EU regulators target non-compliant stablecoins with a 90-day deadline

Crypto firms authorized under the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets regulation (MiCA) should resolve EU clients' remaining exposure to non-compliant stablecoins through their services within three months, according to a new opinion from the bloc's markets watchdog.The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) published the opinion Oct. 8. Where national regulators find legacy exposures, ESMA said they should require remediation as soon as possible and no later than three months after publication, or about Jan. 8, 2027.National regulators may allow firms that do not yet comply to provide strictly limited services needed for an orderly wind-down and to avoid harm to clients. These can include liquidation, conversion, withdrawal, transfer or safekeeping of existing holdings.Those exit services should be time-limited, clearly communicated to clients and closely supervised. They should not enable new acquisitions, promotion, active distribution or continued market availability.National supervisors decide whether to allow them, so customers do not automatically get three months of continued service.The opinion's legal route is Article 66(1) of MiCA, which requires providers to act in ...