French Finance Minister Calls for More Euro Stablecoins and Tokenized Deposits

Stablecoins use fiat-backed assets to maintain their value and can serve as digital cash for blockchain transactions and payments, but the market is currently dominated almost entirely by dollar-denominated tokens. France has therefore shifted from its previous wariness of privately issued stablecoins to supporting euro-based alternatives alongside the European Central Bank’s (ECB) digital euro, seeking to reduce the European Union’s reliance on U.S. and other non-European payment providers.

In a prerecorded address to a cryptocurrency conference in Paris on April 17, 2026, French Finance Minister Roland Lescure urged European banks to issue more euro stablecoins and explore tokenized deposits. He also backed plans by banks including ING, UniCredit and BNP Paribas to launch products in the second half of 2026. More than $185 billion of Tether’s dollar token is in circulation, compared with just €107 million for SG Forge’s euro stablecoin.