Thunes has added EURC prefunding to its Direct Global Network, giving eligible members a way to fund euro-denominated cross-border payment flows around the clock using Circle’s euro-backed stablecoin. The service extends the company’s stablecoin-based liquidity system beyond USDC and targets a persistent limitation in international payments: access to euro liquidity outside bank operating hours.
Under the arrangement, participating fintechs, neobanks, payment providers and other network members can use EURC to prefund transactions and move treasury balances with continuous availability, Thunes said. The feature is designed for payment operations that need to maintain funding through weekends, public holidays and periods when conventional correspondent banking channels may be unavailable or slower to process transfers.
EURC prefunding is available across Ethereum, Solana, Base and Stellar, according to Thunes. Supporting several blockchains gives members a choice of settlement rails, with different trade-offs in speed, network costs and existing treasury infrastructure.
Euro liquidity joins Thunes’ USDC system
The launch follows Thunes’ October 2024 integration of USDC-powered liquidity with Circle. That earlier rollout introduced a dollar-denominated stablecoin option for members funding activity across the Direct Global Network. EURC now adds a euro liquidity currency to the same operating model.
The approach places stablecoins in the prefunding layer of cross-border payments rather than positioning them solely as a consumer payment method or a trading instrument. Payment firms typically need to place funds in destination accounts before processing transfers, which can leave balances held across multiple currencies and jurisdictions. A continuously transferable token can potentially allow treasury teams to shift available funds between operational accounts without waiting for a bank transfer window to reopen.
Thunes said the service is intended for instant funding of high-value euro transactions while retaining liquidity for real-time demand. That use case is particularly relevant for firms handling time-sensitive disbursements, supplier payments or merchant settlements, where a shortfall in a prefunded account can delay an otherwise ready transaction.
The company said its network connects digital assets to more than 90 fiat currencies. Its members include fintechs, neobanks, payment service providers and gig-economy platforms, sectors that often manage frequent cross-border payouts and may need to keep funds available in multiple markets.
MiCA positioning shapes the euro offering
Thunes described EURC as a euro-backed stablecoin designed to meet requirements under the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets regulation, widely known as MiCA. Circle issues EURC and USDC through regulated affiliates, according to the company’s release and Circle’s published licensing information.
MiCA has brought a clearer framework to stablecoin issuance and distribution in the European Economic Area, with rules covering reserve management, redemption rights, governance and supervision. For payment businesses operating across European markets, the framework gives compliance teams a more defined basis for assessing which digital settlement assets can fit within their policies.
Thunes’ decision to use EURC also reflects a practical distinction between dollar and euro liquidity. USDC remains the much larger stablecoin for global digital-asset settlement, but companies paying euro obligations need a euro-denominated asset if they want to avoid converting from dollars immediately before disbursement. Holding and transferring a token referenced to the euro could reduce the number of conversions required in certain payment workflows, though firms would still face foreign-exchange exposure where their incoming funds and final obligations are in different currencies.
For Web3-native businesses, Thunes said EURC would allow account funding directly from digital-asset treasuries rather than requiring an initial conversion into bank-held fiat currency. That could shorten the operational path between an on-chain treasury balance and a payment account, provided the company is eligible for the network and meets applicable compliance requirements.
Multi-chain access broadens operational options
Supporting EURC on Ethereum, Solana, Base and Stellar is consistent with Thunes’ network-agnostic design, the company said. Each chain has developed different strengths for payment-related activity. Ethereum offers deep stablecoin infrastructure and broad institutional familiarity, while Solana, Base and Stellar have attracted payment applications seeking lower transaction costs or faster transfers.
The multi-chain setup may be most useful to companies already holding EURC on one of those networks. Instead of moving assets to a single mandatory chain before funding a Thunes account, participants can use a rail closer to their existing wallet, custody or treasury systems. The actual benefit will depend on the availability of EURC liquidity, the cost of moving tokens on each network, and the controls imposed by a company’s custodian or compliance program.
Stablecoin settlement does not eliminate every risk in cross-border payments. Businesses must still manage wallet security, counterparty arrangements, sanctions screening, exchange-rate exposure and the ability to convert assets into local payout currencies. Yet continuous access to a regulated euro-denominated token gives payment operators another funding channel when bank-based settlement is unavailable.
The EURC addition builds Thunes’ stablecoin offering into a two-currency system centered on the dollar and euro, the currencies most frequently used in international commercial settlement. Its success will depend less on the technology alone than on whether payment firms integrate the option into daily treasury processes and can reliably use it to meet real payout obligations across the network’s fiat corridors.
Want deeper context on stablecoins and regulation? Explore our guide on stablecoins and how they work today.
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