Regulatory progress for stablecoins in the European Union (EU) entered a phase of paralysis. The European Commission (EC) decided to suspend the publication of a technical guide that sought to authorize the issuance of global digital assets, such as USDC, under the framework of the MiCA regulation.
The technical guide, identified as Q&A (Questions & Answers) it’s a technical document or interpretative of the European Commission. The idea is to clarify whether an EU issuer can issue a fungible token with a third-country issuer, whether reserves can be shared, and whether joint liability or strict segregation applies.
The decision to suspend the publication responds to intense pressure exerted by the European Central Bank (ECB) and sectors of the European Parliament, which warn about the geopolitical implications. and the risks to the financial stability of the region.
The core of the controversy lies in so-called “multi-issue” stablecoins, such as USDC and USDG. The latter, issued by Paxos.
This is a model that allows entities in different jurisdictions, such as the United States and Europe, to issue the same fungible asset. According to technical operating data, if a headquarters faces a liquidity crisis, can draw on the other’s reserves to meet reimbursements.
When this possibility of this type of emissions opens legal problem arises given that the laws of the region do not explicitly regulate this cross-border model. Until now, stablecoins can be issued and operate legally in the EU, as long as they meet a series of requirements, among which multi-issuance is not contemplated.
For the ECB, this mechanism represents a critical vulnerabilitysince, according to the entity, European reserves could be used to cover withdrawals in foreign markets, escaping the control of local supervisors and weakening existing prudential safeguards.
Therefore, the lack of consensus has led to a conflict of powers: The monetary body maintains that an issue of such magnitude should not be resolved through simple guidance from the Commission, but through formal and strict regulations.
The debate is postponed until 2027
Given this scenario, sources close to the negotiations cited by the Spanish media Cinco Días indicate that the definitive debate on these digital assets could be postponed until the scheduled review of MiCA, in 2027. However, as European authorities debate in Brussels, real-life stablecoin adoption continues apace.
The practical adoption of these assets continues to rise. A recent report from the OKX exchange, published in May 2026, reveals that stablecoins are expanding their use towards everyday payments in the European Economic Area, as reported by CriptoNoticias.
Specifically, data from transactions made with the exchange card linked to Mastercard show that 44% of spending is concentrated on food, with a 26% of operations registered in supermarkets. In countries like the Netherlands, spending in supermarkets amounts to 37%, suggesting that, while politics debates, the user integrates these assets into their daily economy.
However, the authorities remain cautious. The ECB estimates that the market for these digital currencies ranges between 450 and 700 million euros at the beginning of 2026. Although they consider that the scale is small compared to the traditional financial system, they fear that a disorderly integration undermine the strategic autonomy of the EU.
From the industry, figures such as Dante Disparte, head of global policy at Circle, remind that these currencies are already legally permissible under MiCA and that the current obstacles respond to political factors. For their part, analysts from the European Credit Research Institute warn that this regulatory paralysis places European companies at a structural disadvantage for treasury management and cross-border payments.
The current uncertainty poses a challenge for the ecosystem, as stable cryptocurrencies seek their space in the traditional European payments infrastructure. However, the lack of a clear position in Brussels slows down institutional adoption on the continentleaving Europe in a conservative position in the face of the evolution of global digital markets.