Circle’s euro-pegged stablecoin EURC is showing the strongest uptake in Spain for retail payments, according to Brighty’s platform data analyzed by Cointelegraph. In 2025 and through the first quarter of 2026, Spain accounted for about 36% of EURC transactions and 25% of EURC’s total on Brighty, signaling a distinctly retail-oriented pattern for euro-stablecoins on the continent.

“For Spanish users, EURC functions essentially as a standard euro on a card with no exchange rate friction when transacting against USDC,” Brighty co-founder Nick Denisenko told Cointelegraph. The comments underscore a broader trend: euro-stablecoins may see meaningful adoption in Europe’s consumer payments as MiCA-era rails and local banking partnerships mature.

The Brighty data offer an early glimpse into how euro-denominated tokens could fit into everyday European commerce, even as euro-stablecoins remain smaller than their US dollar counterparts in overall market share.

Key takeaways

• Spain is the leading market for EURC on Brighty, generating roughly 36% of EURC transactions and 25% of EURC’s volume in 2025 and the first quarter of 2026.
• Retail-style spending dominates Spain’s EURC activity, with an average payment size around 49 euros and notable engagement with yield features.
• In Europe, Italy accounts for about 15.5% of EURC transactions and 18% of volume, while Germany handles roughly 13% of transactions and 19% of volume, with average payments near 105 euros. France shows higher average transactions around 171 euros, suggesting larger-value usage in that market.
• CoinGecko data place EURC as the leading euro-pegged stablecoin by market share, accounting for about 49% of the euro-stablecoin market cap (roughly $887 million) across the sector.
• The Spanish pattern—early adoption, retail-oriented usage, and integration with bank familiarity—fits into a broader European push toward MiCA-aligned euro stablecoins and institutional-grade rails.

Spain’s retail EURC footprint solidifies

Brighty’s breakdown shows Spain as the clearest example of a retail-first EURC footprint within Europe. The relatively modest average payment size—roughly 49 euros—and the platform’s observation of widespread small-value use point to EURC functioning as a practical euro substitute for everyday purchases and peer-to-peer transfers.

Denisenko noted that Spanish users have also been active with stablecoin-based yield features on Brighty, reinforcing that euro-token activity there extends beyond simple payments toward broader financial utilities within crypto-enabled wallets and services.

Country profiles illuminate diverse euro-stablecoin patterns

Italy ranks second in EURC activity on Brighty, representing about 15.5% of transactions and 18% of volume. Germany sits close behind with roughly 13% of transactions and 19% of volume, where the average payment is around 105 euros. France, by contrast, shows a markedly different usage profile, with an average EURC transaction of about 171 euros, more than three times Spain’s level, suggesting greater involvement in larger transfers rather than daily retail spend.

These patterns point to divergent adoption curves across major European markets. While Spain emphasizes everyday, small-value payments, France’s higher average ticket hints at usage tied to more substantial transfers or business-related activity. Italy and Germany straddle the line, reflecting a mix of retail and higher-value usage that aligns with broader consumer and business adoption trends in those economies.

Why Spain stands out in the MiCA era

According to Denisenko, the Spanish market’s distinctive retail focus aligns with a wider European narrative: crypto familiarity and institutional readiness appear to be higher in Spain relative to some peers. “When we engage with counterparts at major Spanish banks, we consistently observe a remarkably high degree of competence even among frontline staff — which is not something one takes for granted elsewhere,” he said. This environment, he suggested, may help explain why EURC has found traction in everyday spending in Spain and why it’s drawing attention as a potential pattern for other European economies under MiCA regulation.

Related coverage in Cointelegraph has noted that European banks are actively pursuing MiCA-compliant euro-stablecoin rails, underscoring the regulatory and infrastructural context in which EURC operates. In particular, industry participants have highlighted efforts by institutions to integrate euro-stablecoins into existing payment rails, settlement workflows, and wallet ecosystems as Europe positions itself for broader stablecoin adoption.

The Spanish momentum also echoes a broader market signal: euro-stablecoins could play a meaningful role in European retail, provided there is robust interoperability with banks, card networks, and consumer wallets under the MiCA framework. The data from Brighty suggest that where retail adoption is strongest, euro tokens can become a practical fiat proxy, reducing friction in cross-border or cross-currency spending when paired with widely used stablecoins like USDC or other euro-denominated equivalents.

For Circle and EURC, the Spain-driven retail pattern offers a concrete case study of how euro-stablecoins might scale in Europe’s consumer economy. It also raises questions about how other markets will respond as MiCA’s regulatory provisions come into sharper effect and as banks continue to explore compliant, euro-focused stablecoin solutions.

As European markets digest these developments, observers will be watching how retail merchants, banks, and wallet providers harmonize EURC usage with consumer protections, fee structures, and merchant acceptance. The next set of Brighty data, alongside MiCA implementation milestones, could shed further light on whether Spain’s early adoption translates into a broader continental shift toward euro-stablecoins in everyday finance.

For readers seeking a broader regulatory backdrop, recent coverage highlighted ongoing moves by European banks toward MiCA-compliant euro stablecoins, illustrating the sector-wide effort to standardize euro token usage across payments, settlements, and value transfers.

Watch next for Brighty’s continued quarterly findings and for regulatory updates that could either accelerate or reframe euro-stablecoin adoption across Europe as institutions test, adopt, and scale euro-denominated digital currencies in real-world commerce.

U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, the former CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald that handles Tether’s finances in the U.S., has been questioned by Senate Democrats on reports that a trust tied to his children received a loan from Tether meant to help finance Lutnick’s divestiture of his company stake that went to his children.

Senators Elizabeth Warren, who is the ranking Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee, and Ron Wyden, who is the top Democrat on the Finance Committee, asked the leading global issuer of stablecoins whether it helped finance Lutnick’s multi-billion-dollar transfer of the financial-services company through trusts tied to his adult children when Lutnick complied with government ethics requirements after taking the Cabinet position.

“If reports of this loan are accurate, it would raise serious questions about the relationship between Secretary Lutnick and Tether, and the influence of Tether on Mr. Lutnick’s policy decisions,” the lawmakers wrote in both letters, which responded to reporting about the loans of unspecified amounts that first appeared in Bloomberg News.

Congress, with help from the administration of President Donald Trump, helped usher in a new law last year to govern stablecoin issuers, including Tether. CEO Ardoino was a front-row guest at a White House signing of that law, known as the GENIUS Act. Lutnick was also present for the celebration and has been a member of the President’s Working Group on Digital Assets that’s outlined and driven U.S. crypto policy.

“It is critical that you make decisions because they are in the best interest of the American public, not in the financial interest of your family or Tether,” the senators wrote to Lutnick.

Representatives for the Department of Commerce and Tether didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment on the letters.

Lutnick’s Cantor is now under the watch of sons Brandon Lutnick, chairman & CEO, and Kyle Lutnick, executive vice chairman.

Tether, with a headquarters in El Salvador, has been pursuing a U.S. strategy, with the launch of its USAT stablecoin and a U.S. arm of the company that’s led by Bo Hines, a former crypto adviser for Trump.

Cantor is so far the biggest donor to the Fellowship PAC, a relatively new political action committee that’s so far spent a few million dollars supporting Republicans in various Senate, House and governor races. The expenditures from Fellowship, which is led by a Tether U.S. executive, have been through a media firm whose co-founders include Hines and his father.

Bitcoin is pinned near $76,000 below $79,000 resistance as ETF outflows, Fed infighting, and record shorts sap risk appetite and keep volatility unnaturally muted.

Bitcoin (BTC) hovered around $76,000 on Thursday, struggling to break above a resistance band between $78,000 and $79,000 even after the Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged, keeping markets fixated on internal policy fractures and macro uncertainty. According to an analysis by The Block, on-chain and flow data point to a market that has stabilized on the downside but lacks the conviction to force a clean breakout above the current range.

Kraken chief economist Thomas Perfumo said the market is now “more concerned about the policy uncertainties brought about by the ‘division’ within the Federal Reserve rather than the inaction itself,” especially with Jerome Powell still in place while Kevin Warsh is widely expected to take over, leaving “no clear policy transition.” He added that this leadership overhang compounds the impact of a Fed that has rarely shown such severe internal splits, a dynamic traders read as greater uncertainty over the inflation path.

Glassnode data cited in the report show Bitcoin remains “trapped” below its True Market Mean, with resistance clustered in the $78,000–$79,000 zone and a layered support base between $65,000 and $70,000. Selling pressure has eased considerably at these lower levels, but spot demand has not expanded enough to sustain a decisive move higher, leaving price pinned between patient buyers and hesitant new capital.

On the macro side, institutions including Bitget Wallet and 21Shares argue that expectations of “maintaining high interest rates for a longer term” are suppressing risk assets broadly, pushing crypto into a wait-and-see phase instead of the trending conditions that typically accompany aggressive Fed easing. This comes as U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs register net outflows for three consecutive sessions, with roughly $138 million leaving on April 29 alone; Ethereum ETFs, meanwhile, saw about $87.7 million in outflows over the same period.

While certain individual funds still attract inflows, the aggregate pattern signals cooling institutional demand at the margin. At the same time, CME positioning and ETF assets under management have stabilized rather than rebounded, suggesting that sidelined capital has yet to commit back into size.

In derivatives, short positions in Bitcoin perpetual contracts have climbed to historical highs, creating the technical conditions for a potential short squeeze if sentiment or macro signals suddenly improve. For now, though, the market is marked by low volatility and low confidence, with continuous ETF outflows, a split Fed, and elevated policy risk collectively capping Bitcoin’s attempts to clear the $78,000–$79,000 ceiling.

Grayscale Research says tokenization could become one of the largest shifts in global finance. The firm said the market is still early, as only 0.01% of global stocks and bonds is onchain today.

The report estimates tokenized assets at about 30 billion dollars. It also said the wider securities market is worth about 300 trillion dollars.

The Tokenization Market Remains Small Today

Tokenization means placing asset rights on a blockchain as digital tokens. These tokens can represent bonds, funds, commodities, credit products, stocks, or other assets.

Grayscale said tokenization can reduce settlement delays. It can also create shared records between market users.

The report said tokenized assets have grown 217% year over year. However, that market remains tiny beside global capital markets.

NEW: Grayscale Research says tokenization is a $300T megatrend, just 0.01% is onchain so far. $ETH, $SOL, $CC, $BNB, $AVAX, $LINK appear to be the key tokens.

Near-term: big opportunity for $CC (privacy)

Long-term: large opportunity for open networks like $ETH, $SOL

Read…

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— Grayscale (@Grayscale) April 30, 2026

Tokenized U.S. Treasuries lead the current market with about 15 billion dollars. Commodities follow with about 5 billion dollars.

Smaller areas include private credit, funds, equities, and other real-world assets. Grayscale said these markets may expand as more issuers move onchain.

Ethereum Solana and Canton Lead the Race

Grayscale named Ethereum, Solana, Canton, Avalanche, BNB Chain, and Chainlink as key protocols. The firm said they may benefit as tokenized assets grow.

Ethereum has the largest open network ecosystem. The report said Ethereum holds about 50 billion dollars in DeFi total value locked.

Ethereum also leads Solana in tokenized assets today. Grayscale placed Ethereum near 16 billion dollars and Solana near 2 billion dollars.

Solana offers faster and cheaper transactions. The report said Solana has handled over 1,000 transactions per second and 100 million daily transactions.

BNB Chain is also a leading open network. Grayscale linked its reach to Binance, the largest centralized crypto exchange by trading volume.

Canton is different because it focuses on institutions. The report said Canton has over 348 billion dollars in tokenized asset value.

Grayscale said Canton gained attention in 2026 through large institutional partnerships. These included Nomura, Mizuho, Visa, Circle, and Apollo Global.

Privacy May Shape Early Adoption

Grayscale said privacy is a core issue for institutions. Banks and asset managers often cannot show transaction details to the public.

Open networks like Ethereum and Solana are transparent by default. This supports auditability, but it can expose counterparties and transaction amounts.

Institution-focused networks like Canton are private by default. Only approved parties can view specific transaction data.

The report said this gives Canton a near-term edge. It may fit better with how regulated financial firms work today.

However, Grayscale said open networks may gain ground over time. Ethereum and Solana are building privacy and identity tools.

These tools may include Layer 2 systems and zero-knowledge proofs. Grayscale said they still need to mature before broad use.

The firm expects tokenized asset trading to move toward open and permissionless networks over time. It said this shift may take a decade or more.

Chainlink may also play a key role across this market. Grayscale said tokenization is hard to imagine without tools like Chainlink.

“Tokenization is poised to transform capital markets,” Grayscale said. It added that the trend may drive value to the blockchains powering this change.

Anchorage Digital, the U.S’ first federally chartered crypto bank, has tapped M0 as its core technology provider, a move designed to turn the custodian into a primary engine for institutions looking to mint and manage regulated stablecoins.

San Francisico-based Anchorage seeks to expand its issuance platform through M0, and opens the door to a broad range of firms looking to launch U.S.-regulated stablecoins, according to a press release.

M0 (pronounced “M Zero”), is a flexible protocol that allows global institutions to mint fully configurable stablecoins, which also works with the likes of Stripe, Moonpay and MetaMask.

“It might not sound like the sexiest topic, but we have been building modular infrastructure for stablecoins for three years now,” said M0 CEO Luca Prosperi, in an interview. “This means we are supporting anyone who wants to launch and manage their own stablecoin, whether it is a crypto project, protocol, fintech, payment provider, exchange and many more.”

The arrival of the GENIUS Act means stablecoins in the U.S. are becoming a regulated instrument. M0 has already partnered with several regulated players that are using the firm’s contracts, but with Anchorage the regulation-focused relationship is “a bit deeper,” Prosperi added.

“By partnering with M0, we’re extending our issuance platform to support that growth, while maintaining the regulatory, operational, and security standards our partners rely on,” said Anchorage CEO Nathan McCauley, in a statement.

On-chain perpetual futures protocol Wasabi has been hacked with attackers draining over $5 million across Ethereum, Base, Berachain, and Blast, blockchain security firm PeckShield reported on X from their alerts account earlier today, April 30.

Wasabi acknowledged the incident on X, urging users to avoid using the protocol while investigations are under way:

“We’re aware of an issue and are actively investigating. As a precaution, please do not interact with Wasabi contracts until further notice.”

In a follow-up post, the team confirmed it had engaged professional on-chain security responders, including SEAL 911 and Blockaid.

Peckshield’s main X account added that it appears that Wasabi’s admin key has been compromised.

In response to Wasabi’s X post about the ongoing incident, on-chain investigator ZachXBT called out the protocol for reportedly using a single external owned account (EOA), referring to a user-controlled wallet managed by a private key, instead of more secure setups, like a multisig: “Why did a single EOA seemingly have so much control without basic safeguards?

DeFi’s Worst Month Yet?

The hack caps off a brutal month for DeFi, marked by two major exploits and over twenty smaller incidents. The former head of DeFi at Monad wrote on X today that April 2026 has turned out to be DeFi’s worst month in terms of losses from hacks and exploits:

“April 2026 was the worst month ever in terms of DeFi exploits — ~$635M lost in total, 28 incidents in 30 days.”

The month’s two largest incidents in terms of dollar losses were the Drift and Kelp DAO hacks. On April 1, Solana-based perpetuals exchange Drift Protocol suffered roughly $270 million in outflows, spanning more than 15 distinct token types, in what The Defiant reported as a North Korean state-linked operation six months in the making.

Then, on April 18, an attacker, also suspected of being North Korean state-backed, exploited a LayerZero bridge on Kelp, forging a cross-chain message that tricked the protocol into minting 116,500 rsETH with nothing locked on the source side. The attacker then deposited the unbacked rsETH into Aave as collateral and borrowed approximately $236 million in real WETH, as The Defiant reported.

The response to the Kelp incident has included an unprecedented collective effort among DeFi protocols and individuals, dubbed DeFi United, which has raised over $300 million to restore the backing of Kelp’s rsETH.

This article was written with the assistance of AI workflows. All our stories are curated, edited and fact-checked by a human.