Circle and Deutsche Börse Join Forces on EU Stablecoin Growth
Deutsche Börse, one of Europe’s largest securities marketplaces, has entered into a partnership with Circle, the issuer of the USDC stablecoin, to push forward stablecoin adoption across the region.
The two groups signed a memorandum of understanding to bring Circle’s euro-pegged EURC and dollar-pegged USDC into Deutsche Börse’s financial market infrastructure. The first step will involve listing and trading on 360T’s digital exchange 3DX and through Crypto Finance, both owned by Deutsche Börse.
Stablecoin adoption under MiCA
The collaboration has been made possible through the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA), which took full effect in late 2024. Circle became the first global stablecoin issuer to comply with MiCA requirements, a milestone its CEO Jeremy Allaire announced in July 2024.
Allaire emphasized that the partnership aims to expand the use of regulated stablecoins across Europe’s financial systems by “reducing settlement risk, lowering costs, and improving efficiency for banks, asset managers, and the wider market.” In addition to trading, the plan also includes enabling custody services through Deutsche Börse’s Clearstream business, with Crypto Finance serving as sub-custodian.
EU concerns over multi-issuer stablecoins
The announcement arrived as Bloomberg reported that European regulators are considering restrictions on multi-issuer stablecoins, where tokens are issued both in Europe and abroad under one brand. According to sources, the European Systemic Risk Board recently issued a nonbinding recommendation to explore such a ban, citing risks that include legal and liquidity challenges.
While Circle has already complied with MiCA, Tether — the world’s largest stablecoin issuer — has refused to do so, pointing to reserve requirements as its reason. Meanwhile, other companies have accelerated adoption: Société Générale-Forge, the crypto arm of Société Générale, has just deployed its CoinVertible stablecoins on DeFi platforms Morpho and Uniswap.
Europe’s stablecoin landscape
Despite regulatory uncertainty, demand for compliant stablecoins is growing. European companies are increasingly integrating stablecoins into their operations, and partnerships like Deutsche Börse and Circle suggest that digital assets are moving closer to mainstream European finance.
Sources:
https://cointelegraph.com/news/usdc-circle-deutsche-borse-europe-stablecoins