The MiCA Gap: 14 EU Stablecoin Issuers Locked Out of Custody

MiCA leaves 14 EU stablecoin issuers without custody rights

The European Union's Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation has left most euro stablecoin issuers unable to hold their own tokens on behalf of clients. Of roughly 23 authorised electronic money token (EMT) issuers, only nine also carry a crypto-asset service provider (CASP) licence. The other 14 issuers cannot custody tokens or run automated payments for corporate customers. The split has turned a licensing detail into a commercial divide. Issuers without a CASP licence must send that business elsewhere, while the nine dual-licensed firms can serve clients end to end.

Circle's policy lead flagged the custody gap

Patrick Hansen, Director of EU Strategy and Policy at Circle, drew attention to the shortfall. He said most EU stablecoin issuers cannot custody their own tokens on behalf of customers, which narrows the services they can offer. Hansen said he was surprised by how passive rival issuers had been in closing the gap. Circle issues the dollar stablecoin USDC and the euro stablecoin EURC, and holds both licences. Its position lets it bundle issuance and custody in one regulated package for business clients across the bloc.

Only nine issuers hold both MiCA licences

A CASP licence sits apart from EMT authorisation under MiCA. Issuing a compliant euro stablecoin does not grant the right to hold it in custody. Without both approvals, an issuer cannot offer the custody, payment and settlement services that institutional clients expect. Circle and Société Générale-Forge, which hold dual authorisation, gain an edge in the contest for institutional money. For a corporate treasury, that means fewer counterparties and simpler compliance. The advantage compounds as business users route flows through the providers already cleared to handle them.

Article 60 approvals can take up to a year

The notification procedure under MiCA's Article 60 can take up to a year in jurisdictions such as France and Luxembourg. That timeline keeps issuers out of custody work while their applications move through review. As custody, payment and settlement links form around the nine dual-licensed tokens, the early lead may harden into a lasting one. Infrastructure providers rarely reverse an integration once it is live, so first movers can lock in corporate demand.

EURØP relies on Ripple licences for custody

The French stablecoin EURØP, issued by Schuman Financial, shows one way around the barrier. It holds EMT status but lacks its own CASP licence. To fill the gap, it uses Ripple's European MiCA CASP and electronic money institution (EMI) licences to provide custody and transfers across 30 European countries. Ripple won preliminary MiCA approval from Luxembourg's financial regulator in June 2026, letting partners plug into a licensed platform rather than wait for their own.

EURC and USDC hold contrasting market weight

Circle's euro token EURC carried a market value near $280 million (CoinPaprika, 14 August 2026). Its dollar token USDC stood far larger, at about $71.9 billion (CoinPaprika, 14 August 2026). The distance between the two figures shows the scale that dual-licensed issuers can bring to the institutional market, which smaller rivals without a custody licence now struggle to reach.