This stablecoin innovation targets sensitive use cases like payroll and intra-company transfers, allowing transactions to stay untraceable to the public while still accessible to authorized parties like regulators and issuers. The contract represents a middle ground between transparent stablecoins like USDC and censorship-resistant “dark stablecoins.” With backing from major institutions like Deutsche Bank and State Street, Taurus hopes to fill a crucial privacy gap in stablecoin infrastructure.
Meanwhile, regulatory developments surrounding stablecoins are also unfolding globally. In Europe, the European Commission rejected earlier ECB concerns, favoring a more flexible stance under MiCA. In the US, Trump-linked World Liberty Financial is preparing to release its first stablecoin audit while teasing an upgrade to its WLFI token.
Taurus Rolls Out Privacy Contract for Stablecoins
Taurus, a digital asset infrastructure provider, launched a private stablecoin contract built on the Aztec Network, which is designed to offer users enhanced privacy through zero-knowledge proofs while still maintaining compliance with regulatory standards. The goal of the contract is to make stablecoin usage more practical for sensitive applications like payrolls and intracompany transfers, where financial privacy is critical.
Taurus previously partnered with major institutions like Deutsche Bank and State Street, and believes this innovation bridges a long-standing gap in stablecoin functionality by preserving privacy without compromising regulatory oversight.
According to Taurus’ chief security officer, JP Aumasson, the solution allows for untraceable transactions that still permit access for authorized entities like issuers and regulators. This dual approach could resolve one of the key limitations of current stablecoin usage—the visibility and permanence of transactions on public blockchains. Aztec Network executive Arnaud Schenk explained that their layer-2 zero-knowledge system supports both user privacy and issuer-defined controls directly at the token level.
The new offering comes at a time when concerns over increasing government oversight led to speculation that demand may grow for so-called “dark stablecoins”—privacy-enhanced, censorship-resistant alternatives. CryptoQuant CEO Ki Young Ju said that international users could shift toward these untraceable solutions in response to stricter regulations. However, Taurus’ contract may serve as a middle ground by delivering similar privacy protections without the legal uncertainties that accompany unregulated dark stablecoins.
Overall, the stablecoin market is attracting more attention from both traditional financial players and regulators. While USDT and USDC still dominate the market, more than 30 other stablecoin issuers have at least $100 million in circulation, according to RedStone’s recent report. The landscape is poised for even more growth as the GENIUS Act moves closer to becoming law in the United States.
Meanwhile, Europe recently signaled a more accommodating approach under its MiCA framework, which suggests that stablecoin innovation could continue to grow across multiple jurisdictions.
EU Rejects ECB Warnings on Stablecoin Risks
The European Commission took a turn away from the strict warnings that were issued earlier this year by the European Central Bank (ECB). In response to ECB concerns about the risks of joint stablecoin issuance across EU and non-EU jurisdictions, the Commission said such scenarios are “highly unlikely.” According to a spokesperson, even if a bank run occurred, most redemptions would take place outside of the EU, particularly in the US, where the majority of stablecoins circulate and reserves are held.
This more flexible approach has been welcomed by the crypto industry, with some calling it a big win for cross-border stablecoin operations. The ECB warned in April that allowing joint issuance between EU and foreign entities could undermine the bloc’s financial safeguards, destabilize consumer protections, and open the door for regulatory arbitrage by foreign firms. It also raised the issue of non-EU issuers potentially misrepresenting themselves as compliant with the EU’s MiCA regulation without actually meeting its requirements.
An example of EU and third-country stablecoin mult-issuance
Despite these concerns, the Commission's June study on the topic concluded that the risks are very manageable under existing rules. It found that MiCA already creates strong institutional and regulatory barriers that limit the presence of foreign stablecoins in the eurozone. For instance, the Commission pointed out Tether’s refusal to comply with MiCA’s rule requiring 60% of reserves to be held in European banks, which discouraged the issuer of USDT from registering in Europe.
The Commission also proposed that foreign stablecoin issuers could be subject to rebalancing mechanisms to align the volume of EU-based reserves with the proportion of tokens circulating in the EU. People see this as a much more realistic and flexible framework that enables global operations without fragmenting the stablecoin market.
Juan Ignacio Ibañez, general secretary of the MiCA Crypto Alliance, said this stance eliminates the need for issuers like Circle to split their operations into separate entities for the US and Europe, which preserves the fungibility and cross-border usability that are core to blockchain-based currencies.
Calling it “very positive news and even a relief,” Ibañez believes that jurisdictional silos would weaken stablecoin utility and harm the user experience.
World Liberty Financial Readies Stablecoin Audit
Meanwhile, World Liberty Financial, the crypto venture associated with US President Donald Trump, is preparing to release an audit of its stablecoin and hinted at a potential upgrade to its WLFI governance token. Co-founder Zak Folkman announced at the Permissionless conference in Brooklyn that the project's first attestation report from an independent accounting firm will be published on its website soon. He also teased a big development regarding the WLFI token, which currently grants voting rights but is still nontransferable.
Folkman suggested that changes to WLFI are imminent, and encouraged the community to stay tuned over the next few weeks for updates. This was later confirmed in a post on X by World Liberty Financial, where the team acknowledged community demand for making WLFI transferable and stated that the necessary work is underway, promising “big news coming soon.” While some in the crypto community welcomed the news with enthusiasm, others responded with skepticism by questioning the motives behind the move and suggesting that insiders might be preparing to offload their holdings.
Reply to WLFI’s X post
The platform is also working on launching a new app that is aimed at improving accessibility for retail users. This is a strategic move that could expand its user base during the upcoming election cycle.
Trump’s ties to the project have been financially lucrative. According to a 2025 financial disclosure filed with the Office of Government Ethics, Trump earned $57.4 million from World Liberty Financial and holds more than 15 billion WLFI tokens, which grant him voting rights. The earnings stem from token sales.
Since its inception in September of 2024, World Liberty Financial has raised $500+ million through two public token offerings. The platform offers decentralized finance services and a dollar-pegged stablecoin. The venture also attracted high-profile investors, including Tron founder Justin Sun, who bought $30 million worth of WLFI, as well as Web3Port and Oddiyana Ventures.
