French Bank Dives into Crypto with Euro-Backed Stablecoin – Because Why Not?

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Finance

A Little Bit of What’s Happening (And a Whole Lot of Nonsense)

  • Apparently, a French banking heavyweight – ODDO BHF, which has probably been around since the invention of the wheel – is jumping into the crypto pool by launching a euro-backed stablecoin called EUROD, because obviously, Europeans need their own version of “digital money” that’s less volatile than their politicians.
  • This shiny new crypto thing is set to make its debut on Madrid’s own crypto playground, Bit2Me, which sounds like a bad band but is actually backed by Telefonica (think giant phone company in Spain) and a few big banking names like Unicaja and BBVA. So, big names, big plans, big potential for confusion.
  • EUROD will allegedly be a “compliant” digital euro – which is fancy talk for “we followed the rules,” – designed for both the everyday wallet-wielder and the big-time money movers, because everyone loves a good financial hybrid.

Yes, you read that right. A 175-year-old French bank (that’s basically history at this point) with over €150 billion in assets – more than some countries’ entire economies – has decided to dip its toes into the wild world of crypto for what we assume are reasons ranging from innovation to boredom.

It’s teaming up with Bit2Me, one of Spain’s biggest crypto exchanges, which has enough institutional backing (and presumably, enough security) to make your grandma finally think digital finance isn’t a scam.

EUROD is supposed to be a “low-volatility” digital euro that plays nice with regulations – because nothing says “fun” like compliance, right? – and aims at both the retail masses and those mysterious institutions who think “cryptocurrency” is just a passing fad or a new way to launder their Monopoly money.

Bit2Me, which had a €30 million ($35 million) infusion from Tether (the original “trust me, I’m a stablecoin”), is now positioning itself as the bridge connecting traditional finance with the promise of a digital utopia… or at least a slightly more confusing version of your current bank account.

“This is another big step,” said some very excited CEO guy, probably Leif Ferreira, who is convinced that trusted, regulated digital assets are the solution to all our problems, or at least to making digital money look more legitimate.

With this move, ODDO BHF hopes that combining a euro-pegged digital token with a proper bank (because who wants their money with some shady start-up?) will meet the rising demand for payment options that are both stable and conveniently blockchain-y.

While U.S. dollars still dominate the stablecoin scene, Europeans are rushing to make their own euro stablecoins, probably because they figured “Hey, if Americans can do it, so can we – and with more Sense of Style.” Société Générale-FORGE, for example, already has its euro-backed stablecoin, perhaps saving the day for those who find the dollar simply too… American.

And just last month, nine European banks (yes, nine – because collective banking wisdom is apparently contagious) got together to issue a MiCA-compliant euro stablecoin to confuse regulators and delight fans of “if we all do it, it must be okay.”

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2025-10-15 14:47