USDC Takes 56% of Euro-Paired Stablecoin Trading

USDC’s share of euro-paired stablecoin trading rose from 10% in December 2023 to 56% in October. Euro-paired stablecoin trading volume reached nearly $10 billion per month at the end of 2024 before declining in the following months.

The increase followed restrictions on USDT under the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets regulation, known as MiCA. Exchanges and payment companies shifted some activity to USDC, which remains authorized for use in the European market.

Julia Kovalchuk, head of B2B product at MiCA-licensed crypto and fiat infrastructure provider Paybis, said USDC’s share of stablecoin volume among the company’s payment-firm clients rose from about 21% to 75% in one year after MiCA took effect.

USDC also has deeper liquidity in euro trading. Kaiko data showed that euro-USDC order books were 40% deeper than euro-USDT order books, allowing larger trades with less impact on prices. The liquidity has supported euro conversions into dollar-backed stablecoins.

USDT remains larger globally. Its total supply is 2.5 times that of USDC, and Tether’s token continues to lead overall trading and activity in emerging markets. USDC is widely used by enterprise payment companies, traditional-finance on-ramps and regulated custodians in Europe and the United States.

MiCA requires stablecoin issuers to obtain authorization in the European Union and meet rules on reserves and supervision. The regulation set July 2026 as the compliance deadline. Circle, which issues USDC, obtained authorization through a French electronic-money license. Tether’s USDT remains unauthorized in the EU.

Coinbase has restricted USDT trading for European customers and said it would convert outstanding noncompliant USDT holdings around Oct. 30. In mid-October, the European Banking Authority designated USDC a significant electronic-money token, placing it under direct supervision.

“In Europe, liquidity is easy to find. A license takes years and costly legal work, so many smaller firms plug into licensed infrastructure like ours,” Kovalchuk said.

The Ethereum stablecoin ecosystem has reached more than 300 million holder addresses. About three-quarters are on layer-2 networks, which process transactions at lower fees than Ethereum’s main network.

The address count does not represent the number of unique or active users. Kovalchuk said some layer-2 activity involves trading balances moving back to exchanges. She identified repeat payments, merchant settlements and payroll transactions as clearer measures of regular use.

“Once the same businesses settle on L2 every week, that L2 has become a payment rail,” she said.

Kovalchuk said holders remain exposed if an issuer fails or becomes restricted. She pointed to MiCA’s reserve and redemption rules and advised businesses to check how many stablecoins their platforms support and how quickly they can switch between them.