European stablecoin issuers are making a coordinated case that euro stablecoins alone cannot meet the region’s cross-border settlement needs under the Markets in Crypto-Assets framework.
German issuer AllUnity launched the dollar-pegged stablecoin USDAU on Wednesday, expanding its MiCA-compliant product line beyond European currency exposure. AllUnity co-founder and CEO Alexander Höptner told CoinTelegraph, “In international trade and foreign exchange markets, the dollar is the glue. If European companies want to make global cross-border payments, offering only euro stablecoins is not enough.”
Issuers say demand for dollars comes from real settlement needs
Stable Mint CEO James Bennett put the point more bluntly. He said demand for dollar stablecoins in Europe is driven by practical considerations and will not disappear simply because policymakers want to steer usage toward the euro.
“Dollar stablecoins are where the demand is. Europe cannot wish that away,” Bennett said. “But Europe can decide who gets to issue them, and under what rules they are made available to European users.”
According to company-provided data, Stable Mint’s USDSM had processed more than 380 million on-chain transfers worth over $380 million as of Wednesday, with more than 2,600 wallets holding the token.
Adam Bialy, CEO of UK crypto payments platform Fiat Republic, also said crypto platforms and stablecoin companies need round-the-clock dollar settlement. “The demand we see is practical, not speculative,” he said. In his view, a regulated dollar token can reduce cross-border settlement friction between Europe, the UK and North America.
SG-FORGE frames the issue as ecosystem diversification
SG-FORGE, the digital assets subsidiary of French banking group Société Générale, argued that the goal should not be opposition to dollar stablecoins but the creation of a broader and more resilient system.
An SG-FORGE spokesperson said, “Our goal is not to oppose dollar stablecoins, but to foster a diverse and resilient ecosystem that gives users access to both euro- and dollar-denominated digital cash solutions within a sound regulatory framework.”
Its USD CoinVertible, or USDCV, launched in 2025, has drawn interest for trading, settlement, collateral management and treasury operations.
European-issued dollar stablecoins remain tiny next to USDT and USDC
Even with that push, the scale of Europe-based dollar stablecoins is still far below the two dominant US dollar tokens.
CoinGecko data cited in the report shows USDSM and USDCV at roughly $13 million each in market capitalization. That compares with about $184 billion for Tether’s USDT and $74 billion for Circle’s USDC.
The report says the gap reflects the liquidity networks, exchange integrations and merchant acceptance that USDT and USDC built over the past decade. European issuers do not yet compete on size. Their opening is MiCA compliance, particularly for corporate users that want audit transparency and regulatory certainty.
MiCA review and ECB concerns now intersect
The push for dollar stablecoins in Europe is arriving as the European Union reviews MiCA and the European Central Bank continues to warn that stablecoins could strengthen the dollar’s global position.
From the ECB’s perspective, heavy reliance on dollar stablecoins inside Europe’s payment system could weaken the strategic case for a digital euro. Issuers, though, are arguing that in a world where global trade is still dollar-led, forcing companies toward euro stablecoins may simply push demand to unregulated USDT rather than strengthen the euro itself.
Attention shifts to how MiCA is adjusted
Höptner described the opportunity as “not the U.S. versus Europe,” but as a buildout of interoperable financial infrastructure linking dollar liquidity with European banks and businesses.
The next key variable is the MiCA review. If the EU chooses to restrict dollar stablecoins by raising reserve requirements or setting quotas, European companies may turn to issuers in the UK or Switzerland. If rules are loosened, Europe could win a larger share of the regulated dollar stablecoin segment, though it would still face direct competition from USDC.