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

"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.

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.