Stablecoins under MiCA — how to check whether a stablecoin complies. Explained simply

A stablecoin is a crypto-asset designed to track another value, such as the euro or the dollar. Since 30 June 2024, MiCA has had specific rules for them in the EU. This article looks at how you can check whether a stablecoin meets those rules.

MiCA sorts stablecoins into two groups:

• E-money token (EMT): tracks the value of a single official currency, such as one euro or one dollar.
• Asset-referenced token (ART): tracks something else — a basket of currencies, gold, or a mix.

The difference matters, because the issuer and the rules are different.

• Who may offer it? Under Article 16, only the issuer may offer an ART to the public or seek its admission to trading in the EU, and only if it is established in the EU and authorised by its authority, or is a credit institution. Others may do so only with the issuer's written consent.
• Redemption: under Article 39, holders have a right of redemption at all times against the issuer. The issuer pays the market value of the referenced assets or delivers the assets themselves. As a rule, redemption is free of charge.
• No interest: under Article 40, neither the issuer nor a crypto-asset service provider may grant interest, or any other benefit tied to how long the token is held, to ART holders.

For EMTs — who may issue them, how redemption works, why no interest is paid — see Articles 48 to 50 of MiCA: only a credit institution or an electronic money institution may issue an EMT, holders can redeem at any time at par value, and interest is prohibited.

ESMA's interim MiCA register consists of separate files. Two relate to stablecoins:

• EMTWP — e-money token issuers and their white papers. It shows whether the issuer is a credit institution or an e-money institution, which national authority supervises it, and when the offer started.
• ARTZZ — asset-referenced token issuers and their white papers, with the authorisation date.

A third file is worth knowing: NCASP lists providers that authorities have identified as operating without authorisation.

For a step-by-step guide to the register: How to check whether a crypto provider is authorised.

On 17 January 2025, ESMA and the European Commission published guidance. Crypto-asset service providers may not offer EMTs or ARTs that do not comply with MiCA. National authorities were to enforce this no later than the end of Q1 2025.

During the transition, providers could keep only "sell only" services: holders could sell or convert the token, but not buy more. That is why some well-known stablecoins cannot be traded by EU clients on certain platforms today.

An example from the register: according to a third-party counter (casptracker.eu, 9 October 2026), ESMA's EMT list contains 25 issuers and 50 white papers. Circle's euro and dollar tokens (EURC, USDC) are listed, supervised in France. Tether's USDT is not listed. This is a register fact, not an assessment.

1. A stablecoin is not a bank deposit. An EMT holder has a claim on the issuer, but this is not deposit insurance.
2. "Stable" is not a guarantee. MiCA regulates who may issue and how — not that the price can never move.
3. Interest is banned — and so are "rewards". If a service offers time-based rewards for holding a stablecoin, MiCA does not allow this from the issuer or the crypto-asset service provider, for EMTs or ARTs.
4. No one approves the white paper here either. It is notified to the authority, but the authority does not guarantee its content.
5. ESMA's register is still interim. It is updated as spreadsheet files, not a real-time database. Always check the file's update date.

The next and final part of the series gives seven questions you can ask any crypto provider.

Further reading: What is a CASP? · MiCA's transitional period has ended — what changed? · The crypto-asset white paper under MiCA

Sources: Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 (MiCA), Articles 16, 39, 40, 48–50 · ESMA and European Commission statement, 17 January 2025 · ESMA interim MiCA register, field description · casptracker.eu, 9 October 2026 (third party, not ESMA)

Educational content. Not investment advice.