Unlimit Gains MiCA, But Stablecoin Still Point to EMI Overlap
The latest inclusion in the CySEC MiCA register, payments company Unlimit, underscores the practical necessities of doing business in the EU. As Irene Skrynova, Chief Executive of Global Payments at Unlimit, pointed out in the announcement, operating crypto asset services in the bloc previously meant adhering to disparate local standards across jurisdictions. “Now there is one,” she said.
But MiCA is not all-encompassing.
While the regulation has provided a simplified cryptoasset framework, specific stablecoin activities remain firmly rooted within electronic money mandates.
The Overlap of Crypto Assets and Electronic Money
The European Commission has recently launched a public consultation on the functioning of the regulation.
It is standard practice for Brussels to review its homework.
A main complication cited by industry participants refers to issuing an e-money token, essentially a stablecoin.
To do so, companies will require an EMI license; Unlimint has long held one in Cyprus.
In practice, this puts stablecoins under the direct supervision of Central Banks.
The ECB’s Hard Stance
This regulatory division reflects broader policy tension across the eurozone.
The European Central Bank (ECB) has maintained a deeply sceptical stance toward private, euro-denominated stablecoins, with President Christine Lagarde repeatedly warning that widespread adoption could pose systemic risks to financial stability and weaken monetary policy transmission.
Rather than endorsing private stablecoin solutions, the ECB is prioritising the development of the digital euro as a public-money alternative.
For smaller players, the cost and complexity of regulatory compliance in Europe has already proven hard to absorb. Under MiCA alone, the compliance cull saw some 80% of crypto firms under national CASP regulations disappear.
Some of the bigger players also choose not to seek registration, notably Tether, the world’s largest stablecoin with a market capitalisation of between US$185 and 190 billion.
However, considering the ECB’s hard stance, reviewing the dual licensing requirement could be out of the question. .
The latest inclusion in the CySEC MiCA register, payments company Unlimit, underscores the practical necessities of doing business in the EU. As Irene Skrynova, Chief Executive of Global Payments at Unlimit, pointed out in the announcement, operating crypto asset services in the bloc previously meant adhering to disparate local standards across jurisdictions. “Now there is one,” she said.
But MiCA is not all-encompassing.
While the regulation has provided a simplified cryptoasset framework, specific stablecoin activities remain firmly rooted within electronic money mandates.
The Overlap of Crypto Assets and Electronic Money
The European Commission has recently launched a public consultation on the functioning of the regulation.
It is standard practice for Brussels to review its homework.
A main complication cited by industry participants refers to issuing an e-money token, essentially a stablecoin.
To do so, companies will require an EMI license; Unlimint has long held one in Cyprus.
In practice, this puts stablecoins under the direct supervision of Central Banks.
The ECB’s Hard Stance
This regulatory division reflects broader policy tension across the eurozone.
The European Central Bank (ECB) has maintained a deeply sceptical stance toward private, euro-denominated stablecoins, with President Christine Lagarde repeatedly warning that widespread adoption could pose systemic risks to financial stability and weaken monetary policy transmission.
Rather than endorsing private stablecoin solutions, the ECB is prioritising the development of the digital euro as a public-money alternative.
For smaller players, the cost and complexity of regulatory compliance in Europe has already proven hard to absorb. Under MiCA alone, the compliance cull saw some 80% of crypto firms under national CASP regulations disappear.
Some of the bigger players also choose not to seek registration, notably Tether, the world’s largest stablecoin with a market capitalisation of between US$185 and 190 billion.
However, considering the ECB’s hard stance, reviewing the dual licensing requirement could be out of the question. .
