In less than three years, Circle's USDC has gone from a bit player to the dominant stablecoin in euro trading, climbing from just 10% of the market in January 2024 to 56% in Kaiko's latest figures. That flip is less about traders suddenly falling in love with one coin, and more about regulation quietly redrawing who gets to play in Europe.
Key points:
- USDC now accounts for 56% of stablecoin trading against the euro, up from 10% in January 2024, according to Kaiko.
- USDC's euro order books are now roughly 40% deeper than USDT's, giving traders tighter prices on the pair.
- The European Banking Authority has named USDC the EU's first significant e-money token, with direct EBA supervision starting on November 12, 2026.
The trigger was not a single announcement. Under the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation, known as MiCA, major exchanges restricted USDT trading for customers in the European Economic Area, and the flow of euro trading followed the compliant coin. Kaiko calls stablecoin-to-euro pairs a main on-ramp and off-ramp for European customers, the route in and out of crypto for people paying in euros, so a shift there touches everyday trading, not just a niche pair.
Then came the regulatory stamp. About two weeks before Kaiko's report, the European Banking Authority designated USDC as the EU's first significant e-money token under MiCA, a label that puts the stablecoin under direct EBA supervision and adds extra requirements for its issuer. From November 12, 2026, the EBA takes over supervision of areas like capital, reserves, liquidity and recovery planning, while France's ACPR keeps the rest, including governance and outsourcing.
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Here is the part worth keeping in proportion. Globally, Tether is still far bigger, with a circulating supply about 2.5 times that of USDC, according to the same report. This is a European story, not a global dethroning, and anyone reading it as USDT collapsing would be getting ahead of the data.
What should traders watch next?
The honest read is that regulation has become a distribution advantage in stablecoins, and the United States may be next to prove it. Kaiko points to the US GENIUS Act taking a similar approach, and on October 21, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency issued its first final rule under that law, setting reserve and redemption requirements effective January 18, 2027. From July 2028, US platforms will also face restrictions on offering stablecoins from issuers that do not meet the law's approval requirements. Tether, for its part, has launched a separate US-focused stablecoin, USAT, rather than forcing USDT through the same door.
For traders, the practical tells are simple. Watch whether USDC's euro liquidity edge holds after November 12, when the new supervision actually starts, and whether US platforms start showing the same drift toward compliant issuers that Europe already has. Liquidity follows the rules now, and the spreads on euro pairs will show it before any headline does.
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— BitByLine News Desk
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Sources: Cointelegraph, Kaiko, European Banking Authority