Euro stablecoins from 37 banks landed on Ethereum: Now you need to check your euro tokens

Qivalis landed on Ethereum: Matters confirmed by the Banking Union on September 8

Qivalis is a joint venture of European banks planning to bring their own euro stablecoin to the market. On September 8, 2026, officials confirmed that the token would be issued on the public Ethereum blockchain rather than on a restricted link open only to banks. A number of professional media in Germany, the Netherlands and France independently reported the news; their common interpretation is sobering: the real novelty of this announcement lies in the choice of chains.

To understand why this is more than just a technical footnote, a short definition will help. Public blockchain is a network that allows you to participate without permission, hold balances and initiate transfers. Permitted Chain usually allows only approved participants to join, usually the bank itself involved. By issuing regulated euro tokens on any licensing chain, the issuer has full control over who is eligible to hold it. Publishing on Ethereum means giving up most of this control.

Qivalis chose the second route. According to the company, the token will be backed on a one-to-one basis by euros, which are held in bank deposits and highly liquid assets. Announced that it will be launched in the second half of 2026, with a caveat, which we will review in detail below.

Supporters behind Qivalis: 37 banks from 15 countries, including three leading German institutions

Qivalis's company page displays the logos of about thirty European banks. The project will be launched in December 2025 and includes nine founding members: Banca Sella, CaixaBank, Danske Bank, DekaBank, ING, KBC, Raiffeisen Bank International, SEB and UniCredit. According to CaixaBank's announcement on December 2, 2025, BNP Paribas will join on December 1. During 2026, membership will expand to 37 institutions from 15 countries, including ABN AMRO, Rabobank and Intesa Sanpaolo.

The joint venture is headquartered in Amsterdam. Its general manager is Jan-Oliver Sell and its supervisory board is Chairman Sir Howard Davies. As a result, the project is driven by established financial institutions, rather than led by derivative companies in the cryptocurrency industry.

Why DekaBank, DZ BANK and Helaba are so important here

For German readers, membership lists are more interesting than headline numbers. The Qivalis page includes DekaBank, DZ BANK and Helaba, three institutions that play a special role in the German banking industry. DekaBank is the securities arm of savings banks, DZ BANK is the core institution of cooperative banks, and Helaba is a state bank. Behind these three names indirectly support the country's two largest branch networks.

There is also UniCredit, which enters the German market through HypoVereinsbank. If euro tokens from these institutions one day appear in the apps of savings banks and cooperative banks, it will be the first time many customers have come into contact with blockchain balances. However, whether this will really happen is no guarantee. Joining the alliance does not force any bank to subsequently provide the token in its retail business.

E-money token analysis: Why euro stablecoins are not bank deposits

E-money token Under the European Crypto Asset Market Regulations, it refers to a crypto asset designed to track the value of the official currency, which in the case of Qivalis, is the euro. The relevant rules are found in European Union Regulation (EU) 2023/1114, referred to as MiCAR, in which the provisions on electronic currency tokens will take effect from June 30, 2024. Only authorized credit institutions or authorized electronic money institutions can issue such tokens.

This is the first key point that many investors misunderstand. Legally speaking, electronic money tokens are not the balance of a current account. It is electronic money issued based on the payment of a certain amount of money and is subject to its own set of rules. The actual consequences will be detailed in the sections on redemption and deposit insurance below.

How strict this set of rules is in actual operation can be seen from our own data: Our analysis of the ESMA official registration form on August 16, 2026 shows that there are 23 authorized e-currency token issuers across the EU. and 43 notification white papers. The threshold is high, which is why the path of obtaining authorization from e-money institutions is an obvious choice for a banking union.

Open chains rather than closed banking networks: The September 8 decision makes bank tokens visible to all wallets, not just institutions

Public chains rather than banking networks: What practical implications this has for you

On a permission-based banking chain, you can only process the token through the bank. Distribution on Ethereum has changed in four ways:

First, Custody . Tokens on Ethereum can be stored in self-managed wallets. You don't need permission from the issuing bank, nor do you need anyone to unlock anything for you. See the next section for what you actually need for hosting.

Secondly, Visibility . Transfers on the public chain are visible to everyone. People who know your address can see every move and every balance. This is true for every token on Ethereum, and if you use euro tokens for daily payments, this is a point worth knowing in advance.

Third, Connectivity 。The token can appear in the same trading venues and applications as other crypto assets. Those who prefer regulated venues can find German providers and their authorization status in our comparison of regulated cryptocurrency exchanges.

Fourth, Freezing issues . As of now, there is no public record of whether Qivalis provides the technical option to freeze individual addresses. This feature is standard for large regulated stablecoins. The token's claim that this function exists is purely speculative, so only the established fact is stated here: this issue has not yet been resolved and is one of the points that the white paper must answer.

ERC-20 is in your own wallet: You can't move anything without ether to pay for network fees

Tokens on Ethereum usually follow the ERC-20 standard. This is a fixed set of rules that govern how tokens maintain balances and settle transfers. For you, this means a very specific consequence: every transfer of ERC-20 tokens is a transaction on the Ethereum chain, and every transaction on the chain requires payment of network fees measured in Ether.

Therefore, anyone who holds a euro token in a self-managed wallet and owns Ethereum cannot move the token. The balance is there, visible, but it still cannot be transferred until Ether is stored at the same address to pay for fees. This situation often surprises novices, who assume that euro balances behave like bank transfers.

Two other points are related to this. Your wallet must be able to display ERC-20 tokens, which common wallets can do, but not old devices and bitcoin-only wallets. Also, you should always obtain the contract address of the new token from a source that belongs to the issuer. On the open chain, anyone can create tokens with exactly the same name; the contract address is the only reliable distinguishing feature.

Redemption at par: Claims are directed to the issuer

The most important consumer protection for e-money tokens lies in the "redemption rights" in MiCAR. The holder can at any time request the issuer to redeem the token in euros at face value. Issuers must comply with this requirement and may not charge fees. Once requested, the euro token becomes 1 euro, no matter how much the market is willing to pay for the token that day.

This right is at the core and is why regulated euro tokens are different from any other token with "euro" in its name. However, this right is only useful if you are clear about whom the claims are owed and how to claim them.

Selling on an exchange does not equal redemption

Most investors hold stablecoins at the trading venue and sell there when they need euros. This is a sale to another market participant at market price, rather than a redemption with the issuer itself. During calm times, the difference is not obvious because the two paths generate the same amount of money. Under pressure, the difference emerged: the market price may be below par, while the redemption still reads at full par.

Therefore, for each euro stablecoin you hold, check whether you can become a direct customer of the issuer or whether the trading venue is your only exit route. Which providers allow direct redemption and which do not vary by issuer. Recently launched euro tokens also have different access rights between countries, so direct access to the issuer is not open to all German customers.

Redemption at par is a claim on the issuer and does not mean selling on an exchange.

Deposit insurance: Why 100,000 euros does not apply to e-money tokens

There is the biggest misunderstanding here, and the participation of well-known bank names makes this misunderstanding more common rather than reduced. The EU's statutory deposit insurance protects deposits of up to € 100,000 per customer and institution. So, what is protected is deposits. Electronic money is not legally a deposit, so electronic money tokens are not covered by this protection.

It is replaced by another mechanism. Issuers must hold the funds received from them separately from their own assets and invest them in safe, liquid financial instruments. This is an effective protection against the issuer's bankruptcy, but it operates differently from deposit insurance: it does not guarantee coverage; it requires funds to be readily available and isolated from the issuer's assets.

For you, this leads to a clear rule: euro stablecoins are a means of payment and a place to temporarily deposit funds, not an alternative to instant access savings accounts. Anyone who permanently leaves large amounts of money in tokens is giving up the protection they have in the same bank account. Therefore, the token is still available for daily payments; but it is an inappropriate container for holding large reserves.

Authorization still in progress: Meaning of Dutch regulatory reservations

The company clearly wrote on its website that it has not yet been authorized. The wording there reads as follows: "Qivalis has not been authorized and currently does not issue electronic currency or provide payment services to the public."

An application for authorization as an electronic money institution has been submitted to the Dutch Central Bank and the supervisory authority De Nederlandsche Bank.

This sentence is the most important line in the entire project and deserves more attention than the number of participating banks. As long as authorization is not issued, there are no tokens, no white papers with binding details, and no redemption rights. The announced release date for the second half of 2026 is a plan influenced by regulatory decisions.

In practice, this means the most important point for you: any advertising, any offer, and any so-called pre-sale opportunity that attempts to sell you the alliance token before authorization cannot be real. Experience has shown that it is between such announcements that duplicate websites appear. Anyone looking for a way to buy can only find it after release and through a regulated provider.

Six checks on your current holdings of euro stablecoins

Bank tokens won't be available for months at the earliest. You can immediately address the issues it raises on your current position.

• Determine the issuer : Determine which company issues your euro tokens and whether it is authorized as an e-money institution or credit institution in the EU. Our analysis of stablecoin issuers 'MiCA registries shows how to find entries.
• Looking for white papers : For each regulated e-currency token, there are documents that contain specific details about support, redemption and risks. If you can't find it, this is the answer in itself.
• Clarify redemption paths : Check whether you can ask for redemption directly from the issuer, or whether selling at the trading venue is your only way.
• Correct protection expectations : Don't expect e-money tokens to have statutory deposit insurance. Keep only the amount of funds you need to make payments and short-term reallocations in the token.
• Test wallet and network fees : If you host it yourself, transfer a small amount first and make sure there is enough ether at the address to pay for the fees.
• Verify contract address : Exclusively the address to obtain new tokens from the issuer's own page, not from messages or social media posts.

Limitations of this assessment: Matters not yet determined regarding bank euro tokens

Three points remain open and must be made public. First, the specific details of the token's name, code symbols and supporting structure have not yet been publicly described in a binding document; all of this depends on the white paper. Second, it is unclear which participating banks will provide the token to their customers, and in which countries it will occur first. Third, as of the time of writing, there are no Dutch regulatory decisions to refer to, and no serious judgment can be made as to when such decisions may come.

The facts that have been established include: based on the alliance composition and authorization status stated by the company itself, based on unanimous reports from multiple professional media, the decision to select the public Ethereum chain on September 8, 2026, and the legal status of e-currency tokens under MiCAR.

Euro stablecoins on Ethereum: Summary of Points

Check where your euro tokens are stored today. If it is stored at a trading venue, your access depends on the authorization and availability of the venue. How to self-host and which device is appropriate, see our Hardware Wallet Comparison.

Decide which venue to obtain future bank tokens. This decision is best made before release rather than the first week after release; the range of options is listed in our comparison of cryptocurrency exchanges.

Make authorization status your first question. For any provider that sells you euro tokens, authorization takes precedence over price. Which institutions are regulated in Germany, please see our comparison of regulated cryptocurrency exchanges.

Qivalis's company page lists participating institutions and authorization status; rules for e-currency tokens are in the Summary of EU Crypto Asset Market Regulations. (As of September 9, 2026. This article does not constitute investment advice. Price and fee structures are subject to change; please check terms with your provider before purchasing.)