MILAN, Dec 11 (Reuters) - Italian payment network Bancomat is working with the country's main lenders and the economy ministry to launch a euro-pegged stablecoin that will be open to other issuers,
Bancomat's Euro-Pegged Stablecoin to Boost Digital Payments
MILAN, Dec 11 (Reuters) - Italian payment network Bancomat is working with the country's main lenders and the economy ministry to launch a euro-pegged stablecoin that will be open to other issuers, Chief Executive Fabrizio Burlando said.
Burlando, a former Mastercard executive, took over as CEO in June 2024, after private equity fund FSI injected 75 million euros ($87 million) in exchange for a 43% stake to become its main shareholder.
Stablecoins are are a type of cryptocurrency designed to maintain a constant value by being pegged to a traditional currency, usually the dollar. They're used to move funds in the form of crypto.
Bancomat aims to launch its stablecoin in 2026 and make it available to other regulated Italian and European institutions to maximise adoption.
"As a national payment scheme we've been working with seven peers in other countries, such as Spain's Bizum, to enable instant cross-border payments through our European Payments Alliance initiative. We think interoperability is the way forward," he said.
Bancomat, best known for operating Italy's ATM network, has improved its digital services after FSI's investment.
"We feel multiple, non-interoperable currencies just take us back to guineas and florins. We're building a stablecoin backed by euro-denominated debt that any trusted financial institution in Europe can opt to issue," he added.
STABLECOIN MARKET EXPANSION
The global stablecoin market grew from near zero in 2014 to about $300 billion in 2025, the European Banking Authority said last week, urging lenders to "prudently manage" risks arising from their interaction with the stablecoin market.
The EBA said in its report there are 27 stablecoins registered with the European Union's markets regulator ESMA under the bloc's Markets in Crypto Assets Regulation (MiCA), issued by 17 institutions in 10 European countries.
Euro-pegged stablecoins have doubled in value to around $500 million since MiCA rules took effect in mid-2024, with monthly volumes jumping tenfold to $3.83 billion, according to payments processor DECTA.
Dollar-referenced stablecoins dominate, accounting for 98% of the total, with the two main issuers, Tether and Circle controlling 56% and 25% of the market respectively, the Bank of Italy said in September.
To counter the U.S. dominance in global payments, a group of 10 European banks formed a company to launch a euro-pegged stablecoin in the second half of 2026.
France's Societe Generale in 2023 became the first European bank to issue a MiCA-licenced euro-pegged stablecoin through its crypto-asset arm, but EUR CoinVertible has seen limited adoption so far, with just 64.7 million euros in circulation.
($1 = 0.8594 euros)
(Reporting by Valentina Za in Milan; Additional reporting by Elizabeth Howcroft in Paris, Editing by Louise Heavens)
