EU stablecoin review draws 50,000 responses

TLDR

The EUs review of its MiCA stablecoin rules has attracted over 50,000 public submissions, showing strong pressure to rethink how regulated stablecoins can reward users and manage reserves.

1. More than 50,000 Europeans, led by Stand With Crypto EU, asked the Commission to ease MiCAs ban on stablecoin rewards such as cashback, loyalty points and fee reductions.
2. Central banks and issuers including Circle filed opposing proposals on reserve rules, yield restrictions and multi issuance, revealing a regulatory tug of war over stablecoin design.
3. The Commission will now digest the consultation and could adjust MiCA, with outcomes that may reshape euro stablecoin adoption, bank risk and tokenized finance in Europe.

Deep Dive

1. Scale Of The Public Campaign

According to advocacy group Stand With Crypto EU, more than 50,000 people wrote to the European Commission during the MiCA review consultation, urging it to loosen restrictions on stablecoin rewards like cashback and fee discounts for regulated issuers and providers. This campaign is documented in reports from Cointelegraph and a CoinsKid community article on the consultation outcome, which note that over 126,000 people have also signed a petition for a more permissive stablecoin regime in Europe.

MiCA currently prohibits paying interest on stablecoins, and campaigners argue this leaves them at a disadvantage versus bank deposits and other e money products that can offer customer benefits. The response volume is unusually high, reportedly more than six times the 8,221 submissions to the ECBs digital euro consultation and far above the Commissions 2020 crypto rules consultation, underscoring how politically sensitive stablecoin rules have become.

2. How Regulators And Issuers Want MiCA Changed

The European System of Central Banks (ESCB) used its own submission to push in a stricter direction on yield. It proposed extending MiCAs interest ban to lending, borrowing and staking arrangements that generate returns, and replacing todays requirement for issuers to hold 30 to 60 percent of reserves in bank deposits with liquidity based thresholds that better match how fast reserves can be accessed.

Circle, issuer of USDC and EURC, has argued in its MiCA review response that fixed bank deposit floors increase bank credit and counterparty risk, pointing to USDCs 2023 depeg after Silicon Valley Banks failure, and wants deposit minimums replaced with liquidity rules tied to asset maturities. Circle also highlights that only a handful of major global stablecoins currently meet MiCAs e money token standards and argues for preserving multi issuance structures while revising reserve and exposure caps, as reported by The Block and in a detailed Circle policy post.

These positions reflect a tension. Central banks focus on bank stability and monetary transmission, while issuers seek flexibility to make regulated stablecoins competitive with offshore dollar tokens and other settlement instruments.

3. Why It Matters For Crypto Users And What To Watch

The consultation closed on 30 September 2026. The Commission will now weigh public feedback, central bank concerns and industry proposals before deciding whether to adjust MiCA through targeted changes or more substantial reforms. Nothing changes for users immediately, but the direction it chooses could determine whether euro denominated stablecoins gain broader traction versus dollar stablecoins in European trading and DeFi.

Changes to reward rules could affect whether everyday users see stablecoins as attractive payment or savings tools relative to bank accounts. Shifts in reserve and liquidity requirements will matter for how resilient MiCA regulated tokens are during stress events and how much bank risk they embed.

Conclusion

The surge of more than 50,000 responses shows that stablecoin policy is no longer a niche technical issue but a contested part of Europes financial infrastructure strategy. Advocacy groups, issuers and central banks are pulling in different directions on rewards and reserves, and the Commissions eventual choices will influence whether regulated euro stablecoins can compete with offshore dollar tokens while still satisfying bank and systemic risk constraints.