Turkish Lira-Pegged Stablecoins Trail Only Dollar Tokens at Standard Chartered Crypto Unit

Standard Chartered’s crypto subsidiary Zodia Markets disclosed Tuesday that stablecoins tied to the Turkish lira were its second-most traded token by value in 2025, outpacing euro-pegged alternatives and underscoring rising demand for non-dollar crypto assets in emerging markets. Zodia handled $110.5 billion in dollar-pegged stablecoin transactions last year, compared with $3.4 billion in lira-pegged tokens and just tens of millions of dollars in euro-pegged stablecoins. Co-founder and interim CEO Nick Philpott said lira stablecoins were used by clients as a faster, cheaper and more reliable settlement alternative to traditional lira transfers. “The TRY stablecoins were simply faster to settle, far more reliable to settle, cheaper to settle,” he said, adding that Zodia would liquidate them almost immediately. The figures highlight weak institutional demand for a euro-pegged stablecoin, despite a planned launch by European banks this year. Standard Chartered analyst Geoff Kendrick said stablecoin demand was more likely to grow in countries with weaker financial infrastructure.