Thunes Adds EURC Prefunding on Solana for 24/7 Euro Settlement Across 140 Countries

Thunes, a Singapore-based global payments network, added EURC prefunding on Solana to its Direct Global Network on August 13, giving fintechs and neobanks the ability to settle euro transactions at any hour, including weekends and public holidays when European banks are closed.

The integration connects Circle USDC$1.000+0.1%'s MiCA-compliant euro stablecoin, pegged 1:1 to the euro, into Thunes' SmartX Treasury system. Network members can now fund cross-border euro transactions directly from an on-chain EURC position rather than waiting for a European wire to clear. EURC is also live on Ethereum, Base, and Stellar, and Thunes' Direct Global Network covers all four chains.

Why European Banking Hours Create a Settlement Gap

European bank settlement rails are unavailable for more than 100 days each year once weekends and public holidays are counted, according to the Thunes press release. That idle time forces payment operators to maintain large cash buffers in nostro accounts, capital held in reserve to cover orders that arrive when banks are closed. EURC prefunding removes that constraint for euro-denominated flows: Thunes converts on-chain liquidity into local fiat across more than 90 currencies in 140 countries, reaching 12 billion bank accounts and wallets.

"At Thunes, we pride ourselves on being early adopters who consistently push the boundaries of payment interoperability," said Chloé Mayenobe, deputy CEO of Thunes.

USDC to EURC: Two Years Building with Circle

The Thunes-Circle partnership started in October 2024 with a USDC liquidity integration across the Direct Global Network. The settlement improvements that followed were concrete: Ghana moved from T+2 to same-day, the Philippines shifted from T+1 to T+0, and South Africa compressed from half-day processing to minutes, according to a Circle case study. USDC funding volumes on the network grew by roughly one-third month-over-month after launch.

A Pay-to-Stablecoin-Wallets feature followed in October 2025, enabling direct payouts into stablecoin accounts. EURC prefunding is the next extension of that build-out, carrying always-on settlement from the dollar to the euro.

MiCA Compliance Broadens EURC's Institutional Reach

EURC's eligibility for regulated financial infrastructure rests on the European Union's Markets in Crypto-Assets framework, which came into force in 2024 and gave licensed entities such as Circle the authority to issue euro stablecoins in compliant form. That regulatory grounding matters for Thunes' fintech and neobank partners, many of which operate under EU licensing requirements and cannot accept unregulated digital assets for treasury operations.

EURC's Solana presence has grown alongside that regulatory clarity. The token's holder count on Solana rose from approximately 52,100 in mid-May 2026 to nearly 56,700 by August 13, a gain of about 9% over three months. Circulating supply holds at approximately 105 million EURC, per Solana Compass data.

The launch adds another institutional data point to Solana's payments ledger. Visa recorded $1.79 trillion in adjusted stablecoin settlement volume for June 2026, with Circle's USDC accounting for 67% of that total.