{"text":[[{"start":7.05,"text":"More than three dozen European banks have lined up behind a single euro stablecoin project, as executives and policymakers become increasingly concerned about the consequences of dollar dominance in the crypto market. "}],[{"start":19.4,"text":"Amsterdam-based Qivalis had already secured the backing of some of Europe’s biggest banks including BNP Paribas, ING and UniCredit for its coin, which has yet to launch. "}],[{"start":31.2,"text":"The addition of another 25 lenders — among them ABN Amro, Intesa Sanpaolo and Rabobank — takes the total number of banks to 37 and makes Qivalis’s stablecoin project Europe’s biggest by number of supporters. "}],[{"start":46.05,"text":"Stablecoins are a type of digital token typically pegged to sovereign currencies and are used by traders to move in and out of cryptocurrencies."}],[{"start":54.4,"text":"Traditional banks are increasingly exploring stablecoins as a way to speed up and reduce the costs of back-office tasks such as settlement and collateral management, as well as payments. "}],[{"start":65.9,"text":"Qivalis hopes that launching the stablecoin with a critical mass of lenders — and their existing clients and banking networks — will boost adoption and make it more competitive than existing euro stablecoins."}],[{"start":79.25,"text":"European bankers have become increasingly concerned about dollar dominance in the crypto market and the encroachment of digital asset companies on their traditional territory."}],[{"start":88.7,"text":"Of $320bn stablecoins in circulation, almost all are denominated in US dollars, with issuance dominated by crypto companies Tether and Circle. "}],[{"start":98.75,"text":"Christine Lagarde, president of the European Central Bank, said this month that rising use of dollar stablecoins in Europe posed a “legitimate concern that risks entrenching dollar dependency”. Another senior ECB official warned last year that the rise of dollar stablecoins threatened to weaken the bank’s control over monetary policy. "}],[{"start":119.15,"text":"Jan-Oliver Sell, chief executive of Qivalis, told the FT that “the European sovereignty angle” was important with the geopolitical situation making it “attractive for people to think about an alternative to the US dollar”."}],[{"start":133.9,"text":"Several euro-denominated stablecoins already exist but their uptake has been tiny compared to their dollar rivals. "}],[{"start":140.85,"text":"Circle’s EURC token is the biggest with a $450mn market capitalisation, according to data provider CoinMarketCap, while its dollar stablecoin has a market cap of $77bn. "}],[{"start":154.1,"text":"Société Générale was the first big bank to launch its own stablecoin, Forge, in 2023, but it only has a market circulation of about $123mn. Another coin, Eurite, has about $60mn being traded. "}],[{"start":169.29999999999998,"text":"Sell said he was in discussions with several non-European banks that operate in countries with significant remittances sent from Europe about joining the consortium. "}],[{"start":178.29999999999998,"text":"“We’re not competing with payments in Europe because payments in Europe work,” he added. Instead, stablecoins would be used for activities such as cross-border payments and immediate — or “atomic” — settlement. "}],[{"start":190.79999999999998,"text":"Qivalis has applied for a licence from the Dutch central bank and hopes to receive it in the second half of this year. “We are looking to be operationally ready by the time the licence comes so we can go live ASAP,” Sell said. "}],[{"start":211.4,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1779266848_1363.mp3"}