Euro-backed ‘stablecoin’ EURS launched in Malta

A Malta-based tokenization platform startup has announced the launch of a new stablecoin, backed pound for pound by the Euro, in one of the first cryptocurrencies of its kind to be pinned to a major global currency.

St. Julians-based Stasis, which describes its platform as “bridging the gap between decentralized finance and off-chain market,” said the EURS token would conform to the EIP-20 standard, set up to provide a currency of minimal volatility for utility applications.

The EURS is already available on the DSX Exchange in London, with order volumes to the end of the year forecast to rise to as much as $500 million. According to Stasis CEO Gregory Klumov, the stablecoin meets the needs of corporate and institutional users, who require stability and price certainty when using cryptocurrency.

“EURS bridges the gap between traditional finance and the crypto economy,” Klumov said. “While cryptocurrency trading is currently dominated by individual and retail investors, STASIS and EURS will pave the way for institutional investors to enter the game and begin allocating capital—that’s what’s needed to take the industry to surpass the trillion dollar mark.”

Stasis are currently working with the government in Malta in order to obtain a license under the newly introduced regulatory regime there, a move that was welcomed by Silvio Schembri, junior minister for financial services, digital economy and innovation in the Office of the Prime Minister.

“The Government of Malta has been working diligently and progressively to provide legal certainty to an industry that is currently unregulated,” Schembri said. “We therefore welcome any blockchain initiatives such as STASIS that while being innovative, will still respect and encourage compliance and we look forward to the company applying for a licence under our DLT regulatory framework.”

However, it’s worth noting that stablecoins are not without their challenges, as the high-profile example of Tether (USDT) shows.

Tether is a cryptocurrency built on similar principles, backed by U.S. dollar. However, there have been a number of accusations around market manipulation, with analysts demonstrating how Tether has been used to distort cryptocurrency prices. With the controversies of Tether still fresh in the mind, Stasis will need to be prepared to prevent similar reported market abuses from happening with their EURS token.

It’s also worth noting that while Ethereum had the first-mover advantage among the cryptocurrencies available today when it comes to tokenization, it’s plagued with numerous security issued—from malwares to “accidental” kill commands and eclipse attacks—as well as vulnerable smart contracts. Ethereum, which does not scale or work as a cryptocurrency, and is basically smart contracts—a feature that’s already available with Bitcoin Cash following the May network upgrade.