Patrick Starkman (HEURO): "We are now the world's largest euro stablecoin issuer"

You've announced that HEURO has crossed the 600 million euro mark in circulating stablecoins. What does that figure mean relative to the existing market?

Depending on estimates, there were between 400 and 700 million euros' worth of euro stablecoins in circulation before our issuance. With our additional 600 million, we've roughly doubled the existing supply. HEURO is now the largest euro stablecoin issuer in the world.

How did you reach such a volume? Who are the counterparties behind these 600 million?

The bulk comes from our partners on the crypto markets. Exchanges use our stablecoin for trade settlement. Instead of reverting to fiat currency after every transaction, their clients can buy, sell and hold positions directly in HEURO. It eliminates the back-and-forth with the traditional banking system and dramatically speeds up settlement cycles.

Who are your main exchange partners?

Our top three are KuCoin, Binance and Bybit — all of which are authorised to operate in Europe, of course.

How many holders do you have today?

We're past the 100,000 mark. The mechanics are fairly straightforward: instead of withdrawing funds in fiat to a bank account, users receive them directly in stablecoins in their wallet. It lets them stay within the ecosystem and de-risk without cycling back through the banking rails.

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"With our 600 million, we've roughly doubled the existing euro stablecoin supply"

Beyond the crypto market, what concrete use cases are you targeting?

Several, and they're very tangible. First, treasury management: moving euros within a corporate group — cash pooling between subsidiaries — currently takes two to three days, at significant cost. With stablecoins, it's a matter of seconds. Then there's cross-border: fund transfers outside Europe are slow, expensive and weighed down by FX costs. Here we're talking near-instant execution, at a fraction of the cost — roughly a tenfold reduction.

How does FX via stablecoin actually work?

We don't handle the conversion ourselves. But specialised FX providers can use the euro stablecoin / dollar stablecoin pair to execute currency trades without going through traditional banking channels. You go from several dozen basis points down to just a few. That's a very real saving for companies operating internationally.

Do you genuinely believe corporates will switch to stablecoins for day-to-day operations?

From a purely rational standpoint, yes. We're talking about transactions that are ten times cheaper, ten times faster, with blockchain transparency on top. The volumes in the United States show it's already happening: tens of billions of dollars in stablecoins circulate daily for corporate purposes. There's no reason Europe won't follow the same path.

What about retail?

Retail will likely come in a second phase. Retail use cases are fairly well established today and the existing offering works. The real near-term disruption is on the wholesale side: corporate treasury, regulated market settlement, FX. That's where the gains are most immediate and most measurable.

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You were this very morning in a working group bringing together the AMF, the ACPR and the French Ministry of Finance. What was discussed?

The key issue is boosting the adoption of euro stablecoins in Europe to prevent the wave of US dollar stablecoins from becoming the de facto standard. Today, the overwhelming majority of stablecoins in circulation are dollar-denominated. If Europe doesn't develop its own large-scale solutions, digital financial flows will be structured entirely around the greenback. We're building the use cases to make sure that doesn't happen.

Your reserves are backed by European sovereign debt. Is that a regulatory choice or a strategic one?

Both. MiCA requires reserves to be held in liquid, safe, high-quality assets. We've opted for a structured allocation toward European sovereign debt — French government bonds in particular, given their depth and liquidity. Every euro issued as HEURO ultimately contributes to the financing of European states. As volumes grow, the investor base for public debt broadens. It's a virtuous circle.

Is it also a way to differentiate yourselves from American issuers?

Absolutely. Dollar stablecoins back their reserves with US Treasuries. We finance European debt. As our volumes scale, it creates stable and predictable demand for European sovereign bonds. That's an argument that resonates with regulators, but also with financial institutions.

You position yourself strictly as an issuer, not as a crypto-asset service provider?

Exactly. We're not a registered CASP — not yet, at least. We're an electronic money issuer, regulated by the ACPR. What I'm describing are the use cases that our stablecoins make possible for the companies and service providers who use them.

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Can you briefly walk us through HEURO's history?

The company was founded in 2017 in France under the name Harmoniie. We obtained our licence from the ACPR as an electronic money and payment institution in December 2021. Historically, we had two business lines: a traditional Web 2 activity — account opening, corporate cards — and a Web 3 activity focused on on-ramp/off-ramp services for crypto exchanges. The stablecoin is the natural convergence of those two businesses.

Why the name change?

We did what many US players have done: we adopted the name of our flagship product. The entire group is now called HEURO.

What does your ownership structure look like?

We're owned by a holding company based in Dublin. As for shareholders, I can mention Sequoia in particular.

What's your volume target for year-end?

We're aiming for one billion euros in circulation, and we believe we can exceed that. Demand is growing and partners are already knocking on our door to discuss the volumes we could supply. The 600 million isn't a ceiling — it's a starting point. The flywheel is spinning.

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