In the first chapter of this journey, I outlined why stablecoins are important and explored the main options for euro-pegged stablecoins.
Among these options is Monerium, which issues the Monerium Euro Stablecoin (EURe).
Although EURe’s market cap is still about ten times lower than EURC’s, its user-friendly design made it a compelling choice to test both personally and professionally.
Before testing real use cases, let’s understand what EURe actually is.
EURe is a euro-pegged stablecoin issued by Monerium, a company that also issues GBPe (UK stablecoin), USDe, and ISKe (Icelandic krona-pegged stablecoin, unsurprising given that the company is incorporated in Iceland). EURe is by far the most promoted and popular among their offerings.
Without diving too deep into technical details (I’ll leave that to the developers), here’s how it works from a user perspective:
You open an account in the Monerium app, connect your wallet, and complete KYC (or KYB if you’re a business). This creates your IBAN. Once you have your IBAN, you can send euros to it and they will be instantly converted into e-tokens (EURe) at a 1:1 ratio. You can also send the funds back to your own or another IBAN, again at a 1:1 ratio.
While your funds are on-chain, you can swap your EURe, use it on platforms like Aave to earn interest, or carry out other transactions. You can also swap other tokens to EURe to off-ramp crypto. At the time of writing, there are no fees for on-ramping, off-ramping, or maintaining the account, though Monerium discloses that fees could be introduced in the future.
Another interesting feature is the integration with the Gnosis Pay Card. Directly from your Monerium account, you can request the card (currently available for free) and top up your Gnosis Pay account and spend your EURe just like a regular debit card. But, currently, you must transfer EURe to the Gnosis Pay wallet before spending. I’d prefer direct spending from Monerium.
Compliance:
Monerium states: “Monerium is an authorized and regulated Electronic Money Institution (EMI) compliant with EU e-money and the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulations.” While I’m not a lawyer, and anyone managing large amounts should investigate this more deeply, it appears compliant for now. Approved accounts are assigned Estonian IBANs.
Important: This is still an on-chain token, and risks remain. Do your own research before depositing significant funds.
I tested EURe both as an individual and as a company.
As an individual:
The process was smooth. I opened the app, connected my wallet, completed KYC with my personal details, and within two working days, my account was active. I sent €5 from my Revolut account, it arrived within seconds, and then deposited my 5 EURe into Aave to earn interest. Simple.
But what about DeFi?
Here is where limitations start to show. EURe is mainly available on Gnosis Chain, which isn’t one of the most widely used chains. This means fewer liquidity pools and potentially worse swap rates compared to other stablecoins on more active chains (as you can see from the example in the pictures).
If you want to use EURe on popular DeFi protocols on chains like Base or Arbitrum, you’ll need to bridge it. But, EURe isn’t supported on many popular chains like Base, so you must often first swap into another token before bridging, adding time, friction, and cost.
Right now, EURe lacks adoption, interoperability, and liquidity to be competitive in the DeFi landscape.
As a company:
The onboarding experience was similar to the individual one, with the only difference being the KYB process, which required more documents and information. Still, my account was approved in under two days.
I then tested Monerium as an off-ramp solution, comparing it with Kraken, which I normally use for off-ramps. With Monerium, I used Jumper Exchange to perform a cross-chain swap, converting 1,000 USDC on Base into 851.16 EURe on Gnosis. Since off-ramping is currently free, the same amount, €851.16 arrived in my company bank account with no extra costs.
Through Kraken, the process was slightly different: I sent 1,000 USDC to my Kraken account, exchanged them for euros via Kraken Pro, paying €1.70 in trading fees and receiving €853. Then I paid €1 to off-ramp. In total, €852 landed in my account.
Despite lower liquidity and a cross-chain swap requirement, outcomes were comparable. With better liquidity and routing, Monerium could even outperform Kraken. However, Monerium may add fees in the future, which could offset that advantage.
Since I only tested the USDC → EURe route, remember that results may vary with other tokens, so it’s always wise to compare.
Although I’m not a merchant, I see potential for EURe acceptance. Merchants could receive payments in EURe without having to handle volatile cryptocurrencies, and off-ramping is easy and currently free.
If customers can pay directly in EURe, or if Monerium integrates a solution that allows payments in any crypto while merchants receive EURe (similar to Daimo Pay), this could become an attractive alternative to POS systems. Merchants would avoid traditional card processing fees, while any cross-chain swap or conversion costs would be borne by the customer. Because Monerium accounts are not fully regulated bank accounts, merchant compliance remains an important consideration.
The Monerium app is well designed, onboarding is smooth, and the current fee-free structure makes it appealing. The ability to open an account easily, earn yield on Aave, and move value without fees is compelling.
Still, there are too many “ifs.” Being mainly on Gnosis limits liquidity and DeFi opportunities. Adoption is low, so merchants are unlikely to see many customers paying in EURe outside of very crypto-friendly hubs. And if Monerium introduces fees, one of its main advantages, cost-free on-and off-ramps, would disappear.
At the same time, Monerium lacks some features that could attract non-crypto-native users. For example, they could integrate a simplified earning option, similar to Fluidkey’s auto-earn, so users don’t need to go to Aave and stake manually. They could also add easier interfaces for swaps or DeFi operations, as well as built-in tax reporting tools for both individuals and companies, making the experience more practical and compliant.
With these improvements, combined with the integration of the Gnosis Pay Card, Monerium could become a truly interesting solution. Personally, I’m already considering using it as my “bank account” for cash: earning yield on idle funds and spending with the card, all without paying service fees. But to attract a wider audience, Monerium still has a long way to go.