Despite the massive global stablecoin market, euro-pegged stablecoins account for only a small fraction. According to data analysis from DeFi NewsLlama and Dune Analytics, euro stablecoins represent just 0.35% of the total market capitalization of $307.6 billion. In terms of stablecoin trading volume, euro stablecoins perform even worse, accounting for less than 0.1%, highlighting the limited influence of euro-denominated digital assets in a market still dominated by dollar-backed tokens.
Euro Stablecoins vs. Dollar Stablecoins: The Gap
Currently, the total supply of dollar-pegged stablecoins is $306.9 billion, while the circulating supply of euro stablecoins is only $1.06 billion. Over the past year, the total transaction volume of euro stablecoins was only $3.17 billion, compared to a staggering $3.2 trillion for dollar stablecoins. Notably, the annual trading volume of euro stablecoins is far lower than their total circulating supply, reflecting sluggish trading activity and the difficulty of executing large transactions due to insufficient liquidity.
Among euro stablecoins, Circle's EURC leads with a market capitalization of $445 million. Other notable tokens include Société Générale Forge's EURCV ($63 million), Anchored Coins' AEUR ($56 million), Banking Circle's EURI ($55 million), and Monerium's EURe ($27 million). However, user engagement presents a different picture: EURC has approximately 60,000 active users, accounting for 70% of euro stablecoin trading volume, while EURe has over 23,000 users, accounting for 27% of trading volume. Although EURCV and EURI manage significant bank funds, they have just over 1,000 active users, indicating that they are primarily concentrated among institutional investors.
Liquidity: A Structural Obstacle
The fundamental reason for the scarcity of liquidity in euro stablecoins is structural challenges. The tokens are distributed across different pools and platforms, leading to fragmented orders, which weakens the depth crucial for efficiently executing large transactions. Most trading activity is concentrated on decentralized exchanges such as Uniswap, PancakeSwap, and Aerodrome. This fragmented liquidity increases price slippage and transaction fees, further inhibiting trading activity and discouraging new liquidity providers from participating.
Infrastructure and Regulatory Drivers
To directly address the issue of liquidity fragmentation, Barter has introduced a hybrid execution model. This model allows professional market makers to conduct euro stablecoin transactions with off-chain pricing and settle the transactions on-chain. Barter and Monerium recently collaborated to implement "atomic minting," allowing EURe tokens to be created on demand during transactions. This mechanism aims to improve execution security and trading depth for institutional users.
The European Union's Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation is a significant moment for the development of euro stablecoins. With uniform rules taking effect in the 27 EU countries, MiCA overcomes previous obstacles.