Circle is about to issue a second stablecoin, this one pegged to the euro. The euro coin, or EUROC, will become available on June 30, the company announced Thursday.
Circle said that like USDC, the second-biggest stablecoin by market circulation, the euro coin will be “fully-backed by euro-denominated reserves held conservatively in the custody of leading financial institutions” in the U.S. “beginning with Silvergate Bank,” the company said.
“There is clear market demand for a digital currency denominated in euros, the world’s second-most-traded currency after the U.S. dollar,” Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire said in a statement.
The move comes at a time when the crypto market is reeling from a severe downturn. The total value of all cryptocurrencies have shed roughly $2 trillion since late last year with bitcoin falling to around $21,000.
The market was also rocked by the crash of the UST stablecoin. The UST coin used algorithms to dynamically control the supply of tokens in order to maintain a price peg. The two other major stablecoins, USDC and tether, keep monetary reserves to back their pegs.
Stablecoins have been an increasing area of focus for regulators, who are concerned about their potential effects on the stability of financial markets. A recently introduced Senate bill would only allow for asset-backed stablecoins.
Tether is the largest stablecoin with a market circulation of $70 billion, according to CoinMarketCap. USDC is second with a market circulation of about $54 billion. Tether has seen a series of redemptions in the past month, while USDC's circulation has risen, suggesting that it may be benefiting from the concerns about the quality of competing stablecoins' backing.
Climate TRACE's data show emissions at the facility-level.Image: Climate TRACE