The Bulgarian lev, first introduced in 1881, will cease to be the country’s official currency on January 1, 2026, as Bulgaria joins the Eurozone under its European Union commitments.
The transition will begin on January 1, 2026, with a one-month dual-circulation period during which both the lev and the euro will be accepted as legal tender. After that, the lev will no longer be used for daily transactions, but citizens will be able to exchange lev holdings into euros at a fixed conversion rate without any time limitation.
Bulgarian Finance Minister Temenuzhka Petkova announced that the conversion rate will be permanently fixed at 1 euro = 1.95583 lev.
In July, EU member states approved Bulgaria’s accession to the Eurozone starting January 1, 2026. Bulgarian Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov described the decision as a major milestone for the country.
Türkiye’s Central Bank also announced that it will remove the Bulgarian lev from its list of actively traded foreign currencies starting January 2.
Serdar Yerlioglu, head of the Association of Authorized Exchange Offices, said the lev has recently weakened in the free market as many citizens have begun converting their holdings into euros. He added that the lev will not immediately become worthless and will continue to be accepted by financial institutions for years, similar to how former currencies like the German mark were handled after euro adoption.
He also noted that border regions such as Edirne have seen changes in currency inflows, with euros increasingly replacing levs in cross-border transactions.
Editorial Analysis
Bulgaria’s adoption of the euro marks a significant economic and symbolic shift, reflecting deeper integration into European financial and political structures. While the change simplifies cross-border trade and currency stability, it also requires careful management of public confidence, inflation expectations, and the technical transition from a long-standing national currency.
Historical experience from other euro-adopting countries suggests that the practical impact of the transition depends less on the currency itself and more on how effectively governments manage pricing transparency, communication, and public trust during the conversion period.
