EU to Revise MiCA Rules to Cover Foreign Stablecoin Issuers

The European Union is preparing to reopen its Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation, the bloc's landmark crypto framework, to cover foreign stablecoin issuers and new technologies like tokenization, according to Euronews. A revision is expected in 2027.

The European Commission is consulting stakeholders through September 30 as it weighs whether to reopen the file, though lawmakers see a review as all but inevitable, Euronews reported Wednesday. The immediate gap is that MiCA does not specifically regulate non-EU companies that issue crypto assets while operating in the European market, a structure that is hard to supervise when a single stablecoin, for example, can have several issuers.

The move to expand MiCA's ambit is partly inspired by global regulatory development, Euronews quoted one diplomat as saying. President Donald Trump has thrown his weight behind dollar-backed stablecoins, enacting the GENIUS Act in 2025. About 95% of the world's stablecoins are pegged to the US dollar. Stablecoin transaction volumes jumped 72% in 2025 to roughly $33 trillion, according to Artemis Analytics.

The commission's review is also expected to consider whether MiCA should cover tokenized means of payment and bank deposits, a category expected to grow quickly in the coming years.

MiCA has already reshaped the European market since taking full effect, pushing Tether's USDT off several EU exchanges over compliance and prompting some global platforms such as Binance to scale back in the region.

For traders, the revision timeline matters more than the policy details. A 2027 implementation means the current regulatory gap persists for at least two more years. Non-EU stablecoin issuers can continue serving European clients without direct MiCA oversight until then. The consultation period ending September 30 will signal how aggressively the Commission plans to close that window. Any early draft language targeting foreign issuers specifically would accelerate compliance timelines for Tether, Circle, and other dollar-pegged operators.

Tokenization coverage is the wild card. If MiCA extends to tokenized bank deposits and payment instruments, it would pull traditional finance into the same rulebook as crypto-native products. That would affect how European banks structure digital asset offerings and could create a compliance advantage for institutions already operating under EU banking licenses.

The GENIUS Act reference is a reminder that US and EU stablecoin rules are diverging. Trump's 2025 law created a federal framework for dollar-backed stablecoins, while Europe is moving to restrict non-EU issuers. That split could fragment stablecoin liquidity between the two regions, raising costs for arbitrage and cross-border settlement.

Mastercard, with an Alpha Score of 69/100, sits at the intersection of these regulatory shifts. The payments giant's MA stock page shows a Moderate label in the Financials sector, reflecting its exposure to both traditional payment rails and digital asset infrastructure. Any MiCA expansion into tokenized payments would directly affect Mastercard's European strategy, particularly its partnerships with crypto custodians and stablecoin networks.