Stablecoin regulation under MiCAR: ART, EMT and CASP
MiCAR uses defined legal categories instead of treating every stablecoin alike. The practical answer depends on the token's reference, the actor's role and the service actually provided.
- Regulation
- (EU) 2023/1114
- Authority (DE)
- BaFin, EBA for significant tokens
- Titles III and IV apply
- 30 June 2024
- Scope
- EU-wide, offer and admission to trading
What stablecoin regulation means in practice
MiCAR is Regulation (EU) 2023/1114. The phrase "MiCA licence" is common shorthand, but it is not one universal permission. The legal path depends on whether a firm issues a token, offers it to the public, seeks admission to trading or provides a listed crypto-asset service.
For tokens intended to maintain a stable value, MiCAR distinguishes e-money tokens (EMTs) and asset-referenced tokens (ARTs). An EMT references one official currency. An ART is not an EMT and references another value or right, or a combination of them. Classification follows the statutory features, not a marketing label or a stabilisation mechanism alone.
Issuance and services must be reviewed separately. Articles 16 to 21 govern the authorisation paths for public offers or admission to trading of ARTs. Article 48 sets the issuer and white-paper framework for EMTs. Articles 59 and 63 address authorisation for crypto-asset service providers. One status does not replace the others.
Five questions for a first review
A useful review starts with the facts of the token and the concrete role of every participant. These questions organise the source check before specialist legal advice begins.
- Which legal entity is the issuer, offeror or service provider?
- What does the token reference: one official currency, another value or right, or a combination?
- Is the token issued, offered to the public or submitted for admission to trading in the Union?
- Does any participant provide a crypto-asset service listed in MiCAR?
- Which authorisation, exemption, notification and white paper can be verified in official sources?
Two categories, not one
The EMT and ART definitions are built around the value a crypto-asset purports to maintain. A single official currency points to the EMT definition. Another value or right, or a combination of them, points to the ART definition when the token is not an EMT. The label "stablecoin", the choice of distributed-ledger technology and the word "algorithmic" do not answer that classification by themselves.
Who may offer an e-money token
Article 48 generally requires the issuer behind a public offer or admission to trading of an EMT in the Union to be authorised as a credit institution or an electronic money institution. The issuer must notify and publish a crypto-asset white paper under Article 51. MiCAR contains exemptions and permits another person to make the offer or seek admission with the issuer's written consent, so the exact structure and the applicable exception must be checked rather than reduced to a yes-or-no marketing claim.
Redemption at par, at any time
Article 49 requires EMTs to be issued at par value on receipt of funds. At a holder's request, the issuer must redeem the token at any time and at par value; redemption is generally not subject to a fee. The same article requires the white paper to state the redemption conditions prominently. A product team should therefore review the regulation, the current white paper and the identified legal entity together instead of inferring rights from a token symbol.
No interest, and the definition is broad
Article 50 prohibits interest in relation to EMTs and treats remuneration or another benefit linked to holding time as interest. Its wording includes net compensation, discounts and equivalent benefits, whether received from the issuer or a third party. Article 40 contains a corresponding prohibition for ARTs. Activity-based rewards can require a different analysis; the design, economic effect and responsible actor should be reviewed before launch.
Asset-referenced tokens follow their own path
A token that is not an EMT and purports to maintain a stable value by referencing another value or right, or a combination, can fall within Title III as an ART. Articles 16 to 21 set out authorisation, notification and white-paper paths, including routes for credit institutions and specified exemptions. A currency basket, commodity reference or crypto-asset reference is therefore part of the legal classification, not merely a product-design choice.
If you are not the issuer
Many businesses use a token issued by somebody else. Acceptance alone is not issuance, but the surrounding activity can still be a listed crypto-asset service—for example custody, exchange, execution, order transmission or transfer services on behalf of clients. BaFin's authorisation guidance and Articles 59 to 63 should be read against the service actually provided. Token status, issuer status and service-provider status are separate checks.
Common questions
Is a dollar-referenced token an e-money token in the EU?
The definition looks for a token that purports to maintain a stable value by referencing one official currency; that currency does not have to be the euro. Whether a particular dollar-referenced token is offered or admitted to trading under the applicable issuer, consent, exemption and white-paper rules must be checked separately in the official material.
Can I offer users a yield on a MiCAR stablecoin?
Not as something tied to holding it. The interest prohibition covers benefits linked to the duration of holding, whether they come from the issuer or a third party, and covers discounts and equivalent benefits rather than only payments labelled as interest. Rewards structured around activity rather than holding period are a different analysis, and one worth taking advice on before launching.
What if the token references a basket of currencies?
A currency basket does not meet the single-official-currency element of the EMT definition and can point to the ART definition. Title III then provides the relevant authorisation, notification, exemption and white-paper framework. The concrete structure still needs to be classified on its facts.
Does accepting stablecoin payments make me an issuer?
Merely accepting a token issued by somebody else is not the same act as issuing it. The concrete role still matters: an offer to the public, admission to trading, custody, exchange, execution or transfer service can trigger a separate review. Map each actor and activity before reaching a conclusion.
Where are the reserve assets held?
Article 54 requires at least 30% of funds received in exchange for EMTs to be deposited in separate accounts with credit institutions. The remaining funds must be invested in secure, low-risk, highly liquid financial instruments with minimal market, credit and concentration risk and in the same official currency referenced by the token.
How do I check whether an issuer is authorised?
Check the ESMA MiCA register and the publications of the relevant national authority. Match the legal entity named in the register or white paper, not only the token brand. ESMA also warns that listed white papers for crypto-assets other than ARTs and EMTs have not been reviewed or approved by a competent authority, so a register entry is evidence—not a substitute for classification or legal review.
This is not legal advice
These are engineering notes from building products that fall under these rules, not a legal opinion, and they summarise rather than reproduce the regulation. Classification turns on specifics, and the operative text is Regulation (EU) 2023/1114. Take advice on your own facts before relying on any of it.
Primary sources
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