Qivalis consortium to issue European stablecoin

Spain’s second-largest lender, BBVA, announced Wednesday that it has become part of Qivalis, a bank-led consortium aiming to build a shared euro-pegged stablecoin for institutional and crypto use.

Qivalis, originally formed by nine major lenders, is targeting a late-2026 launch for its MiCAR-compliant stablecoin to reinforce Europe’s financial autonomy, counter US dollar dominance in stablecoins, and offer a faster, lower-cost payment and settlement infrastructure.

“Collaboration between banks is key to creating common standards that support the evolution of the future banking model and deliver financial innovation to our clients in a consistent and practical way,” said Alicia Pertusa, Head of Partnerships & Innovation at BBVA CIB, in a statement. “BBVA brings to Qivalis extensive experience amassed over years of exploring and developing use cases linked to digital assets.”

The Amsterdam-based venture is currently awaiting authorization as an Electronic Money Institution from the Dutch Central Bank to legally launch the stablecoin.

With BBVA joining the group, Qivalis has expanded to 12 major banks, including Banca Sella, BNP Paribas, CaixaBank, Danske Bank, DekaBank, DZ BANK, ING, KBC, Raiffeisen Bank International, SEB, and UniCredit.

“Having BBVA join the banking consortium marks an important step forward,” Qivalis CEO Jan-Oliver Sell stated. “This growing alignment strengthens our ability to deliver a resilient institutional-grade on-chain infrastructure for businesses and consumers across Europe and the world.”

The rollout of MiCAR has accelerated digital asset adoption among European banks. BVVA has been active in increasing its digital asset engagement.

Last March, BBVA secured regulatory approval to expand its retail crypto offering in Spain, complementing its operations in Switzerland and Turkey.

The bank has collaborated with SWIFT on blockchain infrastructure and participated in Agorá, a Bank for International Settlements project focused on wholesale cross-border payments.

It has also partnered with Binance to offer customers a safe way to store and manage their crypto assets.