PARIS, April 17 (Reuters) – French Finance Minister Roland Lescure on Friday said Europe needed more euro-based stablecoins and encouraged the bloc’s banks to explore tokenised deposits.
In pre-recorded comments at a crypto conference in Paris, Lescure said the relatively small volume of euro-pegged stablecoins compared to dollar-pegged ones was “not satisfactory”.
Banks worldwide are experimenting with stablecoins, a type of cryptocurrency designed to maintain a constant value and backed by traditional currencies. Several have joined forces to trial the technology, especially since U.S. President Donald Trump last year signed a law establishing rules for stablecoins.
A group of 10 European banks, including ING, UniCredit and BNP Paribas, last year formed a company to launch a euro-pegged stablecoin in the second half of 2026, in a move they hope will counter U.S. dominance in digital payments.
“That is what we need and that is what we want.” Lescure said on Friday, referring to the initiative. “I also strongly encourage banks to further explore the launch of tokenised deposits,” he added.
The world’s largest stablecoin, Tether, says it has more than $185 billion of its dollar-pegged tokens in circulation, while Societe Generale’s euro-pegged stablecoin, launched in 2023, has just 107 million euros in circulation.
(Reporting by Elizabeth Howcroft, writing by Alessandro Parodi, Editing by Tommy Reggiori Wilkes)
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