Circle adds Base network support for EURC stablecoin

What’s new? Stablecoin issuer Circle is launching the euro-pegged EURC coin on the Layer 2 (L2) Base network developed by leading US crypto exchange Coinbase based on the Ethereum blockchain. The company had previously added Base support for its USDC dollar-pegged stablecoin, which ranks sixth in the cryptocurrency rankings with a capitalization of over $34,1 billion.

Press release

What else is known? As Circle notes in the press release, the euro is the third largest fiat currency in the traditional financial system, which means big growth opportunities for the digital asset economy.

USDC’s Base volume has already reached $3 billion. The company notes that its stablecoins can serve multiple purposes, including instant international and P2P payments, as well as marketplace transactions. EURC and USDC can be used in DeFi protocols and as a savings and hedge against local fiat currency inflation.

EURC is an ERC-20 standard token, it was launched on June 30, 2022, on the Ethereum blockchain, and since May 2023 it also supports the Avalanche network. Initially, the asset was called Euro Coin and had the ticker EUROC, since September 2023 it has had only one name similar to the ticker — EURC.

At the same time, support for the asset was added to the Stellar network, and in December EURC was launched on the Solana blockchain. At the same time, the company itself received a license from the French regulator to provide cryptocurrency-related services.

Circle added that EURC and USDC are the first stablecoins from a global issuer to meet the requirements of the new Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation, which began to be phased in across the European Union this month.

Some issuers, including Circle’s main competitor Tether with its largest stablecoin USDT, have faced problems amid the MiCA implementation, as a number of exchanges have announced the end of their support for EU users.

At the time of writing, EURC is capitalized at $37,4 million. In turn, Base is the second-largest blockchain-based Ethereum L2 network by total value locked (TVL) with a value of $6,73 billion.