How $10,000 in stablecoins would have gained €420 without earning interest

A dollar stablecoin can keep its peg while the euro spending value of a European saver’s balance moves sharply. At a perfect $1 peg, an unchanged holding would have gained about 4.9% in euros between September 1 and November 13, 2026, using European Central Bank reference rates and excluding costs.

The ECB’s household stablecoin analysis puts that currency exposure in context. Its experimental 2025 survey evidence identifies ownership of dollar tokens among euro area consumers. The subsequent exchange-rate comparison illustrates a separate point: stability against the dollar does not promise stability against the currency used to pay the rent.

The bulletin draws on Consumer Expectations Survey modules from August and November 2025 across the 11 largest euro area countries. In August, 5% of consumers reported stablecoin ownership by themselves or household members, while 13% reported crypto ownership.

Among respondents with crypto holdings, 17% reported USDT, 12% $USDC and 10% the euro-denominated EURC. Those percentages measure how common ownership was among crypto-holding respondents. They reveal no token’s share of invested capital. Respondents could select several assets, and the crypto-holder subsample comprised 1,286 people.

The ownership observations date to 2025. The ECB flags small samples, questionnaire sensitivity and possible misreporting. It also says the survey does not directly report how assets were used, so the figures cannot establish payment adoption or tell us what households earned.

The two-date illustration takes September 1 as its chosen baseline. Different holding periods can produce different currency returns. The ECB’s dollar reference-rate history shows $1.1590 per euro on September 1 and $1.1052 on November 13, the latest working-day observation available for this comparison.

With fewer dollars needed to buy one euro, the same dollar balance translated into more euros. For 10,000 unchanged tokens worth exactly $1 each, the illustrative value rose from €8,628 to €9,048, a gain of about €420 before costs. Dividing 1.1590 by 1.1052 and subtracting one gives a 4.9% increase.

That entire illustrated gain comes from currency movement. Token quantity and dollar price are held constant, with no interest earned. Actual households’ returns would depend on their holdings, timing and costs. The ECB also publishes its rates for information and discourages transactional use, so retail conversion quotes can differ from these translation values.

More generally, gross euro value equals token quantity multiplied by the token’s dollar price, divided by dollars per euro. Income can change the quantity or value of a position; a depeg changes the dollar price; exchange rates change its euro translation. Conversion costs reduce what is available to spend. A stronger euro can reverse the currency effect even if the dollar peg remains intact.

Yield is another exposure

A separate stablecoin-yield study by DefiLlama Research, published November 12, examined a November 9 snapshot of 98 stablecoin pools with at least $50 million supplied, no token incentives over the preceding 30 days and a recorded 30-day base annual percentage yield (APY).

It reported a median base APY of 4.1%. Forty-eight pools exceeded the study’s 4.2% three-month Treasury benchmark, dated November 5; that selected group’s median was 5.4%.

These are annualized yield measures based on a trailing 30-day window. They cannot be compared as realized returns with the September-to-November currency gain. They do show why a quoted income rate gives only part of the euro holder’s picture. DefiLlama links higher premiums to additional credit, trading, liquidity or underlying-asset risks, alongside the risks of using smart contracts.

Bare token ownership is different again. Circle’s European Economic Area (EEA) $USDC white paper says $USDC itself generates no interest for holders and gives them no entitlement to reserve income. Earning a DeFi yield requires a separate position with its own terms and risks.

Redemption also needs a currency and an access route. Circle describes $USDC as redeemable one-for-one for dollars. Although Circle Mint is institutional, eligible EEA retail holders have a separate route through Circle France under its MiCA redemption policy, subject to identity and transaction checks and an EEA bank account able to receive USD. Third-party bank conversion or incoming-payment fees may apply.

A holder saving for euro expenses therefore carries a currency exposure alongside peg and investment risks. Someone setting aside tokens for a dollar expense or offsetting a dollar liability may have a different net exposure. The relevant question is what the balance will buy in the currency the holder actually needs.