Welcome to the fourth edition of stative.

This is the first deep(er) dive into a specific project - the first decentralised Euro stablecoin dEURO, which is launching today.

Disclaimer: I have known Michael Wild, the CEO of project, for some time and thus have a personal affiliation with him. I have tried my best to not let that interfere with my judgement. I also talked to Michael for this deep dive and did an interview with him - he ended up not being happy with my view on the project and thus revoked the interview and any comment.

Anyways, let’s get started.

Market overview

• Market cap remains almost unchanged to last edition, still hovering around all-time highs

• Trading volume dipped by almost 20% from last edition

Interesting news

• Trump-linked WLFI reportedly launches USD1 stablecoin on BNB Chain

• German Regulator Bafin Identifies 'Deficiencies' in Ethena's USDe, Orders Immediate Issuance Halt.

• Cool overview by Coinbase’s L2 Base on what countries are getting stablecoins for their national currencies and what advantages the country will have from these project.

• Tether Engaging With 'Big 4' Accounting Firm on Independent Audit

Deep dive: everything on “dEuro”

USD stablecoins dominate crypto. Euro stablecoins? Not so much. Today, dEURO is launching as the first fully decentralized euro stablecoin - no bank reserves, no central issuer, and no oracles. But can a decentralized approach outperform centralized stablecoins like EURC? And does anyone really need a euro stablecoin in the first place?

Who’s Behind dEURO?

The team behind dEURO is lean:

• Full-time

  • Michael Wild (CEO) – Ex-Binance DACH, ex-eToro Germany.

  • Marcel Rabestein (Operations) – Has been working with Michael Wild for some time, previous positions at different tech and banking companies.

  • Josh K (Community) - According to his LinkedIn previously doing advisory and consulting for different web3 and crypto projects.

• Part-time (?) team, that also works at DFX.swiss

  • Cyrill Thommen (Chairman of the Board) – Founder of DFX.swiss, also involved in the CHF stablecoin Frankencoin.

  • Matthias Leubin (Developer) - also full-time CTO at DFX.swiss.

  • Patrick L. (Lead Developer) - also React Engineer at DFX.swiss.

• Part-time team, with full-time positions at other companies

  • Konstantin Ulrich (Co-Founder & Shadow Super Coder) – Works full-time at Cake Labs.

  • Oliver Rummel (Board Member) – Also has another full-time job.

Advisors include:

• Andreas Traum (PwC)

• Dr. Jonas Gross (Digital Euro Association, etc.)

• Doron Rozenberg (Marketing expert)

• Anja von Rosenstiel (Attorney At Law (MA), Lawyer, Lecturer at Boston University School of Law)

Based on LinkedIn today (25.03.25), the core full-time team appears to be quite small for an ambitious project like a stablecoin. Initially, the team visible on LinedIn was smaller, 3 people made their involvement in dEURO public after Michael read my article today. I am not judging this and I definitely know about the struggles of bootstrapping a great team from experience, but the core team to me from an outside perspective still seems lean.

So far, no outside funding has been communicated, leading to the assumption, that the project is right now mainly bootstrapped by the team.

What’s the Idea?

The concept behind dEURO is to create a stable, euro-pegged asset that doesn’t rely on banks, fiat reserves, or external price feeds (oracles).

• No central issuer → Users mint dEURO by depositing crypto as collateral (BTC, ETH).

• No oracles → Instead of external price feeds (like Chainlink), dEURO uses internal auctions.

• Self-minting & liquidation → Fully smart contract-driven, no approvals needed.

This oracle-free approach is based on Luzius Meisser’s research on Frankencoin (ZCHF).

Who is Luzius Meisser?

Meisser is well-known in crypto circles:

• Co-founder of the Bitcoin Association Switzerland.

• Board member at Bitcoin Suisse.

• Founder of several fintech companies.

• Has a PhD on decentralized finance.

His Frankencoin (ZCHF) model is the foundation of dEURO. The idea? Oracles introduce centralization risks, so a better stablecoin should function without them.

✅ The upside:

• No reliance on third parties → fewer centralization risks.

• No risk of oracle manipulation.

❌ The challenge:

• Fair pricing? Without oracles, the protocol must discover accurate prices itself—which is untested at scale.

• Extreme volatility? How well do internal auctions work when markets move fast?

Frankencoin hasn’t gained much traction - admittedly the addressable market for it is smaller than for a EUR stablecoin, but can the application of its concept and the execution of the team help in order to generate more traction for dEURO?

How dEURO Makes Money: The Economic Model

Unlike fiat-backed stablecoins, dEURO is not free to mint. The protocol earns fees from three sources:

1. Borrowing (Minting dEURO) → Users deposit collateral (BTC, ETH) to get a loan in dEURO and pay interest (10–15%) on it.

2. Savings (Yield on dEURO) → Users earn interest, funded by borrowing fees.

3. Liquidations (Penalty Fees) → When a position is liquidated, a liquidation fee is charged.

Example:

• Alice locks up 1 ETH to mint dEURO → she pays 10-15% annual interest.

• Bob holds dEURO in a savings contract → he earns a portion of Alice’s interest.

• The protocol takes a cut of interest & liquidation fees → revenue for governance token holders.

dEURO’s 10–15% borrowing cost is in comparison high, meaning it needs strong demand for euro-denominated DeFi borrowing - something the market as stated before has historically lacked.

Regulatory Questions: A Loophole?

MiCA (EU’s crypto regulation) puts strict rules on stablecoins. But dEURO tries to avoid them by having no central issuer.

⚠️ Risks:

• If dEURO gets big, will regulators allow it? (especially in the light of Bafin’s recent moves against Ethena’s USDe)

• Could authorities classify it as an e-money token, forcing compliance?

• Can it get CEX listings without clear regulatory status?

For now, my understanding is, that dEURO exists in a gray zone. But I think that might change quickly if / when it gains traction.

Does the Market Need dEURO?

The reality: Euro stablecoins haven’t taken off.

• USDT & USDC dominate DeFi & crypto payments.

• EURC (by Circle) is MiCA-compliant and growing.

• Most DeFi borrowing & lending happens in USD.

So, is the lack of euro stablecoins a problem - or just a reflection of low demand?

If demand for Euro stablecoins does pick up in the future, will a regulatory more clear and established setup like Circle’s EURC or the decentral dEURO be the center of attention?

No one can really know for sure today and there might very well be enough market for both centralised as well as decentralised stablecoins. After all, for USD denominated stablecoins, there is also currently enough space DAI next to USDT and USDC and many more.

The Big Questions dEURO Must Answer

💡 1. Do euro stablecoins even matter?

💡 2. Can a decentralized stablecoin outperform centralized ones?

💡 3. Is oracle-free really the right model?

💡 4. Can dEURO gain adoption on CEXs & DEXs?

💡 5. Does the team have the resources & expertise to execute?

Interview dEURO CEO

I asked Michael Wild, the CEO of dEURO, the following questions and received his answers. Unfortunately, after I shared my deep-dive with him, he decided to revoke his interview. I am still leaving you with the questions I had for him. 🤷

Question: Do you believe EUR-stablecoins stand a chance to gain relevance or even flip USD-stablecoins?

Question: Why do you think dEURO will win? What will you do different from other EUR-stablecoins?

Question: Why do you think decentralized stablecoins will be successful in EUR-stablecoins while they are only moderately relevant in USD-stablecoins?

Question: How do you evaluate regulatory risks for dEURO? Can you share early feedback of CEXs/DEXs on dEURO? Do you think they will take the regulatory risk?

Question: Are you planning to bootstrap the project or are you going to raise funds?

Final thoughts on dEURO

EUR stablecoins are at a crossroads. Their relevance as of today is marginal, but macroeconomic shifts could change that. Europe isn’t irrelevant in crypto, accounting for 20–30% of global activity.

Challenges for dEURO:

• Decentralized stablecoins have clear advantages but haven’t won in USD markets - personally, I don’t see them winning for EUR either.

• Regulatory uncertainty will grow if dEURO gains traction. Decentralization may be a strength but might also complicate compliance.

• With MiCA in effect, CEXes and DEXes will avoid risks, potentially adding difficulty to dEURO’s position.

• Bootstrapping a stablecoin is ambitious. Competing with Circle’s EURC and its marketing budget will be tough.

• Team capacity is a concern. Michael is a strong leader and I am sure he will gather a good team, but it is a big endeavour and will be challenging.

I wish the team success. The stablecoin market is massive - you don’t have to win to build a great business. I’ll be watching dEURO’s development closely.

Thanks for reading in 🤍

// Kai