Kraken builds stablecoins into the core of its platform with USDC and EURC

For Kraken, USDC and EURC offered the deep liquidity and the regulated¹, fully reserved backing an exchange needs to build core flows — not just additional trading pairs. And, sourcing both stablecoins from a single provider let Kraken operate the stablecoins on one foundation rather than stitching together separate vendors and workflows.

The value of that shared foundation became clearest in products where stablecoins had to move through multiple systems behind the scenes.

Inside DeFi Earn², Kraken’s onchain rewards product, eligible assets are converted to USDC, routed through an embedded wallet, and allocated to Veda vaults on Ink, an independent Ethereum Layer-2 blockchain supported by Kraken and built on the Optimism stack. Independent risk managers oversee allocation, risk, and liquidity, and the vaults interact with third-party lending protocols including Aave, one of the largest decentralized lending markets in the world.

For clients, this eliminates the operational complexity of managing funds onchain. The demand for this product built quickly, with more than $350 million worth of USDC deposited to Kraken’s DeFi Earn vaults in the months following launch.

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A euro path for stablecoin access

With the introduction of EURC on Kraken in September 2025, the exchange extended its stablecoin strategy into euro-denominated markets. The move gave European and global clients another way to trade, fund accounts, and move value on supported surfaces with a stablecoin issued under Europe’s MiCA regulatory framework.

Since listing, EURC has grown from a new asset on Kraken into an active part of its stablecoin offering. Kraken quickly became a price-discovery venue for EURC, with adoption building across both trading and funding activity. This robust uptake translated directly into increased market access and operational flexibility for customers, who can now tap into deeper, euro-backed stablecoin liquidity to fund accounts, execute trades, and use as collateral for other trading experiences.

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Turning stablecoin utility into measurable growth

The deployment of platform-wide, integrated stablecoin support set the stage for growth across Kraken account balances, Kraken earn products, and onchain liquidity.

From September 2025 to September 2026, USDC on Kraken grew more than 30%. That growth also extended into new product surfaces. DeFi Earn, launched in January 2026, reached $350 million worth of USDC deposits as of September 2026. Together, those balances helped make USDC a deeper source of liquidity for both Kraken clients and applications building on Ink.

EURC followed a similar early pattern in euro-denominated activity. Balances grew from nearly 4 million EURC in October 2025 to more than 75 million EURC by September 2026, with some months seeing more than 100M in EURC trading volume.

For clients, that growth translated to deeper USDC and EURC liquidity across spot markets, fewer conversion steps, and more direct access to eligible onchain flows.

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Stablecoins as platform infrastructure

Kraken’s work with Circle helped move USDC and EURC from listed assets into product infrastructure. USDC now supports eligible DeFi Earn flows while EURC gives clients a euro-denominated stablecoin across supported trading and funding surfaces. 

That operating model matters because customers increasingly expect stablecoin balances to move across the products they already use. By building around USDC and EURC, Kraken reduced fragmentation across trading, deposits, withdrawals, and onchain applications, positioning stablecoins as part of how customers use the platform, not just assets they trade on it.