September 22, 2026

Non-USD stablecoin supply grew approximately 5x over the past two years, as clearer regulation, particularly MiCA, enabled regulated issuers and institutions to enter the market. We believe usage has developed along two distinct paths: EURC, Circle’s Euro-backed stablecoin, serves as the primary liquid onchain euro for trading, FX and DeFi, while other local-currency stablecoins are increasingly being integrated into local payment rails for payments, payroll and settlement.
As of September 15, 2026, EURC accounted for 45.7% of tracked supply and 90.1% of reported 30-day trading volume, which we believe reflects its deeper liquidity and integrations with Aerodrome, Uniswap, Aave and Morpho, and other DeFi protocols. Excluding EURC, approximately 80% of non-USD stablecoin activity involved simple transfers consistent with payments, payroll and settlement. This suggests that EURC is more oriented toward onchain financial activity, while other non-USD stablecoins may be gaining adoption through local payments and settlement.

Note: ParaFi analysis through September 15, 2026. Supply data are sourced from DefiLlama, including historical supply data, with Dune used for EURI history before DefiLlama coverage. Supply reflects a fixed September 2026 cohort of active, fiat-backed, non-USD-pegged, non-yield-bearing tokens with observable prices, rather than the entire historical non-USD stablecoin universe. Observations are taken on the 15th of each month and expressed in USD; changes therefore reflect both circulating supply and exchange-rate movements.
Token-level trading volume covers August 17–September 15, 2026 for EURC and 15 other tokens with reported activity. The data were accessed through DeFiLlama, which imports the metric from CoinGecko and defines token volume as the value of swaps to or from each token across centralized and decentralized exchanges. Volume coverage differs from supply coverage, and missing volume is not treated as zero. Supply share is measured as of September 15, 2026, while trading-volume share covers the preceding 30-day period. Figures are rounded. Selected onchain protocol activity over the same period is sourced separately from Dune. DEX trades and lending supply or borrow events are distinct metrics and are not directly comparable with DeFiLlama’s broader token-trading-volume measure.
The approximately 80% simple-transfer figure, excluding EURC, is drawn from Dune and Visa’s Beyond Dollarization research, published March 25, 2026. It reflects that report’s sample and period, not the August 17–September 15, 2026 trading-volume window. Simple transfers are consistent with, but do not establish, payments, payroll or settlement use. Issuer and integration context is sourced from Circle’s EURC materials and MiCA announcement. Funds advised by ParaFi are investors in Circle, the issuer of EURC.
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