Stablecoins in Europe – Opportunities and Use Cases

Stablecoins are enjoying substantial growth. Over the past two years, the volume of stablecoins issued has nearly doubled. However, this growth has mainly been driven by the increase in cryptocurrency trading. There is also another relevant area of application, particularly in the field of cross-border payments. Research by the IMF shows that the two largest stablecoins worldwide (USDT and USDC) are growing faster than the two largest cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin and Ethereum.

About stablecoins in general: Unlike traditional cryptocurrencies, stablecoins have a direct 1:1 parity with a fiat currency. Currently, over 90 per cent of all stablecoins are pegged to the US dollar. Figures from the ECB show that the global stablecoin market currently has a capitalisation of around 280 billion US dollars, of which around 90 per cent is accounted for by the two USD stablecoins USDT and USDC.

At the same time, there are several initiatives in Europe that are pegged to the euro – keyword: European sovereignty. The objective of stablecoins is to create a cost-efficient payment infrastructure and avoid the disadvantages of conventional cryptocurrencies, in particular their volatility. This is achieved by pegging them to a fiat currency.

Since the end of 2024, a regulatory framework has been in force in Europe in the form of the MiCA Regulation (Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation), which also

Issuers of stablecoins in Europe

There are currently two different types of stablecoin issuers active on the European market:

• Bank issuers (e.g. SG-Forge from Société Générale, Qivalis)
• Fintechs such as AllUnity, Circle and Monerium

The banks

SG-Forge has been offering a MiCA-compliant stablecoin solution since 2025. It issues both a stablecoin pegged 1:1 to the US dollar (USDCV) and a stablecoin pegged 1:1 to the euro (EURCV). Currently, around 30 million USDCV and 68 million EURCV are in circulation.

Qivalis is not yet active, but is planned for the second half of 2026. Qivalis is an initiative of eleven European banks (BNP Paribas, CaixaBank, Danske Bank, DekaBank, ING, KBC, Raiffeisen Bank, SEB, Banca Sella, UniCredit and DZ Bank) and will issue a fully regulated stablecoin pegged 1:1 to the euro.

The fintechs

As a regulated German e-money institution, AllUnity has launched a stablecoin called EURAU. Since November 2025, there has been an agreement between AllUnity and Deutsche Börse to integrate EURAU into the Deutsche Börse Group's systems. The focus is on on-chain cross-border payments.

The US company Circle has been offering the EURC since the end of 2023. In December 2025, around 200 million euros were in circulation in the form of EURC.

Monerium, based in Iceland, offers its EURe stablecoin as a white label service for private and business customers. The current circulation is around 21 million euros (as of January 2026).

In addition to issuers, there are feasibility studies and projects. One of these is the Agora project, an initiative of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) in collaboration with seven central banks and over 40 financial institutions. The aim of the project is to test the feasibility and availability of a multi-currency unified ledger for wholesale cross-border payments. In addition, compatibility with existing regulations for settlement, anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorist financing (CTF) is being investigated. Project Agora is evaluating the potential of this new digital cross-border infrastructure. The first prototypes are expected to be completed in the first half of 2026.

Use cases

In addition to crypto trading, stablecoin use cases relevant to payment transactions are primarily found in the area of cross-border B2B payments. The reason for this is that existing procedures are often slow, expensive and complex. Cross-border transfers involve different national banking systems with their own payment infrastructures, clearing cycles, currencies and cut-off times. Correspondent banks are also required as intermediaries, which charge fees and carry out extensive compliance checks. In addition, banks must maintain foreign currency liquidity, which incurs additional costs and ties up capital. Settlement times of T+2 to T+5 are usually to be expected.

This is exactly where stablecoins come in. A stablecoin is digital, stable in value and globally uniform. Settlement takes place directly peer-to-peer from the sender's wallet via the blockchain to the recipient's wallet. The transaction takes seconds to minutes, is clearly traceable and technically verifiable. Compliance checks remain, but take place at the on- and off-ramp. Regulatory obligations also remain an important issue for stablecoins, and FX risks remain when entering and exiting. Overall, however, payment transactions for stablecoins are becoming leaner and significantly more cost-efficient.

Challenges and the way forward

The risks of stablecoins in the eurozone are currently still manageable. Additional use cases will further increase the share of stablecoins.

Nevertheless, there are risks due to global differences in regulatory design, particularly with regard to stablecoin reserve coverage and redemption fees. Problems can arise in these grey areas when multiple parties inside and outside the EU jointly issue stablecoins and there is a ‘run’ on the tokens.

Another significant risk is the high market concentration: around 90 per cent of the stablecoins currently in circulation are issued by just two issuers (USDT and USDC). Practical and reliable regulation in Europe could help to diversify the market and facilitate the entry of new issuers.

Strong growth in stablecoins could also lead to bank deposits being increasingly converted into stablecoins. This could result in banks becoming partially decoupled from the traditional financial system. This risk is particularly high in markets outside the eurozone where confidence in the respective national currency is low.

Stablecoins will not establish themselves as a replacement for SEPA Instant in European payment transactions, but rather as an additional settlement layer. Stablecoins can play to their strengths, especially where the current system still has friction points (cross-border payments, 24/7 availability, multi-currencies). In addition to instant payments, they can serve as the backbone for cross-border payments, while SEPA Instant then acts as the local euro rail for the “last mile”.

Even where cut-off times continue to exist, stablecoins can be a useful addition to instant payments.

The market for stablecoins remains dynamic and offers great opportunities for new use cases. The decisive factor is how these opportunities are seized and how they can be turned into real added value.