From 1% to Billions: The Rise of Euro, Yen, and Regional Stablecoins
The post From 1% to Billions: The Rise of Euro, Yen, and Regional Stablecoins appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com.
The numbers tell the story. Stablecoins reached $307 billion in total value by October 2025, growing from just $28 billion five years earlier. Yet euro-backed stablecoins account for only $500 million of this massive market. That means 99% of stablecoin value tracks the dollar, even though the European Union has a larger economy than the United States. This imbalance is starting to change, driven by new regulations and growing demand for digital versions of local currencies. Why Non-Dollar Stablecoins Matter Now Traditional currency markets tell us this gap shouldn’t exist. Non-USD currencies make up over 40% of daily forex trading, which totals $7.5 trillion per day. But online, these same currencies represent less than 1% of blockchain transactions. The disconnect creates real problems. A business in Brazil wanting to pay a supplier in Japan using cryptocurrency must convert through US dollars twice, paying fees each time. A European company using blockchain for payments has almost no choice but to hold dollar-pegged tokens, exposing them to exchange rate risks they’d never face in traditional banking. Banks and financial institutions are taking notice. Nine major European banks, including UniCredit and ING, announced plans to launch their own euro stablecoin by late 2026. In Japan, financial services giant Monex is preparing a yen-backed token, while the country’s regulators approved the first licensed yen stablecoin earlier this year. Regulation Opens the Floodgates Two major regulatory changes in 2025 set the stage for non-dollar stablecoins to grow rapidly. Europe’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation became fully effective on December 30, 2024. The new rules require stablecoin issuers to obtain licenses, prove their reserves monthly, and follow strict transparency standards. While this initially caused disruption—exchanges delisted over $140 billion worth of non-compliant tokens—it also created clear rules that encourage banks and institutions to enter the market.…
