- The guidance covers trading, exchange, execution, transfers, custody, advice and portfolio management.
- ESMA did not name specific tokens, but the guidance could affect USDT if regulators determine it is non-compliant.
The European Union’s securities regulator has called on national authorities to ensure authorised crypto platforms stop providing services involving stablecoins that do not comply with the bloc’s crypto rules.
The guidance could affect EU customers holding tokens such as Tether’s USDT, although ESMA did not name specific stablecoins.
The European Securities and Markets Authority says crypto-asset service providers authorised under the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation, known as MiCA, should cease offering services related to non-compliant stablecoins to EU clients.
The guidance covers services including trading platforms, exchanges, order execution, transfers, custody, advice and portfolio management. Platforms should not enable customers to buy affected tokens or increase their exposure to them.
National regulators should now require firms to address existing customer holdings as soon as possible, with three months after the opinion’s publication as the latest deadline. That puts the outside date at January 8, 2027.
During the wind-down, platforms may continue limited services needed to handle existing holdings. ESMA says these can include selling, converting, withdrawing, transferring or temporarily safeguarding the tokens. Any such services must remain time-limited and under close supervision.
Similarly, ESMA recently warned that prediction markets such as Polymarket and Kalshi may be operating across the EU without the authorisation required to market and sell event contracts. The regulator also cautioned that a sharp sell-off in AI-linked technology stocks could prompt investors to dump riskier assets, deepening crypto losses.
MiCA Compliance Drives the Move
However, the opinion does not set one process for every exchange or customer. National regulators will oversee how platforms resolve remaining holdings, so the available options and timing may differ between firms.
Continue reading: Prediction Markets Face EU Crackdown Over Missing Authorisation
MiCA sets requirements for stablecoin issuers whose tokens are offered or admitted to trading in the EU. ESMA’s opinion concerns asset-referenced tokens and e-money tokens that do not meet the relevant rules. The regulator did not identify particular tokens in its announcement.
The opinion asks national authorities to ensure platforms neither maintain nor facilitate access to non-compliant stablecoins for EU customers. It also calls for technical, contractual and organisational controls to prevent customers from acquiring the tokens or increasing their holdings.
In the recent past, several crypto exchanges and financial institutions have gotten access to MiCA licenses. For instance, BitGo’s digital-asset services across the EU after Germany’s BaFin granted the firm a MiCA licence. It allowed it to operate under a unified regulatory framework.
For users, the immediate effect of the latest guidance depends on the platform holding their tokens. Customers may receive instructions to sell, convert or move their holdings before the applicable deadline; some firms may set earlier dates as part of their wind-down plans.
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