EU Stablecoin Regulation Falls Short, Industry Calls for Change
The European Union's (EU) MiCA regulation has had some success in creating a compliant market for stablecoins, but it still has a long way to go. Currently, only three stablecoins - USDC, USDG, and EURC - meet the EU's MiCA standards out of the top 50 globally.
Patrick Hansen, Circle's Senior Director of EU Strategy and Policy, notes that while there are about 35 regulated e-money tokens issued by 21 entities in the EU under MiCA, only a handful appear near the top of global stablecoin rankings. This suggests that MiCA compliance may be a barrier for global-scale issuers.
Hansen is advocating for improvements to market competitiveness, stronger global regulatory coordination, and the establishment of a recognition regime for foreign-regulated stablecoins. Such a regime would allow stablecoins authorized under other jurisdictions' frameworks to operate within the EU under defined conditions.