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Stablecoin issuer Circle has joined forces with the Stellar Development Foundation to launch its EURC fiat-backed stablecoin on the Stellar network.
Similar to the U.S. dollar-backed USDC—the crypto industry’s second-largest stablecoin— —EURC maintains a 1:1 peg with the euro under a full-reserve model, Teana Baker Taylor, Circle's VP of policy and regulatory strategy for EMEA announced today during Stellar’s annual Meridian conference in Madrid.
Stellar is now the third blockchain network on which EURC is available, joining Ethereum and Avalanche which are both already supporting the stablecoin.
Hello Europe 👋 meet our new friend EURC on #Stellar. Same speed, low cost, and reliability of the Stellar network we all know and love in a brand new currency.
With @circle's EURC, we can't wait to see what real-world utility builders unlock next.@TeanaTaylor breaks it… pic.twitter.com/eQE5sMZI2M
— Stellar (@StellarOrg) September 26, 2023
This accessibility extends to individuals who may not have traditional banking services readily available.
“The bedrock of Circle’s deep alliance with the Stellar Development Foundation is our shared commitment to advancing financial inclusion and offering mobile-first, near-instant, and low-cost payments solutions to people worldwide," Rachel Mayer, Circle's VP of product management, said in a statement.
The collaboration will also work to aid individuals impacted by humanitarian disasters.
As an example, the EURC on the Stellar network is expected to seamlessly integrate with bulk disbursement and cash assistance systems like Stellar Aid Assist, enabling the swift, cost-effective, and transparent distribution of relief funds to individuals facing crises.
“The launch of EURC on Stellar has the potential to radically enhance European remittance corridors, cross-border payments, treasury management, and aid disbursement,” added Mayer.
Ripio to pioneer use of EURC on Stellar
Amid today's announcement, Sebastian Serrano, CEO and co-founder of Ripio, a leading crypto company in Latin America, said his company will be the first to turn to EUR on their in-app crypto wallet.
"Being the first company to list EURC on Stellar strengthens Ripio's mission of accelerating crypto adoption and contributing significantly to the development of the ecosystem,” said Serrano. “In 10 years, we've been extending our products all over Latin America and now we're ready to set our footprint in Europe with this key integration.”
With a market cap just above $3 billion, Stellar’s native cryptocurrency XLM is currently the market’s 25th largest, trading at $0.11 by press time, per CoinGecko.