Dutch central bank grants Qivalis e-money license for MiCA-compliant euro token
Backed by BBVA, BNP Paribas, and ING, Qivalis secured Dutch regulatory authorization to offer onchain euro settlement infrastructure.
Qivalis, the consortium backed by 37 major European banks, will soon be able to issue euro-denominated electronic money tokens (EMTs), a regulated form of stablecoin.
The Amsterdam-based company said that the Bank of the Netherlands (DNB) had granted it an electronic money institution license. Qivalis must still meet the remaining requirements under the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation, including publishing a white paper, before issuing its token, which it plans to do in the coming months.
The Dutch license brings Qivalis closer to offering banks and payment companies a way to transfer euros using blockchain technology. The consortium’s size gives it access to a large banking network, although Qivalis has yet to reveal which members will use the token or how much money they expect to move through EMTs.
Under MiCA, all EMTs are stablecoins, but not all stablecoins are EMTs, as the U.K. parliament has explained. EMTs are pegged to a single official currency, such as the euro or U.S. dollar, while other types of stablecoins can be linked to baskets of currencies or other assets. EMTs must be issued by authorized credit institutions or electronic money institutions, which means holders have a legal claim against the issuer and the right to redeem their tokens at face value at any time. EMTs cannot pay interest under MiCA.
Dollar-backed stablecoins such as USDC can also qualify as EMTs under MiCA if they meet the EU's requirements. Issuers that do not meet the applicable rules cannot lawfully offer their tokens to the public in the EU.
"Europe's currency deserves Europe's rules, onchain," said Jan-Oliver Sell, Qivalis CEO. "We believe Europe should have a euro-denominated onchain settlement asset issued under European law and subject to European regulatory standards."
Qivalis plans to distribute its token through banks, cryptocurrency exchanges and payment providers rather than directly to consumers.
The consortium has expanded to 37 European banks, including BBVA, BNP Paribas, ING and DZ Bank, since its founding in September 2025. It has also selected Fireblocks to provide digital asset infrastructure.
Diversified RWA stablecoins sustain 5-7% yield from real credit as crypto funding compresses to ~4%. GENIUS pushes yield off-chain; TAM grows to $4B in 3 years.
Asanat Analysis — Why it matters
Qivalis's e-money license marks a watershed moment for MiCA (Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation) implementation across EU member states. The Dutch central bank's authorization signals that regulatory infrastructure for tokenized fiat is now operational—not theoretical. This is distinct from stablecoin frameworks; e-money licenses create a direct banking channel for onchain euro settlement, eliminating counterparty risk intermediaries that have historically taxed DeFi composability.
The consortium backing (BBVA, BNP Paribas, ING) reveals how traditional finance is operationalizing MiCA rather than resisting it. These three banks collectively represent ~€3.5 trillion in assets and deep payment network integration. Their involvement suggests institutional-grade tokenized euro infrastructure will compete directly with existing CBDC pilots and private stablecoin alternatives. For DeFi protocols, this creates both a legitimacy floor and a liquidity anchor; for euro-denominated crypto platforms, it potentially obsoletes non-compliant alternatives.
The timing matters: MiCA compliance deadlines have passed; this is execution phase. Other EU regulators will likely follow Netherlands' framework, creating a fragmented but connected ecosystem. Risk: regulatory arbitrage within the EU; opportunity: Qivalis becomes the de facto settlement layer if it maintains technical openness to DeFi primitives.