Circle Becomes First Global Stablecoin Issuer To Secure License Following EU's MiCA Regulations
Circle has secured an Electronic Money Institution (EMI) license from France's banking regulatory authority, the Autorité de Contrôle Prudentiel et de Résolution (ACPR). The issuer of the USDC and EURC stablecoins announced its compliance with the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulatory framework, making it the first global stablecoin issuer to achieve this milestone.
This pivotal move aligns Circle with MiCA, a comprehensive regulatory regime for crypto assets that took effect in June 2023. MiCA offers a robust framework for the crypto industry, providing clear guidelines and enforcing stricter rules to ensure market stability and consumer protection.
With this compliance, Circle is now authorized to issue both USDC and EURC stablecoins in the European market. USDC is pegged to the U.S. dollar, while EURC is pegged to the euro. To further streamline operations for its business customers in Europe, Circle has introduced Circle Mint, a platform that facilitates the minting and redemption of these stablecoins.
Circle’s co-founder and CEO, Jeremy Allaire, emphasized the significance of this achievement: "Since our founding, Circle has sought to build durable, compliant, and well-regulated infrastructure for stablecoins, and our adherence to MiCA, which represents one of the most comprehensive crypto regulatory regimes in the world, is a huge milestone in bringing digital currency into mainstream scale and acceptance.”
Dante Disparte, Circle’s Chief Strategy Officer and Head of Global Policy, added, "achieving MiCA compliance through our French EMI license is a significant step forward, not just for Circle, but for the entire digital financial ecosystem in Europe and beyond.”