The first Euro stablecoin approved in the European Union is launched in Finland

Membrane Finance has released a euro-backed stablecoin, according to its blog post on February 2. A license from the Finnish Financial Supervisory Authority grants the company the right to issue the new “EUROe” coin as the “first and only EU-regulated crypto stablecoin.”

U.S.-based Circle Inc. released its own euro-backed stablecoin in June. However, Sterling Gate Bank, a U.S.-regulated institution, initially held Euro Coin (EUROC).

“At least one fiat Euro is backed by EUROe tokens in a European financial institution or bank ring-fenced from Membrane Finance,” according to the post. According to the company, it will enable “near-instant payments” at close to zero cost, in contrast to traditional finance’s high costs and slow speeds.

Membrane Finance CEO Juha Viitala expressed hope that the regulated Europe coin would encourage more Europeans to grow their wealth through the use of decentralized finance (DeFi) applications, stating:

“Stablecoins are an important part of the transition to blockchain-based money infrastructure, and Europeans are entitled to a full-reserve euro stablecoin issued by the EU and regulated by an EU-based financial authority. EUROe should bring more regular people to DeFi who were previously unable or concerned about cryptocurrency volatility.” 

Euro will be initially available on Ethereum, with future support for additional blockchain networks planned. In the crypto world, “stablecoins,” or crypto tokens backed by fiat currency, have a long and illustrious history. Tether was the first US dollar stablecoin to be released for the Bitcoin Omni Layer, with an Ethereum version following in 2018. 

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