Summary
The European Commission's MiCA consultation, open until August 31, 2026, explicitly asks whether the EU should create an equivalence mechanism recognizing well-regulated third-country stablecoin issuers. Currently, MiCA has no equivalence regime for non-EU issuers, meaning companies like Tether and Circle must establish EU-authorized entities to serve EU users. The consultation also covers multi-issuance structures, where a single stablecoin is issued by multiple legally distinct entities across jurisdictions. Under Article 140, the Commission must present a review report by June 30, 2027, with new rules unlikely before 2028. EU diplomats confirm reopening the file is "unavoidable" given ECB concerns and US regulatory developments under the GENIUS Act.
Key Points
- Consultation open until August 31, 2026; covers equivalence, multi-issuance, DeFi, tokenized deposits
- Current MiCA: no equivalence regime for non-EU stablecoin issuers
- Proposed equivalence: EU could recognize GENIUS Act compliance as equivalent to MiCA
- Multi-issuance: ECB raised concerns about cross-border redemption pressure and reserve mismatches
- Article 140 deadline: Commission report by June 30, 2027; new rules 2028 at earliest
- EU diplomat: "Reopening the file seems unavoidable at this stage"
- ECB working paper (March 2026): US dollar stablecoin dominance weakens EU monetary sovereignty
- 95% of stablecoins worldwide are backed by the US dollar