Nine major European banks, including UniCredit of Italy and Raiffeisen Bank International of Austria, have announced the creation of a joint company to issue a cryptocurrency denominated in euros and backed by traditional financial assets.
Alongside UniCredit and Raiffeisen, the consortium includes Belgium’s KBC, Denmark’s Danske Bank, Germany’s DekaBank, Sweden’s SEB, and Spain’s CaixaBank. Additional banks may join, according to the official statement.
The new company will be headquartered in the Netherlands and operate under the supervision of the Dutch central bank, with a license as an electronic money institution.
The launch of the euro-backed cryptocurrency is scheduled for the second half of 2026, in compliance with the EU’s MiCA regulation on crypto-assets. According to DekaBank’s spokesperson, the initiative aims to enable fast, low-cost, 24/7 payments across Europe.
To minimize volatility, the cryptocurrency will be tied to standard currencies such as the euro or the US dollar, and in some cases backed by gold, silver, or financial instruments.
The consortium emphasizes that blockchain technology will guarantee a transparent and publicly available ledger of all transactions. Currently, the global market for asset-backed digital currencies is dominated by U.S. companies such as Tether, Circle, and Ripple.
Meanwhile, the U.S. has tightened regulation on crypto issuance with President Donald Trump’s “GENIUS Act,” which requires all new cryptocurrencies to be 100% backed by liquid assets like U.S. dollars or short-term government bonds, along with monthly reserve reports.
By contrast, the European Central Bank is preparing its own digital euro initiative. The European banking consortium says its project aims to provide a strategic alternative to U.S. dominance in crypto markets and strengthen Europe’s financial sovereignty in the payments sector.
