Stripe's Bridge Joins EU MiCA Register, Unlocking Euro Stablecoins in 27 States

Bridge Building joins the EU MiCA register as an EMT issuer

Bridge Building, the Luxembourg-based entity behind Stripe-owned stablecoin firm Bridge, has entered the European Union's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) register. The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) confirmed the addition in a register update published on 7 August 2026. Bridge now sits among authorised electronic money token (EMT) issuers, a category that covers regulated stablecoins. Its inclusion raised the number of MiCA-authorised EMT issuers in the bloc to 42. The register records firms cleared to provide crypto services under the bloc's framework.

Luxembourg's CSSF granted Bridge dual MiCA and EMI licences

Bridge announced on 2 July 2026 that it had secured a Crypto-Asset Service Provider (CASP) authorisation under MiCA and an Electronic Money Institution (EMI) licence from Luxembourg's Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (CSSF). The dual approval covers all 27 EU member states under a single passport, with rules on capital reserves, custody and operational safety. It lets Bridge issue euro-backed stablecoins and offer named IBANs for European businesses from one supervised entity. Holding both licences from one regulator lets Bridge issue and manage stablecoins and move regulated e-money within a single supervised structure.

Mai Leduc Blount, Bridge's Head of Product, described the change for European firms.

"A business in the EU can now issue its own euro stablecoin and pair it with named IBANs and named EUR payouts across all 27 member states, on a single integration", 2 July 2026. — Mai Leduc Blount, Head of Product, Bridge

The licences open new stablecoin products for EU businesses

The dual licence lets European businesses build several products on Bridge. Fintechs can offer named IBANs and euro accounts that work across all 27 member states through one integration. Companies can launch their own euro-backed stablecoins for loyalty programmes, rewards or in-app payments without managing reserves themselves. Enterprises can move money between subsidiaries using custom stablecoins instead of correspondent banking rails. The reserve operation stays on Bridge's side, so businesses avoid building compliance infrastructure themselves.

Three German banks join the register as new providers

The same ESMA update added three new CASP entries from Germany: Volksbank Die Gestalterbank, VBU Volksbank im Unterland and VR-Bank Erding. Their inclusion lifted the total number of authorised CASPs across the EU to 324, up from 321. The update showed no changes to asset-referenced token authorisations, with no ART issuers listed, and the list of non-compliant crypto-asset companies stayed the same.

USDC held its dollar peg at the time of publication

The final phase of the MiCA transition took effect on 1 July 2026, requiring regulated crypto platforms to support only compliant stablecoins. USDC, a leading dollar stablecoin, traded at $0.9997 with a market capitalisation near $71.89 billion at the time of publication (CoinPaprika, 7 August 2026). Bridge's EMT status places it among issuers cleared to serve that regulated market.

Stripe expands its stablecoin business after the Bridge deal

Stripe acquired Bridge to expand its stablecoin and payments operations. The payments company agreed to buy the startup for $1.1 billion in October 2024, and the deal closed on 4 February 2025. In March 2026, Visa expanded its partnership with Bridge to bring stablecoin-linked cards to more than 100 countries by year-end. The Luxembourg licences and MiCA listing extend Bridge's regulated reach across the European market.

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