ESMA sets Jan. 8 deadline for EU crypto firms’ stablecoin exit

Under the EU’s MiCA rules for asset-referenced tokens and e-money tokens, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has told national supervisors to require crypto firms to resolve remaining client exposure to non-compliant stablecoins within three months. In an Oct. 8 statement, ESMA set Jan. 8, 2027, as the latest date for remediation of those legacy positions.

The guidance puts a time limit on existing holdings while requiring firms to stop services that could maintain or increase EU clients’ exposure.

Which crypto services must stop?

ESMA’s opinion says MiCA-authorised crypto-asset service providers (CASPs) should not provide services related to asset-referenced tokens or e-money tokens that do not meet MiCA requirements. The guidance covers trading platforms, exchange services, order execution and transmission, placing, investment advice, transfers, custody and administration, and portfolio management.

According to the ESMA opinion, national competent authorities should assess whether a firm’s services, alone or in combination, let EU clients acquire, trade, exchange, or otherwise access or maintain non-compliant tokens. Supervisors should require firms to put technical, contractual and organisational controls in place to prevent their continued availability, including controls against clients acquiring more or increasing existing positions.

ESMA says the expectation applies even where a particular service does not itself amount to an offer to the public or an admission to trading under MiCA. It links the restriction to CASPs’ obligations under MiCA’s Title V, including the requirement to act in clients’ best interests. The opinion is supervisory guidance addressed primarily to national authorities, which will assess firms operating in their jurisdictions.

What can platforms do with existing balances?

Where supervisors identify remaining legacy exposure, ESMA says they should require remediation as soon as possible and no later than three months after the opinion’s publication. That deadline is Jan. 8, 2027. The period concerns the resolution of existing positions; it does not provide a general window to keep offering the tokens or facilitate new purchases.

ESMA says national authorities may allow limited residual services where needed for an orderly wind-down and to avoid client detriment. Those services can include liquidation, conversion, withdrawal, transfer or safekeeping of existing holdings. They must be time-limited and closely supervised, and cannot facilitate new acquisitions, promotion, active distribution or continued market availability, according to the opinion.

The ESMA position follows its January 2025 guidance, which called for national authorities to ensure CASP compliance with MiCA’s stablecoin requirements by the end of that quarter. The new opinion addresses how supervisors should handle services across the wider range of crypto-asset activities and any legacy exposure that remains.

Sources

• Oct. 8 statement — esma.europa.eu
• ESMA opinion — esma.europa.eu