It’s one of the most repeated words in recent months in the financial sector: stablecoin. It is a type of cryptocurrency whose value is based on real currencies, which gives it more stability, although it is by no means risk-free. That is, stablecoins are a type of token that could, in theory, decentralize the financial system, but in reality they are dominated by large, mostly American, private companies. In this scenario, the large Spanish banks do not want to lose ground, and entities such as Caixabank, BBVA or Santander are accelerating their steps.
They are not doing it jointly, betting on a stable currency that unites the entire Spanish banking sector, but rather choosing different initiatives. On the one hand, Caixabank has collaborated with various European entities – such as ING, Danske Bank, or UniCredit – to create a stablecoin linked to the euro. BBVA, on the other hand, is working on its own currency by 2026 and also under the European Union’s Markets in Cryptoassets (MiCA) regulation. Meanwhile, Santander is considering a similar move but with nine other large banks, such as Bank of America, Barclays, Citigroup or Goldman Sachs, with a currency that will be linked to the G7 currencies. There are more banks analyzing what to do, such as Bankinter, which rules out going solo, but admits it is analyzing “several consortiums” as a gateway to stablecoins.
Central banks are also not out of this “boom” for stablecoins, which will also have to coexist with the digital euro, which is also in the process of development. Indeed, in recent days, the Governor of the Bank of Spain, José Luis Escrivá, has defended the role of stablecoins and cryptocurrencies, but always under the umbrella of regulation that provides guarantees. “In the transition to digital money, it is important for the ECB to play a central role because it is essential when it comes to providing security to the payment system and it must continue to do so in this new world,” Escrivá said at a conference organized by Santander and attended by its president, Ana Botín.
“I don’t see anything preventing European banks from cooperating in obtaining stablecoins, especially in cross-border projects,” the governor said, but always within a system that guarantees “the same security” as traditional currencies. “Imagine a world in which everything moves using stable currencies, which are suitable for certain assets such as sovereign debt. If there is a crisis, who will provide liquidity? The central bank. It is the one that has this function, because it has the possibility of creating unlimited money,” Escrivá assured Putin.
Linked to real currencies
The industry believes that stablecoins must be digital currencies, but linked – in whole or in part – to real currencies. “The peg to the currency is exactly what ensures its stability,” explains Francisco Marotto, Head of Blockchain and Digital Assets at BBVA. He adds: “The value of cryptocurrencies is usually volatile, because it depends on supply and demand in the markets, while the value of stablecoins goes hand in hand with the traditional currency to which they are linked. This increases the confidence of users, because they know that for each of them there is an equivalent backing in real money or other safe assets. In practice, this means that they can convert them to euros whenever they want.” “In addition, this is what will enable the integration of stablecoins into the financial system, where they can be used in the daily operations I mentioned without the additional risk of value fluctuation,” concluded the Head of Digital Assets at BBVA.
Caixabank sources point in the same direction. They explained, “Being linked to a currency such as the euro ensures stability of value, avoiding fluctuations. At the same time, it provides confidence to the user, knowing that his digital money is equivalent to the real euro, and provides ease of integration with the traditional financial system.”
Stablecoins will coexist with the digital euro and will have different concepts. “The digital euro will be issued by the European Central Bank (ECB), while the stablecoin is a private initiative regulated by MiCA,” Caixabank sources cited above differentiate. “In addition, stablecoins can offer additional services such as programmable payments. Both can coexist and complement each other in different uses: the digital euro as public money, and the stablecoin as a flexible solution for digital payments.”
“The issuer of a stablecoin is usually a financial company or an electronic cash entity. Whereas the issuer of a central bank digital currency (such as a digital euro) is the central bank itself,” explains Coti de Monteverde, Head of Crypto Assets at Grupo Santander. “And the money that backs them is different too. In the case of stablecoins, reserves are usually a mix of bank deposits and high-quality liquid assets, such as short-term sovereign bonds that can be quickly liquidated. In the case of currencies like the digital euro, what backs them is central bank money itself, which has no risk in every sense of the word. In the case of stablecoins, regulation is making great progress in making them as strong as possible. Their risk will depend on the entity issuing them and on the quality of their reserves,” he explains.
What will stablecoins mean for bank customers? “They will allow payments or transfers to be made in real time, without relying on banking hours or coordination between different intermediaries,” says Francisco Maroto. “The goal is that they can be used to speed up complex financial operations on blockchain networks, such as buying and selling bonds or tokenized shares, or to speed up international payments, which can be slow and expensive,” adds the head of blockchain and digital assets at BBVA. At the same time, Caixabank also points to its ability to reduce the costs of digital operations.
“The success of a stablecoin, for the customer, will be that they don’t find out that this technology is being used, that it simply improves processes, whether their payments are instantaneous anywhere in the world, at low cost, and when they go to do a transaction, they have a stablecoin or a digital currency that improves the user experience, improves their lives,” Cotti de Monteverde says.
Currency risks posed by the private sector
Stablecoins are on the rise, with a market capitalization exceeding $350 billion, equivalent to more than €300 billion, as shown in the following chart.
American cryptocurrencies such as Tether, USD or Ethena dominate. The sixth largest by market capitalization (nearly $3 billion) is that issued by World Liberty Financial, the cryptocurrency company owned by Republican President Donald Trump and his sons Eric and Donald Jr.
It must also be taken into account that stablecoins are not free from the risk of bankruptcy, as is the case with other cryptocurrencies, or of a bubble. “Yes, there is that risk if there is not enough support or if confidence is lost,” says Kaisha Bank. Hence, the state-owned entity operated with a stablecoin “backed by the euro, MiCA regulation and banking supervision, to avoid scenarios like the collapse of other cryptocurrencies.”
“Instabilities have occurred in projects without oversight or transparency, such as the bankruptcy of the algorithmic stablecoin Terra/Luna,” says Francisco Maroto. “A well-backed and regulated stablecoin should not generate a bubble or collapse like other cryptocurrencies, because its value is tied to a currency and covered by real assets. MiCA requires audited and monitored reserves to ensure safe use, so the risk of bankruptcy is minimized. The risk to the company issuing it would be that it is not adopted, that is, no one uses it, and therefore, the company is not viable.”
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