ESMA sets Jan. 8 deadline for non-MiCA stablecoins

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) on Oct. 8 told national supervisors to ensure crypto firms authorized under MiCA stop serving EU clients with non-compliant stablecoins. Its opinion on stablecoin services sets a three-month outer limit for resolving existing customer exposures.

The guidance covers asset-referenced tokens and e-money tokens, the categories MiCA uses for stablecoins. ESMA said the rules apply across trading, exchange, order execution, transfers, custody, advice and portfolio management.

What must crypto firms stop offering?

ESMA said authorized crypto-asset service providers should not maintain or facilitate EU clients’ access to stablecoins that do not comply with MiCA. Supervisors should ensure firms use technical, contractual and organizational controls to prevent clients from buying the tokens or increasing their exposure.

The opinion does not name specific tokens. CoinDesk reported that Tether’s USDT is a prominent example of a stablecoin that is not authorized under MiCA.

How long can customers keep existing balances?

National supervisors should require firms to resolve remaining holdings as soon as possible and no later than three months after the opinion’s publication, ESMA said. That puts the outer deadline at Jan. 8, 2027.

During the wind-down, firms may continue only services needed to liquidate, convert, withdraw, transfer or safeguard existing tokens. ESMA said those services must be time-limited, risk-based and closely supervised; it said keeping non-compliant stablecoins available would weaken MiCA’s reserve, redemption, governance and disclosure requirements.

The opinion leaves national supervisors to identify existing exposures and oversee their resolution. EU customers’ next step depends on their platform’s instructions, with Jan. 8, 2027, the latest date for the remaining exposures to be remediated.

References

• opinion on stablecoin services — esma.europa.eu