Our predictions for stablecoins in 2026

Stablecoins are no longer a niche tool. In 2025, transaction volumes crossed $27 trillion and regulation caught up in the US and in the European Union. This article looks at three shifts shaping the stablecoin landscape in 2026: regulatory clarity, the Euro stablecoin gap, and the privacy problem that still blocks mainstream adoption.

Great news on the regulation front

For years, stablecoins operated in a legal grey zone. That era is finally ending: regulation brings clarity and allows us to balance privacy and compliance by following, and exceeding, standardized expectations.

MiCA brings structure in Europe

MiCA classifies stablecoins as electronic money. Issuers now need EMI or banking licenses, must maintain audited reserves, and operate under clear supervisory frameworks. This is a meaningful step: businesses can finally build on stablecoins issued in controlled and reliable ways.

The MiCA framework is still far from perfect. Interaction with DSP3 (the upcoming payments directive) is still unclear, and MiCA's yield prohibition creates friction: unlike US stablecoins, European issuers cannot pass yield to holders. This removes a key incentive and tilts the playing field toward dollar-denominated assets.

But the direction is right: clear rules attract serious players, and regulation will keep evolving as standards get refined and reliable architectures like Hyli’s hit the market.

In the United States, the GENIUS Act brings recognition

The GENIUS Act, passed in July 2025, created a federal framework for stablecoin issuance. Banks now treat blockchain as infrastructure: stablecoins are not an experiment anymore. Institutional adoption is accelerating, and the regulatory gap with Europe is narrowing, allowing for easier cross-border transfers.

The rise of euro-based stablecoins

Why euro stablecoins matter

Dollar stablecoins currently dominate the market by far. Tether holds $155B, Circle $60B. For comparison, Circle's EURC sits at $269M and Société Générale's EURCV hasn't crossed $50M yet.

The gap is structural : euro stablecoins face thin liquidity, limited DeFi integrations, and the lack of incentive caused by the yield prohibition that we’ve mentioned in the MiCA overview above. Holding euros onchain is simply less financially interesting than holding dollars, which makes dollar stablecoins the obvious default choice, even for euro-centric businesses.

This matters. A European payments ecosystem built on dollar rails creates geopolitical dependency and currency risks.

At Hyli, we believe that Euro-native infrastructure is a strategic necessity.

Central banks are leading the way

Central banks agree with us. The European Central Bank is working on the digital euro, which is currently planned for 2028 or later, and pilot programs are multiplying: the Pontes initiative for interbank transfers was a success and is being followed by the Appia project.

CBDCs will likely not replace stablecoins, or at least not anytime soon. That’s not what matters, though: their investment is a clear signal that governments now see blockchains as credible settlement infrastructure.

2026: the end of the privacy gap?

Here's the problem no one has solved at scale yet: public blockchains are radically transparent, meaning that all payment details are visible by competitors, suppliers, malicious actors, and the general public. For most businesses, making cash flow visible to competitors and not being protected from frontrunning is a dealbreaker, as it should.

Privacy coins offer confidentiality, but they're incompatible with AML requirements and regulatory frameworks: they're not an option for compliant financial services.

A middle ground is emerging. Selective disclosure, powered by cryptographic solutions like zero-knowledge proofs, allows confidentiality by default with compliance on demand: the perfect mix of privacy, auditability, and reliability.

This is why we are focusing on selective disclosure as an architectural primitive. With it, the market opens to the businesses and institutions that move money at scale.

We are excited to see what 2026 brings. On our side, we’ll focus on European-first infrastructure, selective disclosure usability, and staying ahead of the regulatory curve for future-proof and ethical tools.