The European Securities and Markets Authority asks EU cryptocurrency companies to withdraw from non-

European crypto companies must remove existing exposure to non-MiCA-compliant stablecoins by January 8, 2027

According to an opinion issued on October 8, 2024, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) gave national financial regulators 90 days to supervise the process. European cryptocurrency companies must eliminate existing exposure to stablecoins that do not comply with the Cryptocurrency Markets Regulation (MiCA) by this date.

These restrictions may cause trading activity to shift away from European markets, but this does not mean that global demand for dollar-denominated tokens will decrease. According to an ADAN-Ipsos survey, which interviewed users in six European countries about the situation of euro stablecoins, the results showed that 53% of participants had experience using euro-denominated stablecoins. This shows that the market is interested in euro stablecoins. However, whether this interest will be enough to translate into the trading volume needed to maintain liquidity in European markets remains unknown.

Specific coverage of opinions

The restrictions imposed by ESMA are not limited to exchange listings, but also extend to various currency processes, such as trading, custody, transfer, investment advice and overall portfolio management. Regulators in various countries must ensure that those holding MiCA certificates stop providing access to any form of non-compliant stablecoins and restrict customers from increasing their positions in these stablecoins.

Any existing investment must be processed "as soon as possible, and no later than three months after the opinion is issued." During this period, service providers can continue to provide limited services, including clearing, conversion, withdrawal, transfer and custody, to help customers exit their positions.

It is not prohibited to hold personally held tokens

Private users can retain the USDT. The opinion only prohibits its use through licensed EU service providers. As reported by the European Banking Authority (EBA), as of September 1, 2026, 39 MiCA-compliant e-currency tokens have been issued, while no asset reference tokens have been approved. Regulators have called for clearer classification of crypto assets and better protection for stablecoins issued by multiple issuers.

The last wave of liftdowns reveals the truth about liquidity

Past restrictions suggest that even if exchanges remove stablecoins, trading may continue, but most of the trading has shifted to other exchanges. A study published in July 2026 by Nicola Borri and Kirill Shakhnov showed that USDC's share of USDT and USDC merger transactions has increased, rising to 18.24% from 17.70% around April 1, 2025.

The shift was particularly evident among exchanges serving European clients, where USDC's share reportedly increased by about 6%. At the same time, USDT trading volumes remained stable despite a decline of approximately 20% in all venues around the world. Data suggests that traders moved transactions elsewhere rather than stopping using USDT altogether. As previously noted in a Cryptopolitan article, several exchanges, including Binance, Coinbase, Kraken and OKX, have removed USDT trading pairs for European customers in accordance with MiCA regulations, but continue to allow trading in compliant USDCs issued by Circle.

Euro coins are growing, but US dollar tokens are still dominant

Since the MiCA stablecoin regulation came into effect in June 2024, euro stablecoin has grown significantly, and its growth rate has exceeded that of the entire stablecoin market. According to Token Terminal data, the market capital of euro stablecoins climbed from US$285.8 million in the second quarter of 2024 to US$827.5 million in the third quarter of 2026, an increase of 189.5%. During the same period, the entire stablecoin market grew by 94.8%, from US$153.1 billion to US$298.2 billion. As of October 9, the market capital of the euro stablecoin continued to rise, close to US$908.7 million.

This growth is not just reflected in market value. According to data from TRM Labs, monthly euro stablecoin transactions by various crypto service providers increased from US$69 million in January 2025 to US$777 million in March 2026.

Despite this, euro-linked tokens still account for a small proportion of the global market. Although they are growing almost twice as fast as the entire stablecoin sector, as of the third quarter of 2026, euro-linked tokens accounted for only 0.28% of the entire stablecoin market capital.

Transatlantic Gap

According to CEPS analysis, Europe risks becoming the most regulated region among the seven major stablecoin jurisdictions. At the same time, the U.S. GENIUS Act created a federal regulatory framework for payment stablecoins.

As for Europe, it needs to find answers: Will stricter regulation help limit the impact of non-compliant stablecoins, or will it lead to more transactions being shifted to offshore markets? Previous cases of removal from shelves show that the second situation is still a realistic possibility.