USDC overtakes USDT in euro stablecoin trading as EU rules reshape market: Kaiko

MiCA is the European Union’s crypto rulebook for issuers and trading venues, and it has become a live market filter for stablecoins traded in euros. Circle’s USDC is one of the tokens positioned to fit that framework, while Tether’s USDT has faced tighter treatment on exchanges in the region. The result is being measured in the trading mix itself, not just in compliance language.

For traders and exchanges in Europe, the immediate effect is that the set of usable stablecoins in euro pairs is changing. Venues that restrict USDT have to adjust listings, liquidity routing, and the pairs they support, while USDC’s deeper liquidity becomes more relevant for execution. That shifts practical access and market structure for anyone moving funds through euro stablecoin markets.

The case shows a direct tension between regulatory alignment and the open-ended fungibility that stablecoins were supposed to provide across venues. MiCA is pushing the market toward tokens that fit its requirements, which can make compliance clearer but also narrows user choice. It also puts pressure on issuers and exchanges to decide whether cross-border crypto markets should be built around local rule sets or around a more neutral token landscape.

What is still not settled is how far the European market will keep consolidating around compliant stablecoins and whether USDT’s role in euro trading changes further. The next useful marker would be exchange-level data showing which venues still support USDT in euro pairs and how liquidity compares across major markets after the January 2024 shift. Until then, the size and durability of the change remain open.