Circle Paves the Way for Stablecoins in Europe: First to Achieve MiCA Compliance

Circle, the issuer of the USD Coin (USDC) and Euro Coin (EURC) stablecoins, has secured a landmark achievement in the European crypto landscape.

The company announced on Tuesday it is the first global stablecoin issuer to achieve compliance with the European Union's Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulatory framework.

This milestone was made possible by Circle obtaining an Electronic Money Institution (EMI) license from the Autorité de Contrôle Prudentiel et de Résolution (ACPR), the French financial regulator. This license allows Circle to officially issue both USDC and EURC within the EU, adhering to the MiCA regulations that came into effect on July 1, 2024.

MiCA represents a comprehensive set of regulations governing crypto-assets, including provisions for stablecoins. By December, regulations for crypto service providers will be operational.

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Jeremy Alliare, co-founder and chief executive officer at Circle, described the licensing win as a "huge milestone in bringing digital currency into mainstream scale and acceptance."

“By working closely with French and EU regulators, we are now able to offer both USDC and EURC as fully-compliant dollar and euro stablecoins to the European market, unlocking the enormous potential of digital assets to transform finance and commerce,” Alliare said in the announcement.

Circle's USDC, launched in 2018 with crypto exchange Coinbase, is the second-largest stablecoin, with about $32.5 billion in market cap, though it trails leader USDT, with a market cap of around $112.6 billion, by a significant margin.