Crédit Agricole has launched EURXT, a MiCA-compliant euro stablecoin issued by its asset-servicing arm CACEIS Bank. The token was used to settle a subscription into a tokenized, Luxembourg-domiciled UCITS money market fund managed by Amundi, which the bank described as a European first.
Crédit Agricole Joins Euro Stablecoin Race with EURXT
1 July 2026 - 17:50 CEST
By Isabelle Castro
EURXT, short for Euro eXchange Token, is an ERC-20 token on the Ethereum blockchain pegged one-to-one to the euro. It is aimed at professional and institutional clients, with a minimum subscription of €10,000. Holders can redeem at par during French banking hours.
Olivier Gavalda, chief executive of Crédit Agricole S.A., said the token gives clients "a stable, secure payment instrument that complies with the latest European regulatory requirements." He added that the bank was "providing a trusted environment in which to explore new investment approaches, enhance efficiency, and prepare for the next generation of financial services."
A crowded field
The launch comes as the euro stablecoin market remains relatively concentrated. Circle's EURC, the dominant player, had €377.8mn in circulation as of 29 Jun, according to the company's own disclosures. EUR CoinVertible (EURCV), Société Générale-Forge's euro stablecoin, had roughly €123.8mn in circulation as of 1 Jul, according to the bank's transparency reporting. Crédit Agricole's EURXT enters at a significantly smaller scale, beginning with a single debut transaction.
CACEIS, which holds €5.9tn in assets under custody, framed the launch as part of the group's wider push into tokenized finance under its ACT 2028 strategic plan, which aims to position the bank as a leader in technology adoption within the Eurozone.
Central bankers split on the model
Whether private bank-issued stablecoins become core settlement infrastructure or stay a niche instrument is contested. At the European Central Bank's (ECB) tokenization forum on 1 Jul, Bank of Korea Governor Hyun Song Shin argued that "tokenization is best done using central bank money," while the ECB's Piero Cipollone said a shared platform could instead "help the business case of stablecoins," addressing potential fragmentation.
If EURXT scales beyond its debut trade, it will be a test of whether Europe's largest banks can build a euro settlement layer before a central bank digital euro arrives.
