EURC — Circle's euro stablecoin

EURC in plain words

This stablecoin works the same way as USDC and is issued by the same company, Circle. It is easiest to think of EURC as a euro on a blockchain, that is, on the shared record of transfers kept by thousands of computers. For every such token Circle keeps one real euro in a bank. You can send the token over the internet to anyone at any hour, while the euro itself stays in the company's account.

For example, a client in Spain pays a freelancer in Georgia 500 EURC. The money arrives within minutes, and the freelancer receives the same 500 euros in value, with no conversion through dollars.

Because EURC tracks the euro, its price behaves differently in different currencies. Against the euro it stays at about one to one, while in dollars it costs whatever a euro costs today, so it shifts a little every day. That is the euro-to-dollar rate at work, and the peg itself is fine.

How the EURC stablecoin works

EURC tokens are created when Circle receives euros and burned when they are redeemed

New EURC appears only when Circle receives real euros: it issues exactly the same amount of EURC, and when tokens come back to be exchanged for euros, they are burned. So every EURC in circulation has a euro in reserve behind it¹. This way of issuing is explained in more detail in what is issuance.

In the EEA, under the EU's rules for crypto (MiCA), any holder has the right to redeem EURC with Circle one to one after an identity check, and the money arrives in a bank account in the EEA. Circle charges no fee for this, and the payout takes up to 5 business days ⚖️². Companies redeem EURC via Circle Mint, and individuals through a form on Circle's site. Without such an account, you sell EURC on an exchange, and how to sell and withdraw shows how.

How to tell the real EURC from look-alike tokens

Unrelated tokens also turn up under the ticker EURC, down to joke meme tokens, while the real EURC is issued only by Circle. Before buying or sending, check the contract address, that is, the address of the token's program on the network, against Circle's official list. The sender and the recipient must be on the same network, or the recipient may not see the money. How addresses and token standards work is covered in token standards and how to send crypto, and how to avoid falling for a fake in phishing and scams.

What backs EURC and how the reserves are checked

Behind every EURC stand euros in separate accounts at regulated EEA banks, and part of the reserves may be held in short-term securities. This money is kept apart from the company's own funds¹³. Once a month one of the Big Four audit firms (the four largest in the world) checks that the reserves cover every token issued and publishes a report⁴. This kind of check is called an attestation. The checker looks at whether there is enough money on a specific day and does not examine the company's whole business (what are reserves). On its transparency page Circle does not name the specific banks that hold the reserves⁴.

Who authorised EURC in Europe

MiCA is the European Union's common set of rules for crypto. Under it, EURC counts as an e-money token. That is the name for a stablecoin pegged to a single official currency, and only a bank or an electronic money institution may issue one ⚖️⁵³. Circle received its licence to issue electronic money on 1 July 2024 in France, from the regulator of banks and insurers (ACPR), and under these rules it issues both EURC and USDC⁶.

In 2025 major exchanges removed stablecoins without MiCA authorisation for users in the EEA, USDT among them⁷. Tether shut down its own euro stablecoin, EURT⁸⁹.

How EURC differs from USDC and from euros in a bank account

EURC differs from the dollar stablecoins USDT and USDC in the currency it tracks: USDT and USDC keep to the dollar, and EURC to the euro. Check the euro-to-dollar rate on an aggregator.

	EURC	USDC	Bank
Which currency does it track?	euro	dollar	euro
Does its dollar price change?	yes1	no	yes
Can you send it abroad at night?	yes	yes	varies4
Can it be blocked?	yes	yes	yes
Is there deposit insurance?	no2	no	yes
Can anyone redeem one to one with the issuer?	in EEA3	in EEA3	yes

1. It changes along with the euro-to-dollar rate. ↩
2. The reserves sit in banks, but a token holder does not count as a depositor of those banks ⚖️. ↩
3. You need to pass an identity check and have an EEA bank account ⚖️. Outside the EEA, only Circle Mint business clients redeem USDC directly. ↩
4. Within Europe, euro transfers can also be instant and run around the clock. ↩

Pros and cons of EURC, USDC and euros in a bank account

The right choice depends on what matters more to you: holding euros specifically, the convenience of the familiar dollar, or the protection and guarantees of an ordinary bank account.

The digital euro is not EURC

The digital euro is future money from the European Central Bank (ECB), like cash, only in electronic form. It does not exist yet, and as of July 2026 the law on it has not been adopted ⚖️¹⁰. The ECB expects a first issuance no earlier than 2029¹¹. EURC is a private token from the company Circle, and it already works today.

What EURC is used for

• Payments and invoices in euros without an extra conversion through the dollar, as in the freelancer example (freelance payments).
• Transfers to and from European Union countries when an ordinary bank transfer is too slow or too expensive (remittances to family).
• Keeping part of your money in euro terms if you do not want to depend on the dollar's exchange rate (protection from inflation).

EURC risks

• EURC depends on Circle and its banks: if a custodian bank runs into trouble, the peg can wobble. This has already happened to the same company's dollar token: in March 2023, after the collapse of the US bank SVB, USDC briefly fell to about 0.87 dollars (what is a depeg)¹².
• Circle can block a particular address, and the right to redeem the tokens on it for euros is lost along with them.
• There are fewer euro stablecoins in circulation than dollar ones
  where to check: a stablecoin market-cap aggregator, e.g. coinmarketcap.com
  , so you cannot buy and sell EURC on every platform, or always at a convenient price.

Where to check current EURC data

Reserve composition and monthly reports, the list of networks and the official contract addresses are on Circle's site.

Check EURC's price and how it moves in dollars or in your own currency on a rate aggregator.

More detail on EU rules, other euro stablecoins and the digital euro

EURC is issued by the French company Circle Internet Financial Europe SAS, based in Paris, and under MiCA it is an e-money token (EMT) ⚖️⁶³. Binance removed USDT for EEA users from 31 March 2025⁷. Tether accepted EURT redemptions until November 2025⁸.

Other euro stablecoins work alongside EURC, each with its own issuer and its own European licence: EURAU from the company AllUnity in Germany, EURCV from Société Générale-FORGE in France, EURe from the service Monerium, and EURI from the bank Banking Circle in Luxembourg¹³. They are built the same way as EURC.

The digital euro is a direct liability of the central bank. In July 2026 the European Parliament approved its position on the law and began negotiations with the Council of the EU ⚖️¹⁰. The ECB plans trial settlements no earlier than mid-2027 and a possible first issuance in 2029, if the law is adopted in 2026. The ECB will decide on issuance only once the law has been adopted¹¹.

1. launch 30.06.2022 as EUROC Circle, «Euro Coin (EUROC) is coming on June 30th» circle.com; renamed EURC in 2023 Circle, «USD Coin and Euro Coin are now exclusively: USDC and EURC» circle.com ↩
2. issuer, ACPR licence since 01.07.2024 Circle, «Circle is First Global Stablecoin Issuer to Comply with MiCA» circle.com ↩
3. reserve composition Circle, «EURC» circle.com; Circle, «MiCA EURC White Paper» circle.com ↩
4. monthly reports, a Big Four firm Circle, «Transparency» circle.com ↩
5. right of redemption in the EEA after an identity check Circle, «MiCA Redemption Policy» circle.com; right of redemption at par value at any time Circle, «MiCA EURC White Paper» circle.com ↩
6. right to block EURC addresses Circle, «MiCA EURC White Paper» circle.com ↩
7. list of networks (changes) Circle, «EURC» circle.com ↩

Frequently asked questions