Kaiko Says USDC Takes 56% of Euro Stablecoin Trading Under MiCA
By Crypto Wire
October 28, 2026
Circle’s USDC now accounts for about 56 percent of stablecoin trading against the euro, up from roughly 10 percent in January 2024, according to market-data firm Kaiko. CoinTelegraph and Wednesday secondary wraps of Kaiko’s late-October research put the share print in September 2026 and treat euro stablecoin pairs as a main European on-ramp and off-ramp for dollar stables. The desk files this as a settlement-rail update on the MiCA consultation / non-MiCA exit thread — a new market-share fact, not a rehash of prior ESMA deadline or Coinbase convert chapters.
Kaiko’s board covers about 20 stablecoin-euro pairs. USDC has handled more than half of trading on those pairs every month since June 2025, secondary wraps say. Since late 2025, USDC/EUR has traded about $12 billion a quarter, against roughly $10 billion for Tether’s USDT/EUR. Order-book depth also flipped: across seven exchanges, USDC/EUR books held a median about $27.3 million within 1 percent of mid-price from September 21 to October 19, about 40 percent deeper than USDT/EUR’s roughly $19.3 million median in the same window.
The share jump is a MiCA compliance story, not a spontaneous preference flip. Authorised EU platforms cannot offer non-authorised stablecoins to EU customers under Markets in Crypto-Assets rules; platforms had until the end of March 2025 to comply. That month, Kraken and Binance — then the two largest USDT/EUR markets — delisted USDT for European Economic Area clients, and Kaiko says USDC’s share jumped from about 25 percent to about 46 percent in a single month, the biggest move in the series. Kraken drove most of the rotation: monthly USDC/EUR volume up about $1.9 billion since early 2024, while monthly USDT/EUR fell about $3.8 billion.
Across exchanges, quarterly USDT/EUR volume fell from about $22 billion in the first quarter of 2024 to a low near $8.3 billion in the third quarter of 2025 before steadying near $10 billion. Kraken remains the largest USDT/EUR venue in Kaiko’s read, but its share of that pair dropped from about 71 percent to about 47 percent — a hint, Kaiko said, that remaining USDT/EUR flow is increasingly non-EU. On Bitvavo, which dropped USDT earlier, only USDC/EUR books remain. Kraken still accounts for about three-quarters of the current depth gap, with USDC/EUR books near $13.8 million versus USDT/EUR near $7.8 million.
Regulatory clocks keep tightening the same corridor. This desk already logged ESMA’s January 8, 2027 wind-down guidance for non-MiCA stables and Coinbase’s October 30 EEA auto-convert of USDT and other non-authorised stables into USDC. Kaiko’s 56 percent euro-share print is the tape receipt those policy chapters predicted. Separately, the European Banking Authority classified USDC as the EU’s first significant e-money token; direct EBA supervision of reserves, liquidity, and recovery plans transfers from France’s ACPR on November 12, 2026.
Do not confuse euro-pair market share with global supply leadership. Kaiko still puts USDT’s circulating supply roughly 2.5 times USDC’s worldwide — secondary wraps cite about $183.7 billion versus about $73.7 billion as of mid-October prints. European collectors settling NFT bids, vaulted-card packs, or marketplace fees in euro on-ramps now meet deeper USDC books first; remittance and offshore USDT rails remain a different meter. Kaiko also flags a U.S. rhyme under the GENIUS Act: the OCC’s first final rule takes effect January 18, 2027, with broader restrictions on noncompliant stables scheduled for July 2028, while Tether pursues a separate U.S.-focused USAT product.
Prefer Kaiko’s dated share and depth tables, ESMA’s wind-down language, and the EBA significant-EMT notice over marketing claims that MiCA “killed Tether” globally. For NFT desks, the practical settlement question is which dollar stable clears cheapest and deepest when a European buyer exits euro into a marketplace bid — and whether November’s EBA handoff plus January’s non-MiCA exit keep pushing residual USDT/EUR liquidity off authorised EU boards.
Settlement watch: Watch the November 12 EBA reserve-supervision handoff for USDC, Coinbase’s October 30 EEA convert completion receipts, and whether Kaiko’s next euro-pair refresh keeps USDC above half of stablecoin-euro volume as the January 8, 2027 non-MiCA wind-down approaches — those three checkpoints tell collectors which dollar rail actually clears European NFT and marketplace cash legs.
Bottom line: Kaiko puts USDC at about 56 percent of euro stablecoin trading with roughly 40 percent deeper books than USDT, a MiCA-driven settlement shift that extends this desk’s non-MiCA exit coverage.
Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational and educational purposes only. It does not constitute financial, investment, legal, or trading advice. The NFT market is highly volatile, and past performance is not indicative of future results. Readers should conduct their own research and consult qualified professionals before making any decisions related to digital assets. The cover image for this article may have been created using artificial intelligence (AI).
