Finnish Fintech Company Launches Euro Stablecoin on Ethereum

The company claims EUROe is the first regulated stablecoin in Europe. 

According to a recent announcement, Membrane Finance, a Finnish fintech company, has launched a fully-reserved euro stablecoin on the Ethereum network. Membrane Finance claims that the stablecoin, known as EUROe, is the first and only EU-regulated stablecoin. 

It bears mentioning that USDC issuer Circle Inc. had previously launched a euro-backed stablecoin, dubbed Euro Coin (EUROC), in the United States in June. However, while Euro Coin is custodied by U.S.-regulated entity Silvergate Bank, the fiat backing EUROe will be held in an unnamed European financial institution. 

Membrane Finance claims that one unit of EUROe will always be equivalent to the value of one euro. The company, which is licensed by the Finnish Financial Supervisory Authority (Fin-FSA), further backs its claims, saying: 

“For each EUROe issued, at least one fiat Euro exists in a European financial institution or bank, ring-fenced from Membrane Finance.”

The company said the launch of EUROe is imperative given that the current infrastructure for money has failed to meet consumers’ needs, adding that the payments system is slow, expensive, and requires too much human interference. With EUROe, Membrane Finance said that people could make near-instant payments globally at a negligible fee. 

Commenting on the development, Juha Viitala, Membrane Finance’s CEO and Co-founder of Membrane Finance, said the launch of EUROe is massive news for the company and the entire European crypto market. 

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“This launch is the result of two years of hard work to build the most robust regulatory-compliant European payment systems that allow you to leverage innovation in decentralized finance and other emerging technologies,” Viitala remarked. 

EUROe to Launch on Other Blockchains 

Per the announcement, EUROe has received the Electronic Institution Money license from the FIN-FSA, making it the first EU-regulated stablecoin. The stablecoin is live on the Ethereum network. Interestingly, the company plans to roll out support for additional blockchains in the future. 

“From today, EUROe can be implemented in smart contracts and transacted on Ethereum […] Membrane Finance plans to release EUROe smart contracts on an increasing number of blockchains, such as Solana, Polygon, and Arbitrum One,” it noted. 

Growing Interest in Euro-backed Stablecoins 

Stablecoins are crypto tokens backed by a stable asset like fiat. They have continued to gain popularity in the crypto industry. While most stablecoins are pegged to the dollar, only a handful are pegged to the euro. 

Fintech companies have shown significant interest in launching euro stablecoins. In June, Circle rolled out the Euro Coin on the Ethereum blockchain. Similarly, leading stablecoin issuer Stasis launched a euro-backed stablecoin on XDC Network in December. Stasis is currently making efforts to launch the stablecoin on the XRP Ledger. 

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