Dollar-pegged stablecoins accounted for nearly all global stablecoin order-book volume in 2026, while the euro represented 11.8% of a separate crypto measure spanning 33 government-issued currencies, Chainalysis reported.
The 11.8% figure covers activity denominated in 33 major government currencies, not the euro’s share of all crypto activity. Chainalysis offered no dollar counterpart for that measure. In Chainalysis’ separate global stablecoin order-book tally, dollar-linked tokens made up 99.1% of volume and euro-backed tokens 0.45%.
Foreign exchange provides a rough point of comparison. The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) put the euro in 28.9% of global foreign-exchange trades in April 2025 and the U.S. dollar in 89.2%. Those shares overlap because each trade includes two currencies. To approximate crypto order books’ one-sided pair counting, Chainalysis halved the BIS euro share and calculated a 14.5% reference figure. That calculation does not measure euro-dollar crypto trades directly.
Chainalysis recorded $2.08 trillion in on-chain value for Western Europe from July 2025 through June 2026, a 1.2% rise. Chainalysis said activity in the European Union grew 2.2%. Chainalysis reported that stablecoin balances in personal wallets across Western Europe climbed 131%, compared with 52% worldwide; the holdings data did not distinguish dollar-backed from euro-backed tokens.
Chainalysis has described a possible U.S. benefit from wider dollar-stablecoin use: broader international use of the dollar and more demand for reserves held largely in U.S. government debt. It has also said that when dollar tokens displace local-currency alternatives, demand for local sovereign debt may weaken. A CaixaBank spokesperson told Chainalysis that Europe is “trying to avoid becoming solely dependent on USD-denominated stablecoins.”
The measurement period fell during the closing months of transitional arrangements under the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA). The rules had applied in full since Dec. 30, 2024, while some existing providers could use transition provisions through July 1, 2026, or until an authorization was granted or refused, whichever came first.
Under MiCA’s Article 65, an authorized provider seeking to operate across borders submits specified information to its home authority. That authority forwards it to contact points in the host countries, the European Securities and Markets Authority and the European Banking Authority. The provider may begin once notified that the information was forwarded, or no later than 15 calendar days after submission. The timing of the euro trading figures does not establish that MiCA caused them.
