Nonetheless, MiCA has achieved many of its initial goals, according to Hansen. There are around 20 euro-denominated stablecoins that have been authorized by the regime, with their adoption supported by their formal regulation.
It’s not perfect, however, he added, pointing to reserve rules that require minimum bank deposits. The focus is also moving beyond domestic regulation to global surveillance. The next phase of policy development could focus on allowing tokens regulated in one jurisdiction to circulate in another through mutual recognition regimes.
“We could benefit from the global, internet-native nature of these assets instead of fragmenting their circulation through locally fragmented rules,” he said.
The EU may have been somewhat at a disadvantage when it comes to regulating crypto assets because there was no framework in major markets like the US or Hong Kong to work with as is the case now.
Fortress Europe
Sebastian Barling, partner for financial institutions regulation at Skadden, likened the EU’s approach to building a “fortress”.
“The consultation is clearly a serious review intended to ensure that the European regime aligns internationally and remains competitive,” he told CoinDesk.
Barling and Legler explored in a recent article the Commission’s crucial shift towards assessing an equivalence regime with third countries and managing cross-border multi-issuance structures. They highlighted that while MiCA does not currently have a mechanism to rely on foreign frameworks, an equivalence regime could transform the market by enabling mutual recognition and allowing stablecoins in circulation around the world to be listed on EU exchanges.
