Schuman Financial, a European blockchain startup that counts blockchain industry heavyweights Nexo and Lightspeed Faction among its backers, has unveiled its EURØP, a MiCA-compliant euro-backed stablecoin finalized for Nov. 26, 2024. The European launch was a notable signpost in the realization of bringing traditional financial services to blockchain technology, stated David Joor, FromPaL’s managing partner.
In a blog posting Tuesday, Schuman Financial announced EURØP as its leading brand product, termed the bridge between regular finance and the decentralized Web3 ecosystem. EURØP is fully backed by cash and cash equivalents and aims to support seamless, on-chain transactions denominated in euros, in line with the content of the EU’s Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) regulation.
MiCA Paves the Way for EURØP’s Success
EURØP is, we believe, a critical advance in the development of global financial markets, and Schuman Financial supports that evolution. The company said: “Our mission is to bring European financial services on chain in a way that unlocks a whole new era of financial integration and innovation.”
Initially, the base layer of EURØP will be built on top of Ethereum and Polygon, two of the most broadly utilized blockchain networks, before being extended to other blockchain networks and DeFi protocols in the next couple of months.
“With financial services shifting on-chain, the euro’s role in the digital asset space will inevitably grow—and grow quite dramatically. We can already see increased interest in stablecoin payments, and this use case is just starting to take off.”
Martin Bruncko, Schuman Financial founder
Schuman’s commitment to transparency and compliance comes across in the rollout of EURØP. For banking infrastructure, the company has entered into partnership with Société Générale, and it has retained KPMG to audit its operations. In France, MiCA regulations are used to widen the use of its services and to obtain an Electronic Money Token license for Schuman as well.
EURØP will be listed on major European cryptocurrency exchanges in the coming weeks by Schuman Financial. Specific platforms are not named, but the company plans to meet the growing demand for euro-backed stable coins as rates rise and uncertainty around U.S. regulatory requirements create possibilities for European firms.
It emerges that the stablecoin market on a global scale is about $180 billion, of which most are dollar-backed tokens. To date, there has been little representation of euro-backed stablecoins, and Schuman believes there is a massive growth opportunity for such assets.
“There’s a unique window to innovate under rising European interest rates and a positive environment for doing business, and Strona Bank is taking advantage,” said the company.
Schuman Financial was founded in early 2023 and has so far secured €7 million in a seed funding round led by RockawayX. These other investors are Lightspeed Faction, Kraken Ventures, and Nexo Ventures, who have confidence that the startup is valued. EURØP is looking to become a cornerstone in Europe’s blockchain-based financial infrastructure, and the company has plans to expand to other blockchain ecosystems and DeFi platforms.
With MiCA taking shape as a regulatory space for clarity in Europe, Schuman Financial’s EURØP may serve as a harbinger of what an on-chain financial services future could look like.
