Rumors suggest that the European Commission is about to slightly relax MiCA rules on EU stablecoins. Specifically, it aims to make non-approved stablecoins in global markets interchangeable with certified EU-only ones.
The European Central Bank (ECB) strenuously disagreed with the proposal, instead advocating for a digital euro CBDC. It warns of risks to European bank stability, but ignoring stablecoin growth is risky too.
MiCA’s Impact on EU Stablecoins
Since MiCA took effect in December 2024, the European crypto landscape has changed dramatically. Indeed, perhaps it’s changed too dramatically.
The global stablecoin market is heating up, but its biggest token issuer quit the EU market due to MiCA without its business suffering. Now, some regulators are considering a few changes.
According to a report from Reuters, European Commission officials may loosen MiCA’s requirements on stablecoins soon. To be clear, it won’t make the licensing process any less stringent.
Instead, if one company issues an EU-specific token and a global version, it’ll soon be able to offer both assets to Europeans interchangeably.
This might seem like a minor distinction, but it already caused issues in March. Ethena attempted to get MiCA licensing for its German branch to issue stablecoins but was denied.
Soon after, the company left the continent altogether. If this rule changes, any company that wins approval for one asset will basically be able to operate freely in the EU.
However, reports suggest that the ECB is having an issue with the proposal. The regulator already advocated changing MiCA rules in April, but it proposed tightening stablecoin restrictions even further.
Instead, it aimed for a “digital euro” CBDC, considering it a way to diverge from Trump’s policies. ECB President Christine Lagarde reiterated this position Monday:
Even if restrictions stay the same, companies are still finding ways to skirt them. Furthermore, the ECB’s recent policies have highlighted Europe’s fading relevance to the global crypto market.
Assuming that loosening MiCA actually is dangerous, getting abandoned by this massive industry seems even riskier.
In other words, a digital euro does not seem sufficient to actually address the problem. Besides, an anonymous European Commission spokesperson disputed its claims about MiCA and stablecoin risks:
“A run on a well-governed and fully collateralized stablecoin is very unlikely. Even if it were to happen, foreign holders would redeem their tokens in the US [or other countries] where the majority of the tokens circulate and the majority of the reserves are held,” this official told Reuters.
In short, EU stablecoin users might get some real relief from MiCA soon. If an issuer manages to get one token approved in Malta or another lax jurisdiction, these assets will be interchangeable with the ones everyone else uses.
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