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Luxembourg-based Banking Circle has launched stablecoin settlement services after receiving a Crypto Asset Service Provider (CASP) license from Luxembourg's financial regulator on April 15, expanding into regulated fiat-to-stablecoin and stablecoin-to-fiat settlement for institutional clients.The rollout includes support for Circle's USDC, Paxos' USDG and Banking Circle's own euro stablecoin EURI, expanding the bank's digital asset settlement capabilities beyond its initial EURI launch in August 2024.In a Monday <a href="https://www.bankingcircle.com/banking-circle-introduces-stablecoin-settlement-services/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">announcement</a>, the bank said it serves more than 750 payment companies, financial institutions and marketplaces that move and convert over 1.5 trillion euros (roughly $1.7 trillion) annually across its infrastructure. Chief digital asset officer Kirit Bhatia said in the release that stablecoins are "a natural extension" of the bank's infrastructure and central to reducing costs and improving efficiencies.The move comes as Europe’s market for regulated stablecoin issuance and settlement continues to grow, with banks, fintechs and crypto-native companies competing to build compliant digital asset payment infrastructure under the European Union's Markets in Crypto Assets Regulation (MiCA) framework.Related: <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/western-union-eyes-may-for-its-stablecoin-usdpt-rollout" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Western Union eyes May rollout for its USDPT stablecoin</a>Cointelegraph reached out to Banking Circle for comment but had not received a response by publication.<h2 id="banking-circle-deepens-push-into-crowded-euro-stablecoins">Banking Circle deepens push into crowded euro stablecoins</h2>In August 2024, Banking Circle <a href="https://www.bankingcircle.com/banking-circle-launches-the-first-bank-backed-mica-compliant-stablecoin-euri/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">launched</a> EURI, which it described as a bank-issued MiCA-compliant euro stablecoin, giving it an earlier foothold before securing CASP authorization in Europe.<figure><img src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2026-04/019dce69-afc3-7f25-8654-9c8d60516d59.png" alt="MiCA-licensed Banking Circle joins bank stablecoin settlement race in Europe"><figcaption>Banking Circle launches stablecoin settlement services. Source: <a href="https://www.bankingcircle.com/banking-circle-introduces-stablecoin-settlement-services/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Banking Circle</a></figcaption></figure>The euro stablecoin market is becoming increasingly crowded. French bank Société Générale's SG-FORGE <a href="https://wholesale.banking.societegenerale.com/en/news-insights/all-news-insights/news-details/news/societe-generale-forge-elevates-its-stablecoin-to-accelerate-its-distribution-and-free-use/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">launched</a> its euro stablecoin EURCV in April 2023 on Ethereum and later <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/societe-generale-forge-expands-euro-stablecoin-to-xrp-ledger-in-multi-chain-push" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">expanded to additional blockchain networks</a> as part of a broader multi-chain strategy.On April 15, SG-FORGE integrated its MiCA-compliant <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/societe-generale-forge-brings-mica-compliant-stablecoin-metamask" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">dollar stablecoin USDCV into MetaMask</a>, giving the wallet's millions of users access to a regulated dollar token issued by a major European bank.Swiss bank Sygnum <a href="https://www.finextra.com/pressarticle/103995/sygnum-adds-socgen-stablecoin-eurcv-to-b2b-platform" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">added</a> EURCV to its B2B platform in January 2025 to serve institutional clients and partner banks, and in September 2025, a consortium of European banks, including ING, UniCredit and CaixaBank, announced Qivalis, a MiCA-compliant euro stablecoin expected to launch in the second half of 2026.The <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/europe-qivalis-consortium-exchanges-stablecoin-launch-h2-2026" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">consortium has since expanded to 12 banks</a>, including BBVA, BNP Paribas and DZ Bank, and <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/european-banks-tap-fireblocks-for-mica-compliant-euro-stablecoin" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">partnered with Fireblocks to provide custody</a> and tokenization infrastructure for the MiCA-compliant stablecoin ahead of launchCrypto-native infrastructure companies are also competing in the same segment. Circle, the issuer of USDC, <a href="https://www.circle.com/pressroom/circle-announces-payments-network-to-transform-global-money-movement" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">announced</a> its Circle Payments Network in April 2025 as a managed settlement service for banks and payment service providers, while Coinbase's April 21 <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/nium-taps-coinbase-to-bring-usdc-into-global-payments-cutting-prefunding-costs" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">partnership with global payments platform Nium</a> enables businesses to fund cross-border transfers with USDC and settle in either USDC or fiat across a network spanning more than 190 countries.Magazine: <a href="https://cointelegraph-magazine.com/exploits-uncovered-by-ai-could-kill-defi-unless-projects-act-now/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">AI-driven hacks could kill DeFi — unless projects act now</a>

MiCA-licensed Banking Circle joins bank stablecoin settlement race in Europe

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