“Action speaks louder than words but not nearly as often.” – Mark Twain
Hey everyone! The end of September already… I just know that this autumn is going to fly by.
I’m travelling the next few days so the newsletter will take a short break – back on Monday! (And, Happy Fourth Birthday to Crypto is Macro Now!!! 🥳🥳)
IN THIS NEWSLETTER
Stablecoins Around the World Ep. 3: the European Union
Highlights from the episode
EU stablecoin regulation
Main euro stablecoins
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Every segment of the retail cross-border market grew faster on stablecoin rails than on fiat through 2025. Consumer-to-business led at 72%, B2B at 69%, business-to-consumer at 62% and consumer-to-consumer at 44%, against 7% to 10% for the fiat equivalents.
Full report: Stablecoins in Cross-Border Payments
Get weekly onchain data and more analysis like this from the Allium Research team on Substack.
WHAT I’M WATCHING
STABLECOINS AROUND THE WORLD
Here is my interview with Marieke Flament on Stablecoins in the EU, the third episode of my new video/podcast series of Stablecoins Around the World which looks more closely at ecosystems outside the US.
For now, this is available only on Substack (I’ll also upload it as a separate video with open access), but I will soon get to grips with broader podcast distribution.
When speaking of stablecoins in the EU, the first name that comes to mind for many of us is Marieke Flament. Many of you are familiar with her work and reputation, but for those who aren’t: she’s former CMO and Managing Director of Europe for Circle, and one of its early employees; former CEO of the Near Foundation and digital bank Mettle; advisor to more legacy businesses, startups and initiatives than I am able to name here; and she’s a board member of digital bank N26, IG Group and euro stablecoin consortium Qivalis, where she’s also Chair of the Audit & Risk Committee.
As if all that weren’t enough, she’s also the co-author, along with Nicolas Colin, of the Currency of Power newsletter, one of my favourite reads – she and Nicolas look at the impact of new technologies such as blockchain and AI on the changing landscape of global finance and monetary politics. They see connections where others don’t even see dots, and they shape them around the contours of the systemic shifts that we all know are happening but few understand.
Below, I’ll share some highlights from the episode – we go into the EU’s unique approach to regulation, the character of its financial industry, the scope of the stablecoin ecosystem, the evolution of the money stack, and a lot more.
Then I’ll outline the status of EU stablecoin regulation, as well as some of the main euro stablecoins.
