By Elizabeth Howcroft and Jesús Aguado

The ING Group logo is displayed at the headquarters in Amsterdam, Netherlands. REUTERS

(Reuters) - A group of 10 European banks, including ING (INGA.AS), UniCredit (CRDI.MI) and BNP Paribas (BNPP.PA), have 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.

The CEO of the Amsterdam-based company, named Qivalis, will be Jan-Oliver Sell, who was previously the CEO of crypto exchange Coinbase's German business, and has also worked for Binance. Former NatWest chair Howard Davies will be chair, the group said at a press conference in Amsterdam on Tuesday.

The new company, which will have headquarters in Amsterdam, plans to hire 45 to 50 people in the next 18 to 24 months, Sell said, adding that they have a third of this number already. ING's digital asset lead Floris Lugt will be CFO.

Banks are grappling with the fast-growing stablecoin industry and the wider growth of cryptocurrencies, which are seen by some lenders as potential direct competitors.

That growth has put traditional lenders under pressure to find uses for blockchain technology within their own businesses.

A host of top U.S. financial firms have been preparing to launch their own dollar-backed stablecoins after U.S. President Donald Trump signed a law establishing rules for stablecoins.

DOLLAR-PEGGED STABLECOINS HAVE SURGED

Stablecoins – a type of cryptocurrency designed to maintain a constant value and backed by traditional currencies - have grown sharply in recent years, driven by El Salvador-based company Tether, which has around $185 billion worth of its dollar-based token in circulation.

There are few signs of demand for euro-pegged stablecoins. Societe Generale's crypto arm, SG-FORGE - which is not part of Qivalis - launched a euro-pegged stablecoin in 2023, but it has just 64 million euros ($74.27 million) worth of tokens in circulation.

Qivalis said in a statement that the token will provide "near-instant, low-cost payments and settlements", although Davies said that the initial use-case will be in crypto trading.

Sell said the name was chosen to convey trust, quality, and values, which were essential in finance and that it was easy to pronounce across languages.

The company expects to launch its stablecoin at the beginning of the second half of 2026, with the licencing process taking six to nine months, Sell said.

It is applying for an Electronic Money Institution (EMI) licence from the Dutch central bank.

REGULATORY WORRIES

Regulators worry that stablecoins could suck money flows out of the regulated banking system. ECB President Christine Lagarde has told European policymakers that privately issued stablecoins posed risks for monetary policy and financial stability.

The ECB is also working on a digital euro of its own as a strategic alternative to private, U.S.-dominated means of payment such as credit cards and stablecoins.

The banks involved in the project, first announced in September, were originally ING, UniCredit, Banca Sella (BSEL.HT), KBC (KBC.BR), DekaBank, Danske Bank (DANSKE.CO),  SEB (SEBa.ST), Caixabank (CABK.MC)  and Raiffeisen Bank International (RBIV.VI). BNP Paribas has since joined the group, Lugt said on Tuesday.

A separate group of ten banks, including Bank of America (BAC.N), Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE), Goldman Sachs (GS.N) and UBS (UBSG.S), have also said that they are jointly exploring issuing a stablecoin. BNP Paribas is part of both groups.

($1 = 0.8617 euros)