Circle’s EURC hits €400M in a slow push against dollar stablecoins

Circle revealed that its euro stablecoin (EURC) has now crossed the mark of €400 million in circulation within around four years since it was launched. Although this amount is still insignificant compared to the dollar stablecoins, this gap is part of the overall picture. Establishing a serious payment rail that doesn’t rely on the dollar has required years of work even for one of the biggest issuers of stablecoins in the sector.

As far as institutions, payment firms, and developers wanting to hold and transfer euros on the blockchain are concerned, this achievement indicates that a promising alternative is coming into being. Nonetheless, the expansion of EURC points to the fact that the adoption process has been rather lengthy, owing to more advanced regulations and improved infrastructure, but not to the sharp increase in demand.

A four-year climb from one chain to five

The European euro stablecoin EURC debuted on Ethereum back in June 2022, where it remained until 2023, when Circle started to launch it on other blockchains, including Avalanche, Stellar, Solana, and Base. By December 2024, it had been introduced to five different blockchains and had almost €80 million in circulation. According to Circle, the EURC supply doubled in the first half of 2025, rising more than 100% over the past 12 months.

Circle executives mentioned that the industry had achieved a milestone of €400 million for the first time. On August 14, Patrick Hansen tweeted that EURC had “officially crossed €400M in circulation for the first time in history,” which is more than ten times its size at the beginning of the MiCA period two years back. Another colleague, Peter Schroeder, also talked about EURC being the first euro-pegged stablecoin to ever reach €400 million worth of supply.

Why does the dollar still own the rails?

The milestone appears different when viewed in the context of the dominance of the dollar. According to a paper published in May 2026 by the Bank for International Settlements, nearly 98% of the value of stablecoins is dollar-denominated, which suggests that stablecoins would only strengthen the dollar’s current position before rival currencies make a meaningful dent.

Euro tokens have encountered hurdles in practical usage, as Circle noted that users typically had to resort to dollar-pegged stablecoins for euro transactions, experience low liquidity on-chain, or use bridges that create obstacles and risks.

Regulation transformed the industry too. Cryptopolitan had reported Tether’s discontinuation of its euro stablecoin EURT instead of complying with the European Union’s emerging regulations. Even with robust increases in euro-pegged stablecoins to reach around $900 million by mid-2026, they still made up much less than 1% of the approximately $300 billion stablecoin market globally.

What MiCA changed for euro tokens

The Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework of the European Union came into effect in December 2024, putting in place requirements with regard to reserves, disclosures, governance, and redemption. Circle designed EURC in a manner that allows it to be classified as an e-money token in compliance with MiCA regulations, and issued it through one of its electronic money institutions in France under the supervision of ACPR with full backing of segregated reserves.

MiCA was not responsible for creating demand for euro stablecoins. Instead, it gave banks, payment companies, and other regulated entities a clear basis so they could decide whether to use a euro stablecoin or not.

This transition can be seen in the framework of the EURC. The token is traded on major exchanges and payment gateways and has institutional custody services backing it up. Visa and Mastercard have also expanded stablecoin settlement functionality to include EURC and bring this token out of the crypto trading landscape and closer to the traditional payment infrastructure.

Where the euro token is actually being used

When it comes to the question of whether EURC could become a true payment rail, usage is more significant than listings. As reported by Thunes on August 13, the payments company has now added its EURC prefunding features throughout Ethereum, Solana, Base, and Stellar. This means that users of the network are able to execute euro transactions irrespective of banking hours or the need to first convert to dollars.

Data from third parties also suggests a similar trend. A study prepared by Dune for Visa indicates that during the period ending in February 2026, the total volume of local-currency stablecoins grew by approximately 90%, reaching $1.2 billion, which is a much higher rate than dollar-based tokens. Most of this capital was generated via euro-based stablecoins, which represent more than 80% of the total market capitalization and 85% of the overall transfer volume. EURC alone processes between $10 and $20 billion per month.

Notably, the number of unique addresses dealing with non-dollar stablecoins surged from an estimated 40,000 in January 2023 to upwards of 1.2 million in early February 2026.

Broader stablecoin context

EURC’s milestone of €400 million is less significant in the context of how it poses a threat to the dollar today, but more important in regard to proving another currency can create its own on-chain infrastructure. The euro stablecoin sector is becoming more usable, regulated, and liquid. The scale of the euro stablecoin market, however, is a reminder of the fact that a majority of the global stablecoin economy remains dollar-denominated.