One quarter of Bulgarians levs still in people, the euro - sole legal currency

The Governor of the European Central Bank (ECB), Christine Lagarde, marked one month since Bulgaria’s accession to the eurozone with a post on Facebook. “Today marks one month since Bulgaria joined the eurozone, meaning that 358 million people now share our currency and our future,” Lagarde wrote. Her statement is part of a series of public comments made in the final weeks of 2025 and the beginning of 2026, in which she highlighted Bulgaria’s progress toward eurozone membership.

As of midnight on February 1, the Bulgarian lev became part of history, and the euro is now the only legal currency in Bulgaria. Bulgarians were given one month to get rid of their old lev banknotes and coins by spending them or exchanging them at banks.

By January 30, 75% of levs in circulation had been withdrawn, while around 7.7 billion levs still remain in the hands of the population. The Bulgarian National Bank reported that more than €6.1 billion are currently in circulation, ensuring the normal functioning of the payment system and meeting the needs of the economy and the public.

Banks will continue to exchange lev banknotes and coins into euros free of charge until June 30.

Edited by Ivo Ivanov
English version: R. Petkova