Qivalis, the consortium backed by 37 major European banks, will soon be able to issue euro-denominated electronic money tokens (EMTs), a regulated form of stablecoin.

The Amsterdam-based company said that the Bank of the Netherlands (DNB) had granted it an electronic money institution license. Qivalis must still meet the remaining requirements under the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation, including publishing a white paper, before issuing its token, which it plans to do in the coming months.

The Dutch license brings Qivalis closer to offering banks and payment companies a way to transfer euros using blockchain technology. The consortium’s size gives it access to a large banking network, although Qivalis has yet to reveal which members will use the token or how much money they expect to move through EMTs.

Under MiCA, all EMTs are stablecoins, but not all stablecoins are EMTs, as the U.K. parliament has explained. EMTs are pegged to a single official currency, such as the euro or U.S. dollar, while other types of stablecoins can be linked to baskets of currencies or other assets. EMTs must be issued by authorized credit institutions or electronic money institutions, which means holders have a legal claim against the issuer and the right to redeem their tokens at face value at any time. EMTs cannot pay interest under MiCA.

Dollar-backed stablecoins such as USDC can also qualify as EMTs under MiCA if they meet the EU's requirements. Issuers that do not meet the applicable rules cannot lawfully offer their tokens to the public in the EU.

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