10-26-2026 
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TL;DR: Tokenizing securities, funds, and collateral solves only one side of the financial transaction. Settlement money also needs to operate in the same digital environment. Qivalis, backed by 37 European banks, has received authorization to issue a regulated euro stablecoin, adding to growing efforts to build the cash leg of tokenized finance.
Key Takeaways:
- Qivalis, backed by 37 banks across 15 countries, has received authorization from De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) as an Electronic Money Institution.
- Its euro-denominated stablecoin is expected to launch in the coming months, subject to MiCA requirements and the publication of its whitepaper.
- Tokenized financial assets require compatible digital settlement assets for their full benefits to be realized.
- Europe is developing several forms of digital money, including regulated stablecoins, tokenized deposits, wholesale bank money, and the digital euro.
- As both tokenized assets and settlement money move on-chain, scalability and interoperability become increasingly important financial infrastructure problems.
For years, much of the focus on the tokenization of everything has been on moving the assets themselves on-chain. In the latter half of 2026, financial institutions are turning their attention to the other side of the transaction: the cash leg.
A significant development in Europe this month shows that infrastructure is beginning to take shape. On October 14, Qivalis announced it had received authorization from De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) to operate as an Electronic Money Institution (EMI).
Qivalis is backed by 37 European banks across 15 countries and was established specifically to issue a regulated euro stablecoin for on-chain payments and settlement.
The authorization means that Qivalis is eligible to issue euro-denominated electronic money tokens (EMTs) and is now subject to ongoing DNB supervision. The actual stablecoin has not launched yet, but Qivalis says issuance is planned within the coming months. It will remain subject to applicable requirements under the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulations.
This goes well beyond yet another stablecoin entering the market. The asset side of tokenization is already moving into production, and now the money needed to settle those assets is following it on-chain.
Tokenized assets need tokenized money
Imagine Bank A buys a tokenized bond from Bank B.
If the ownership of the bond can be transferred on a blockchain, but the corresponding payment still needs to pass through separate conventional banking infrastructure, the transaction remains divided between two systems.
In this setup, one system handles the asset, another handles the money, and the two must then be reconciled. Putting a settlement asset into the same programmable environment means all of this can be connected more closely through delivery-versus-payment or atomic settlement models.
The European Central Bank (ECB) has explicitly identified this requirement. Its 2026 payments strategy says the growth of tokenized financial instruments is expected to increase demand for instruments capable of settling the cash leg of securities transactions using digital ledger technology (DLT).
In other words, tokenization doesn’t stop with assets. Money has to become compatible with the new infrastructure, too.
Stablecoins are becoming settlement infrastructure
Stablecoins are usually associated with payments and digital asset markets, but institutional projects like Qivalis highlight how they can play a bigger role.
Qivalis describes its planned token as a fully regulated, 1:1-backed euro stablecoin intended to support payments, settlement, and digital assets. The 37-member network creates a pan-European consortium capable of supporting euro-denominated on-chain payments and settlement at scale.
This makes the project different from stablecoins for consumer payments. A regulated token can act as digitally native cash inside programmable financial markets.
The ECB is preparing for this possibility. Its payments strategy envisages tokenized central bank money remaining the foundation of wholesale settlement while private settlement assets, including tokenized commercial bank deposits and regulated euro stablecoins, operate alongside it.
The story of institutional stablecoins is less about whether somebody can create a digital representation of the euro and more about what role that representation will play in tokenized financial infrastructure.
Europe may have several forms of digital euro money
Qivalis is emerging into a European payments landscape where several forms of digital money are being developed simultaneously.
The Eurosystem is working on tokenized central bank money for wholesale financial market settlement, banks and other financial institutions are developing tokenized commercial deposits and regulated stablecoins, and the ECB continues to develop the digital euro, a proposed retail central bank digital currency for everyday payments.
The digital euro project remains under development. The ECB says if EU lawmakers adopt the required legislation this year, issuance could come as soon as 2029.
All of these projects have different purposes. The digital euro is primarily a retail central-bank-money project, while projects like Qivalis are privately issued settlement assets. The ECB itself says its strategy has both retail and wholesale elements, with the digital euro providing a retail public settlement asset while tokenized central bank money supports wholesale markets.
This means Europe is unlikely to end up with one “digital euro.” It’s more likely to end up with several forms of public and private money.
This leads to another question—how will they interact?
An on-chain cash leg creates an interoperability problem
A commonly regulated euro stablecoin could reduce one form of fragmentation. Thirty-seven banks would no longer need to develop completely separate settlement tokens for every use case, but the blockchain underpinning the token still matters.
If the settlement asset still needs to operate across several networks, fragmentation can reappear at another layer. Different tokens may need to be synchronized, liquidity may become divided, and transfers between networks may require bridges and interoperability protocols.
Systems need to maintain confidence that every token corresponds to the same underlying digital claim. A shared euro settlement asset doesn’t necessarily create a shared infrastructure. If the money exists across different digital ledgers and networks, the interoperability problem remains.
Furthermore, the infrastructure used to settle securities, move collateral, execute treasury transactions, process payments, and eventually support machine-to-machine payments will have to process transactions at scale.
Once interoperability and scaling are considered together, the ideal solution becomes obvious: one public ledger capable of scaling unboundedly.
FAQs:
What is Qivalis?
Qivalis is an Amsterdam-based company backed by 37 European banks across 15 countries. It was established to issue a regulated, euro-denominated stablecoin for digital payments and settlement.
Has the Qivalis stablecoin launched?
No. Qivalis received authorization in October 2026, but issuance of its euro stablecoin is planned for the coming months and remains subject to MiCA requirements and publication of its whitepaper.
Why do tokenized assets need tokenized settlement money?
If an asset moves on-chain while payment takes place through a different infrastructure, both sides of the transaction still need to be coordinated and reconciled. Tokenized settlement money allows the asset and payment legs to operate within programmable infrastructure.
Is the Qivalis stablecoin the same as the digital euro?
No. Qivalis plans to issue private electronic money tokens backed 1:1 by euros. The digital euro is a proposed form of central bank money issued by the Eurosystem for retail payments. The ECB says the digital euro could be issued in 2029 if the relevant legislation is adopted in 2026.
Why does blockchain scalability matter for tokenized settlement?
If blockchains increasingly support securities settlement, collateral, treasury transactions, payments, and other financial activity, they may need to process large numbers of transactions cheaply and reliably. Therefore, the underlying financial infrastructure will have to scale accordingly.
Watch | Tokenization on public blockchain: Transforming RWAs and finance
