FIRM BEHIND POPULAR US DOLLAR STABLECOIN TO LAUNCH EURO COIN

Cryptocurrency company Circle said that it will start issuing its first euro-denominated cryptocurrency, a stablecoin known as Euro Coin, later this month.

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It would be the first stablecoin in euros — the world’s second-most-important reserve currency after the U.S. dollar — backed by a large player in the industry and could potentially become a major conduit for moving cryptocurrencies throughout Europe.

The stablecoin, meaning it’s backed by hard assets, is launching at a time of major declines in the value of cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, which has led crypto firms to fail and erase billions of dollars of digital wealth. That has led to calls for government regulation, which the European Union is getting close to approving.

Circle owns and operates USD Coin, the second-most-popular stablecoin in the industry, with more than $54 billion sitting in that coin. The most popular is Tether, which has a market capitalization over $70 billion.