site.btaCash in Circulation in Bulgaria Drops by Nearly One-Third Over Year amid Euro Adoption Process

Cash in circulation in Bulgaria has decreased by more than BGN 10.3 billion, or nearly one-third, within a year, according to a BTA review of data from the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB). The decline coincides with key stages of the country’s accession to the euro area and the national information campaign on the introduction of the euro.

The latest BNB data as of December 23, 2025, show that cash in circulation amounts to BGN 21,186,536 thousand (approximately BGN 21.19 billion). This represents a decrease of BGN 10,305,425 thousand, or about 32.7%, compared to the peak level recorded on December 20, 2024, when cash in circulation stood at BGN 31,491,961 thousand (approximately BGN 31.49 billion).

In its most recent publication on the topic, covering the period through the end of September, the BNB said that “the reduction in cash in circulation is the result of the gradual release by households and businesses of their cash holdings in the context of the upcoming adoption of the euro as legal tender in Bulgaria as of January 1, 2026”.

As of January 3, 2025, when the first updated data for 2025 were published, cash in circulation had already declined to BGN 31,060,259 thousand, marking the beginning of a sustained downward trend.

By the week of June 6, 2025, when the European Commission and the European Central Bank announced their positive assessments of Bulgaria’s compliance with the Maastricht criteria, cash in circulation had fallen to BGN 30,222,432 thousand. In the week of July 11, 2025, shortly after the final decision on July 8 approving Bulgaria’s accession to the euro area, the amount stood at BGN 29,653,313 thousand.

With the launch of the national euro information campaign in early September, the decline accelerated. As of September 5, 2025, cash in circulation totalled BGN 28,364,961 thousand, and by early October, one month after the campaign began, it had dropped further to BGN 27,254,835 thousand. By the end of October, the figure had fallen to BGN 25,837,803 thousand, and by the end of November, to BGN 23,851,960 thousand.