Stablecoin adoption is on the rise in Europe as banks and corporates move from research to implementation, driven by growing demand for efficient cross-border payments and settlement. The introduction of MiCA, a regulatory framework covering digital assets across the EU, has streamlined the process and reduced complexity.
Lamine Brahimi, co-founder and managing partner at Taurus, noted that stablecoin talks in Europe have changed significantly over the past 18 months, shifting from education and risk assessments to concrete partnerships and live use cases. The introduction of MiCA has been instrumental in facilitating this shift, providing a unified framework for firms operating across different EU member states.
Corporate treasury teams are driving much of the new stablecoin demand, seeking faster fund movement, lower payment costs, and access to settlement outside normal banking hours. Several European institutions have already moved ahead with stablecoin plans, including ClearBank Europe, which became the first Dutch credit institution approved under MiCA to operate as a crypto asset service provider.