𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐔 𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐤𝐬 𝐚 𝐦𝐚𝐣𝐨𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐠𝐨𝐚𝐥 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐬 🇪🇺 We’re nearing year-end — and the MiCA ↔ PSD2 overlap for stablecoin custody and transfers is still left unaddressed. This could become a serious bottleneck for (euro) stablecoin adoption and competitiveness in the EU if we don't act fast. The problem: Under current EBA guidance, businesses using e-money tokens (EMTs) could soon face dual licensing requirements: • a MiCA CASP licence, and • a PSD2 (soon PSD3) payment licence for the same custody or transfer activity — starting March 2026. That means regulatory duplication for firms handling stablecoin services. 🛑 Why this is a policy own goal • It breaks MiCA’s “one rulebook” promise. MiCA was designed to add to, not duplicate, existing frameworks. I fully agree with the EBA that highlights that: “any given financial activity should be regulated by one piece of law.” • It violates core EU principles — proportionality, legal clarity, and consistency. Forcing dual licences for one activity adds unnecessary compliance burden and confusion for both industry and supervisors. • It undermines the EU’s simplification drive. Draghi’s Competitiveness Report and the Commission’s red-tape agenda call for streamlining, not stacking rules on top of each other. • It risks chilling euro stablecoin growth. CASPs — the main distributors of MiCA-regulated EMTs — may retreat from custody and transfer services if forced to obtain another licence. That would slow euro stablecoin adoption and likely drive users to unbacked crypto assets. What needs to happen: ✅ Extend the transition period for CASPs — at least until 2027 — to avoid a cliff-edge in March 2026. ✅ Fix the problem via PSD3/PSR legislation — add targeted carve-outs (e.g. first party EMT transfers to/from self-custody wallets should not be treated as payments) or cross-references so that EMT custody and transfers are only covered under MiCA, not PSD2/3. This may sound like a niche legal detail — which is why you likely don't hear a lot of noise about it. But if left unsolved, it could become a major regulatory own goals for Europe’s stablecoin market.(Patrick Hansen)