The article examines how new European Union rules for stablecoins under the Markets in Crypto‑Assets Regulation (MiCA) could restrict the growth of crypto payments in the bloc, according to lawyers and industry participants. Under MiCA’s stablecoin regime, which took effect for asset‑referenced tokens and e‑money tokens in mid‑2024, so‑called “significant” stablecoins face daily transaction caps for use as a means of payment once volumes exceed defined thresholds, alongside stringent licensing, reserve, and supervisory requirements. Legal experts cited in the piece argue that these limits, intended to protect financial stability and prevent any one stablecoin from becoming systemically important, risk making it commercially unattractive to offer or use euro‑denominated stablecoins at scale in the EU. MiCA was designed to create a harmonized regulatory framework for crypto assets across the EU, covering transparency, disclosure, authorization and supervision for issuers and service providers, and to reduce consumer and systemic risks. However, practitioners warn that the combination of caps on stablecoin payment volumes and heavy compliance obligations could push both issuers and users toward non‑EU jurisdictions or toward using cryptoassets that fall outside the stablecoin categories, undermining the EU’s goal of fostering innovation and digital competitiveness. The debate over these transaction limits has become a focal point in broader discussions about how to regulate stablecoins so they can support mainstream payments and financial inclusion without threatening monetary sovereignty or financial stability, at a time when stablecoins represent one of the largest and fastest‑growing use cases in crypto globally.

AI-generated background, compiled from web sources — not editorial content.

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