Turkish lira-pegged stablecoins most widely used after dollar tokens, Zodia says

By Elizabeth Howcroft

PARIS, June 2 (Reuters) - Stablecoins pegged to the Turkish lira were the second-most widely used stablecoins among clients at Standard Chartered's crypto subsidiary last year, although volumes remain small compared to dollar-pegged tokens, Zodia Markets said on Tuesday.

Stablecoins, a type of cryptocurrency pegged to fiat currency, have surged in volume in recent years but are mostly used in crypto trading and not widely accepted as a means of payment.

"Our second-largest currency in terms of stablecoins last year was not the euro or any G10 currency as one perhaps would’ve expected but rather the Turkish lira," Nick Philpott, co-founder and interim CEO of Zodia Markets, which is majority-owned by Standard Chartered, said at a press event.

His comments highlight the lack of demand for euro-pegged stablecoins, which a group of European banks plan to launch this year despite European Central Bank scepticism.

There is more likely to be future demand for stablecoins in countries where the local financial infrastructure is weaker, or more people are cut off from the financial system, Standard Chartered's crypto analyst Geoff Kendrick said.

A lira-pegged stablecoin was used by clients as an alternative to sending lira via correspondent banking to Zodia's bank account, Philpott said.

"The TRY stablecoins were simply faster to settle, far more reliable to settle, cheaper to settle, and we would liquidate them more or less immediately on receipt, or certainly each day," he added.

In 2025, Zodia handled $110.5 billion of dollar-pegged stablecoin transactions, $3.4 billion worth of lira-pegged ones, and just tens of millions in euro-pegged stablecoins.

The stablecoin market is dominated by El Salvador-based Tether and U.S. company Circle, which say they have $188 billion and $76 billion of their dollar-pegged tokens in circulation, respectively.

A Bank of England policymaker said on Sunday that demand for stablecoins may fade.

(Reporting by Elizabeth Howcroft; Editing by Alexandra Hudson)