Timeline
- 8.0
EU regulators target non-compliant stablecoins with a 90-day deadline
The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) published an opinion on Oct. 8, 2026, saying national regulators should require MiCA-authorized firms to remediate EU clients' remaining exposure to non-compliant stablecoins as soon as possible and no later than three months after publication — around Jan. 8, 2027. During that window, supervisors may permit only strictly limited, time-limited and closely supervised services such as liquidation, conversion, withdrawal, transfer or safekeeping of existing holdings, and those services must not enable new acquisitions, promotion, active distribution or continued market availability. ESMA holds that providing any MiCA service involving a non-compliant stablecoin should raise a presumption that the firm is not acting in clients' best interests under Article 66(1), whether or not the service amounts to an offer to the public or admission to trading. Because national supervisors decide whether to grant the limited wind-down relief, EU customers do not automatically receive three months of continued service. The opinion names no token or issuer, but Coinbase's EEA retail guidance labels Tether's USDT as MiCA-non-compliant, and Kraken's guidance, updated April 13, lists USDT among stablecoins delisted for EEA trading while still permitting deposits and withdrawals (deposits discouraged). ESMA also said warnings, disclosures and client acknowledgments would not resolve the risks created by missing issuer-level safeguards.
- 8.5
EU securities regulator gives crypto platforms 3 months to remove unauthorized stablecoins
The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) issued an opinion on Thursday requiring EU-authorized crypto-asset service providers (CASPs) to stop offering services that let EU customers buy, trade, swap or otherwise increase holdings of stablecoins that do not comply with the Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) rules. National regulators should ensure any remaining customer holdings are resolved as soon as possible and no later than three months after publication, placing the deadline at Jan. 8, 2027. ESMA said keeping non-compliant stablecoins available through authorized platforms would weaken the reserve, redemption, governance and disclosure rules MiCA imposes on authorized issuers. Tether's USDT, the largest stablecoin by market value, is the standout example of a token not authorized under MiCA, and several platforms had already restricted it for European users. The opinion does not name any tokens, and it covers exchange services, trade execution, transfers, custody, administration, advice and portfolio management. During the wind-down period platforms may provide limited services to resolve existing holdings — selling, converting, withdrawing, transferring or safekeeping — but not purchases, promotion, trading or continued market availability, and national regulators decide how individual platforms handle remaining client balances within the three-month outer limit.