Ripple has put fresh attention on Europe’s rapidly growing euro stablecoin market as Qivalis, a consortium backed by 37 European banks, moves closer to launching its regulated euro-denominated token.

Qivalis received authorization from De Nederlandsche Bank as an electronic money institution in October, clearing a major regulatory hurdle. The consortium now spans 37 banks across 15 European countries, with its planned stablecoin set to be fully backed 1:1 by the euro.

For XRP holders, however, the more interesting question is what happens after the stablecoin launches.

Ripple’s latest post focuses on the infrastructure banks will need to custody, govern and potentially settle tokenized assets, opening the door to speculation within the XRP community about a possible role for XRP behind the scenes.

What you'll learn 👉

Ripple Says Banks Still Need Custody Infrastructure

Ripple noted that euro stablecoins have grown from roughly €50 million in market capitalization at the beginning of 2024 to about €450 million by January 2026.

That is strong growth, but still tiny compared with the roughly $300 billion market for dollar-denominated stablecoins.

Qivalis is designed to help close that gap by creating regulated euro-based infrastructure for payments, settlement and tokenized assets.

But Ripple argues issuance alone is not enough.

I read this as Quivalus consortium of banks will use Ripple custody, Ripple tokenization and settlements to build their capability. XRP will be the bridge and settlement currentcy and completely transparent to the banks. This is the wy point: TRANSPARENT. Take a look now at your browser log in, do you know what Oauth provider X is using? Or how it is managed? No. And you don’t need to, cos it just happens in the backend. Same with cross asset settlement, it just works in the backend, and you just treat it like a black box.

Each participating bank still needs custody, governance, operational controls and integration with existing banking systems before it can hold or service the asset for clients.

This is where Ripple sees an opening.

BBVA and DZ BANK Already Use Ripple Custody

Two members of the Qivalis consortium, BBVA and DZ BANK, already use Ripple Custody.

DZ BANK integrated Ripple’s technology into its existing institutional custody processes, including for tokenized securities. BBVA also uses Ripple Custody within its banking infrastructure while retaining control over cryptographic keys and client assets.

Ripple is presenting those integrations as a template for other banks that may need similar infrastructure once the Qivalis stablecoin launches.

The important distinction is that Qivalis itself will issue the stablecoin under its own authorization and technology.

Ripple is not saying that it will issue the asset.

Its role, at least from what has been publicly confirmed so far, is on the infrastructure side through products such as custody, governance and settlement tools.

Read also: Crypto Market Crash: How Low Can BTC and XRP Go?

XRP Community Sees a Much Bigger Possibility

XRP community member Vincent Van Code believes the implications could extend beyond custody.

He argues that Qivalis banks could eventually use Ripple’s broader infrastructure for custody, tokenization and settlement, with XRP potentially operating in the background as a bridge or settlement asset.

His comparison is that end users do not need to know which authentication provider powers a login process. They only need the service to work.

In the same way, he believes XRP could theoretically operate behind the scenes during cross-asset settlement without banks interacting with it directly.

That is an interesting interpretation, but it goes beyond what Ripple or Qivalis have officially announced.

Neither Ripple’s latest post nor Qivalis’ public material confirms that XRP will be used as the bridge asset for the Qivalis stablecoin.

Subscribe to our YouTube channel for daily crypto updates, market insights, and expert analysis.