No, among 9 regions of the bank

A group of major European banks joined forces to launch an Euro-Pegged Stablecoin in compliance with European markets in the crypto-assets (MICA) framework.

Dutch lending ING and the Unicredit of Italy belongs to nine banks participating in the formation of a new euro-denominated StablecoinAccording to a joint statement Na -Published by Thursday.

Built in compliance with Europe’s MICA regulationStablecoin was planned to be released in the second half of 2026, with a mission to be a reliable European payment standard in the digital ecosystem.

The announcement records that the initiative is aligned with European plans to provide a local alternative to the US Stablecoin market, which contributes to strategic autonomy to payments.

Banks from eight EU member states are initially involved

Next to ING and Unicredit, the European Stablecoin initiative also includes the Caixabank of Spain, the Danske Bank of Denmark, the Austria’s Raifisen Bank International, the KBC of Belgium, Sweden’s Seba, Germany’s Dekabank and another Italian lender, Banca Sella.

Founding members have also established a new company headquartered in the Netherlands, ING’s home country, to facilitate the development and management of Stablecoin.

The banking consortium said in the joint announcement that it remains open to other banks joining the Stablecoin project.

24/7 Access to Cross-Border payments

According to Ing’s statement, Euro Stablecoin is expected to provide “close to instant, low payment and repair costs,” which enables 24/7 access to cross-border payments.

Stablecoin is also set to offer programmable payments and improvements to supply chain management and digital assets, which can vary from security to cryptocurrencies.

“Digital payments are key for new Euro denomination payments and financial market infrastructure,” said Floris Lugt, the digital asset lead and joint public representative for the project.

“We believe that this development requires a approach to the entire industry, and it is necessary that banks have adopted the same criteria,” he added.