The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has given national regulators in the European Union three months to ensure MiCA-authorized crypto-asset service providers fully clear remaining exposure to stablecoins that do not comply with the Markets in Crypto-Assets regulation. The opinion, published on Oct. 8, sets Jan. 8, 2027 as the latest remediation date for legacy positions.
Under the new supervisory expectations, EU crypto firms should cease providing services related to non-MiCA-compliant asset-referenced tokens and e-money tokens. ESMA explicitly named operating a trading platform, crypto-to-fiat and crypto-to-crypto exchange, order execution, reception and transmission of orders, token placement, investment advice, portfolio management, transfers and custody as regulated services that could allow clients to obtain, trade, retain or increase exposure to unauthorized stablecoins.
Regulators may permit temporary sell-only, conversion, transfer, withdrawal and safekeeping services to support an orderly exit for existing customers, but buying, new trading activity, promotion and active distribution should stop. ESMA said warnings or customer acknowledgments cannot replace the issuer protections required under MiCA, citing Article 66(1), which requires firms to act honestly, fairly and professionally in clients’ best interests.
The latest guidance goes beyond ESMA’s January 2025 opinion, which focused mainly on services that could amount to an offer to the public or admission to trading. The new document covers the full range of MiCA-regulated services. The deadline does not mean every service must remain available for three months, and national authorities should require remediation earlier where possible.
The move follows years of stablecoin compliance shifts in the EU. Binance previously removed non-MiCA-compliant stablecoins such as USDT, FDUSD and DAI from EEA spot trading, while by July 2026 USDT was no longer available for normal trading through MiCA-licensed exchanges in the European Economic Area after Tether did not seek the required authorization. OKX Europe retained a one-way route allowing customers to deposit USDT and convert it into compliant USDC, a setup similar to the limited conversion functionality ESMA now says regulators may permit while legacy positions are cleared.
ESMA also called on the European Commission to amend MiCA to include an explicit legal rule preventing regulated crypto firms from providing services linked to non-compliant stablecoins, as part of its response to the regulation’s review.
