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ARTICLE · 13 JANUARY 2026

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Reflections On Stablecoins In 2026

GTG Legal
GTG Legal
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GTG Legal

GTG Legal

Since its founding in 1997, GTG has been at the forefront of Malta’s legal profession, blending...

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The figure appears in the European Central Bank's Financial Stability Review published in November.

MaltaTechnology
Ian Gauci
Ian Gauci

Stablecoins

By the end of 2025, stablecoins in circulation had reached over USD 280 billion. The figure appears in the European Central Bank's Financial Stability Review published in November. The ECB's own data shows that around 99% of stablecoins in circulation are denominated in US dollars. Euro-denominated stablecoins amount to several hundred million euros.

This distribution mirrors the way money already moves outside digital finance, with the US dollar acting as the main lynchpin. Supply data quoted merely shows where scale has settled. In its 2026 Digital Assets Outlook, The Block places Tether's USDT at approximately USD 184 billion in circulation by the end of last year. Circle's USDC sits at around USD 75 billion. Other fiat-backed stablecoins exist, but they operate at a different order of magnitude as use follows supply. The same report notes that stablecoin settlement volumes were measured in the trillions of dollars during 2025.

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