BBVA, Spain’s second-largest bank, announced plans to launch a stablecoin in 2025 in partnership with Visa, positioning it to compete in the $172 billion stablecoin market.
The move makes BBVA the latest entrant to the increasingly competitive stablecoin market, following in the footsteps of other financial giants such as Ripple and PayPal.
Francisco Maroto, head of digital assets at BBVA, said in an interview that the bank is currently in the sandbox phase of Visa’s initiative to help financial institutions develop tokenized assets. BBVA aims to move from prototype to actual operation by 2025.
BBVA stablecoin details
Specific details about the stablecoin have not yet been disclosed, but Maroto said the bank has not yet decided to back the asset. Options under consideration include money market funds, deposits, and fiat currencies such as US dollars and euros. The main use case for BBVA’s stablecoin is as a payment layer for exchanges.
Maroto emphasized that BBVA’s choice to work with Visa over existing stablecoin solutions was driven by Visa’s strong brand and compliance. This gives the bank a strategic advantage, especially in Europe, where stablecoin regulations have recently been established.
Therefore, BBVA’s stablecoin is expected to be primarily euro-based and focused on settlement of tokenized asset exchanges.
BBVA’s stablecoin is ready for launch in 2025, but Maroto noted that U.S. operations are not part of its immediate plans. In particular, BBVA has been investigating the digital asset landscape since 2014. Maroto expressed optimism that the venture would allow banks to capitalize on the burgeoning trend of asset tokenization, including private credit funds and real estate.
BBVA currently provides Ethereum, Bitcoin and USDC storage and trading services for institutional clients and private banking in Switzerland. The company is also planning to expand into Türkiye.
Giant of the stablecoin market
The stablecoin landscape has grown significantly over the past decade, with dollar-backed options such as Tether (USDT) and USDC Coin (USDC) surging in popularity.
USDT currently has a valuation of $119.67 billion, accounting for over 50% of the $172.59 billion stablecoin market. USDC, which follows closely behind, has a market capitalization of $35.57 billion.
Recent entries by traditional financial institutions include PayPal’s PYUSD stablecoin, which was launched in August 2023 and has a market capitalization of $716.17 million.
Prominent payments company Ripple will participate in the stablecoin market through RLUSD this last quarter. The RLUSD stablecoin is currently undergoing various operational testing stages.
Disclaimer: This content is informational and should not be considered financial advice. The views expressed in this article may include the personal opinions of the author and do not reflect the opinions of The Crypto Basic. We encourage our readers to conduct thorough research before making any investment decisions. Crypto Basic is not responsible for any financial losses.
