Key Takeaways
- BCP Technologies has launched a new GBP-pegged stablecoin.
- European regulators have significantly warmed to stablecoins.
- Euro- and pound-pegged stablecoins are increasingly viewed as critical for European monetary sovereignty.
Although the vast majority of stablecoins are currently denominated in U.S. dollars, there is a growing movement in Europe toward tokens that track the price of local currencies.
Initiatives like Societe Generale’s EURCV and the recently launched tGBP are heralded as a bulwark against the creeping effects of dollar hegemony in the digital realm.
And in an era of shifting transatlantic alliances, policymakers increasingly view non-dollar stablecoins as a key pillar of monetary sovereignty.
The History of GBP-Backed Stablecoins
While tGBP isn’t the first stablecoin pegged to the pound, having emerged from the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) regulatory sandbox, it has more institutional credibility than some of its predecessors.
Launched on Tuesday, June 3, the new token is issued by BCP Technologies, an FCA-registered financial technology company most known for operating the BitcoinPoint Bitcoin (BTC) exchange.
The project isn’t BCP’s first foray into stable pounds.
BitcoinPoint previously partnered with Poundtoken to distribute GBPT via crypto ATMs in the U.K.
However, three years after its debut, Poundtoken still hasn’t taken off, and GBPT currently has a circulating supply of less than £50,000.
Other GBP-pegged stablecoins have also struggled to gain traction.
Celo and VNX tokens each have a market cap of less than a million. Meanwhile, Binance quietly discontinued BGBP in 2020 amid a broader retreat from stablecoins.
Regulatory Challenges
The problem faced by the first generation of pound-denominated stablecoins was that they didn’t have the backing of British authorities.
Until recently, the Bank of England took a markedly negative view of stablecoins, arguing that even assets backed by fiat deposits created a risk to financial stability.
In 2024, the central bank explicitly barred participants in the FCA’s digital securities sandbox from using stablecoins as a settlement asset.
However, in May 2025, the FCA published a long-awaited stablecoin consultation paper outlining a proposed registration framework for issuers.
With U.K. authorities finally warming to the technology, over the channel, across the channel, the EU’s Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) regulation has already opened the door for registered crypto firms to issue fully regulated stablecoins.
There are now over a dozen euro-pegged stablecoins on the market, including offerings from Tether and Circle.
A new class of MiCA-compliant tokens includes Circle’s Euro Coin (EUROC) and STASIS EURO (EURS), the two largest euro-pegged stablecoins by market capitalization.
Besides these emerging Fintech solutions, EU banks have started to issue their own digital euros.
For example, in 2023, Société Générale’s crypto arm launched EUR CoinVertible (EURCV). Meanwhile, Banking Circle, Deutsche Bank, ING and Santander are all actively exploring the idea.
Stablecoins and European Sovereignty
As in the U.K., EU policymakers who were initially suspicious of blockchain technology have somewhat softened their stance.
In both cases, evolving views reflect the rising threat to monetary sovereignty posed by the dominance of dollar-pegged stablecoins.
While 20 countries use the euro, the wider European economy consists of many currencies.
However, at present, stablecoins risk further entrenching the role of the greenback, undermining one of the founding principles of European monetary integration.
As a sign that euro-pegged stablecoins are on the rise, BCB Markets announced an agreement on Tuesday to distribute EURCV, reflecting its expansion into the retail payments market.
“The stablecoin market is dominated by dollar-pegged coins, which, of course, is very useful for those who wish to work in that currency. But we firmly believe there is a market for alternatives in Europe,” remarked BCB Europe Managing Director Jerome Prigent.
Looking forward, he said the market for assets like EURCV could expand beyond Europe as businesses in emerging markets in the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America look for alternatives to USD-denominated stablecoins.
James Morales is CCN’s blockchain and crypto policy reporter. He has been working in the news media since 2020, writing about topics such as payments, banking and financial technology. These days, he likes to explore the latest blockchain innovations and the evolving landscape of global crypto regulation.
With an educational background in social anthropology and media studies, James uses his platform as a journalist to explore how new technologies work, why they matter and how they might shape our future.
