Deutsche Börse and Circle Collaborate to Boost the Adoption of Stablecoins in Europe

Deutsche Börse Group and Circle have entered a partnership to integrate stablecoins into Europe’s traditional financial system. As part of the collaboration, Circle’s EURC and USDC stablecoins will be deployed across the regulated market infrastructure of Deutsche Börse Group in Europe. 

Circle Collaborates With Deutsche Börse for Stablecoin Adoption in Europe

On September 30, 2025, the global stablecoin issuer, Circle, and the German securities marketplace, Deutsche Börse Group, announced that they had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). The partnership will involve Circle deploying its stablecoins across the regulated financial market infrastructure of Deutsche Börse.

As part of the partnership, Circle’s USDC (a dollar-backed stablecoin) and EURC (a Euro-backed stablecoin) will be deployed across Deutsche Börse’s financial infrastructure. It will also enable the trading, settlement, and custody of USDC and EURC for institutional clients according to MiCA guidelines.

It is an important milestone for Circle because this is the first such partnership between a European exchange and a global stablecoin issuer. Jeremy Allaire, co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Circle, said the alliance will contribute to supporting the use of regulated stablecoins in the market infrastructure of Europe.

Financial institutions such as banks and asset managers will cut settlement risks, cut costs, and enhance efficiency using the stablecoins offered by Circle through its partner, Deutsche Börse.

How the Circle x Deutsche Börse Partnership Will Work

The first step of the partnership will involve the listing and trading of USDC and EURC on 3DX, the digital exchange operated by Deutsche Börse’s FX unit 360T. This functionality will also be added to Crypto Finance, the institutional crypto provider of Deutsche Börse.

For the custody of stablecoins, the partnership will use Clearstream, the post-trade business of Deutsche Börse. This will provide institutions with a regulated and trusted means to hold stablecoins, utilizing Crypto Finance’s German entity as a backup custodian.

A Deutsche Börse executive board member, Thomas Book, shared his excitement about the move, saying that they have “built a complete value chain for crypto asset trading, spanning execution, settlement, and custody,” all within a regulated framework for European financial institutions.

The Edge Circle Gives Deutsche Börse

As detailed in the announcement, the partnership between Circle and Deutsche Börse is made possible by the European Union framework of Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA), which was fully enforced towards the end of 2024.

This is important for the German banking giant as Circle became the first global stablecoin issuer to comply with MiCA rules in July 2024. The EURC stablecoin has benefited from Circle being regulated in Europe, growing from a market cap of $37.85 million to $257.99 million between July 2024 and October 2025.

Circle’s CEO adds that as clear rules take hold across Europe, the partnership will bring new products and streamline workflows across trading, settlement, and custody.

While Circle complies with MiCA Tether, the issuer of USDT, the world’s largest stablecoin by market cap, has explicitly refused to comply with the framework, highlighting local reserve requirements as the major reason for its decision.