Euro stablecoin club grows by one as Qivalis clears Dutch EMI hurdle 🇪🇺

European banking consortium Qivalis has received Electronic Money Institution authorization from De Nederlandsche Bank, the Dutch central bank, moving the Amsterdam-based company closer to issuing a euro-denominated stablecoin. The license, disclosed Wednesday in an announcement shared with Cointelegraph, places Qivalis under ongoing supervision by the central bank and makes it eligible to issue euro-denominated electronic money tokens.

The approval removes a key regulatory step toward a launch under the European Union's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation, known as MiCA. Qivalis said it plans to begin issuance within the coming months, contingent on meeting MiCA requirements and publishing a white paper for the token.

Qivalis is positioning the product in a stablecoin market dominated by U.S. dollar offerings. Tether USDt ($USDT) holds a market capitalization of $183 billion, accounting for more than 60% of the $303 billion total stablecoin market, according to DefiLlama. The company said the new token would be issued under European law and subject to European regulatory standards.

"We believe Europe should have a euro-denominated on-chain settlement asset issued under European law and subject to European regulatory standards," said Jan-Oliver Sell, CEO of Qivalis. In May, Qivalis expanded its banking base by adding 25 institutions across 15 countries, bringing its consortium to 37 banks.