News linked to both this project and an event.
Arthur Hayes stated that U.S. policymakers may support the AI industry and government debt financing through money printing, driving cryptocurrency prices higher; if China shifts from limited tightening to large-scale monetary stimulus, it could also boost demand for scarce assets. He is also monitoring financial stress in France, including BNP Paribas-related credit default swaps and French government bond spreads.Catrina Wang, General Partner at Portal Ventures, said that banks and asset management companies have advantages in on-chain financial markets thanks to their existing client relationships. Todd McDonald, co-founder of R3, pointed out that public blockchains can help institutions reach clients beyond their own networks; Justin Kugel, Executive Vice President of Growth at World Liberty Financial, said that user demand for asset management and investment evaluation still leaves room for intermediaries.Chetan Karkhanis, Senior Vice President of Digital Asset Client Relationships at Franklin Templeton, said the company has no intention of issuing its own stablecoin and hopes tokenized money market funds will provide investment returns. Haonan Li, co-founder and CEO of Codex, said that trade routes connecting Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa, and Asia are driving demand for stablecoin payments; buyers pay eastward for goods, while manufactured products flow westward.Ilya Podoynitsyn, co-founder and CEO of FinHarbor, said that before allocating to crypto assets, companies need to confirm they have long-term idle funds that will not affect daily operations. Michael Camarda, Chief Development Officer of Ethereum treasury company SharpLink, said that both buying back shares and increasing ETH holdings can raise ETH per share; the company has adopted both methods to meet the preferences of institutional and retail investors. (Cointelegraph)
According to BusinessWire, Alpaca announced the completion of $135 million in financing, led by Peak XV with participation from Elefund, and new and existing shareholders also include Opera Tech Ventures and Unbound under the BNP Paribas Group. The company stated that the new funds will be used to accelerate the development of its agent-oriented brokerage infrastructure and API-centric prime brokerage business to support the development and expansion of investment products for traditional and on-chain markets.
According to CoinDesk, Swift announced that its blockchain-based shared ledger platform is ready and will launch real-time transaction testing with 17 major banks. Participating institutions include HSBC, UBS, BNP Paribas, Citi, BNY, and Wells Fargo, among others, covering six continents. The platform aims to enable 24/7 cross-border payments through tokenized deposits, allowing banks to transfer funds for customers during nights and weekends, and providing liquidity support before final settlement is completed in existing payment systems. Swift clearly stated that the ledger system is positioned as a complement to existing payment rails, not a replacement.
According to CoinDesk, Digital Asset, the blockchain developer behind Canton Network, has announced a $355 million funding round led by a16z crypto, with participation from global institutions including ABN Amro, Apollo Funds, BNP Paribas, Citadel Securities, HSBC, SBI Group, and a subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority. The round exceeded its original target of $300 million, valuing the company at $2 billion. Canton Network is designed specifically for large financial institutions and enables the issuance and trading of tokenized real-world assets—such as bonds, loans, and funds—on a shared ledger, while maintaining privacy and meeting regulatory compliance requirements. In addition to financial support, a16z crypto will provide specialized assistance in development, policy, and research.
According to the Financial Times, Amsterdam-based company Qivalis has secured support from 37 European banks—including BNP Paribas, ING, and UniCredit—for its yet-to-launch euro-pegged stablecoin, making it the single euro stablecoin project with the largest number of European backers to date. Newly added supporters include ABN AMRO, Intesa Sanpaolo, and Rabobank. Qivalis has applied for a license from the Dutch Central Bank (De Nederlandsche Bank), aiming for approval in the second half of this year, and plans to complete operational readiness upon license issuance.
According to CoinDesk, Denis Beau, Deputy Governor of the Bank of France, has publicly called on Europe’s public and private sectors to jointly advance the development of euro-tokenized money to counter the dominance of U.S. dollar–pegged stablecoins. This stance stands in clear contrast to that of European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde, who remains cautious toward private stablecoins—citing financial stability risks posed by USDT, USDC, and others—and favors a central bank–led digital euro initiative expected to launch in 2029. Beau outlined a “triple objective” for Europe’s development: aligning with central bank monetary services; enabling regulated institutions to issue pan-euro tokenized private money; and strengthening the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulatory framework. His position closely aligns with that of the Qivalis consortium—a group comprising 12 major European banks, including ING, BBVA, and BNP Paribas—which plans to launch a private digital euro this year. Beau also revealed that the eurosystem will roll out its first tokenized wholesale central bank money service before year-end.
According to CoinDesk, custody provider Fireblocks will handle the issuance and distribution of the Qivalis consortium’s euro-pegged stablecoin. The project is expected to launch in the second half of 2026, under supervision by the Dutch Central Bank and in compliance with the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA). Qivalis members include 12 European banks, such as BBVA, BNP Paribas, ING, and UniCredit. The report notes that the current stablecoin market size stands at approximately $30.5 billion, of which about 99% consists of U.S. dollar–pegged stablecoins, while euro-pegged stablecoins account for roughly $650 million. Qivalis aims to boost institutional adoption of euro stablecoins through a compliant product.
According to CoinDesk, French Finance Minister Roland Lescure publicly stated on April 17 that Europe needs more euro-denominated stablecoins and strongly encouraged EU banks to explore launching tokenized deposits. Lescure explicitly backed the Qivalis consortium—a group of 12 European banks including BBVA, ING, UniCredit, and BNP Paribas—that plans to launch a euro-pegged stablecoin in the second half of 2026, aiming to counter U.S. dominance in digital payments. He also noted that the current scale of euro-pegged stablecoins remains far smaller than that of dollar-pegged stablecoins—a situation he described as “unsatisfactory.” This statement marks a clear departure from France’s previous hardline regulatory stance: former Finance Minister Le Maire had declared that private stablecoins “have no place in Europe,” while Bank of France Governor Villeroy de Galhau has repeatedly warned that stablecoins pose risks of monetary privatization.