The license provides Circle with a competitive edge in capturing market share. Stablecoins are a crucial part of the digital asset market infrastructure, facilitating trading on exchanges and being used for transactions and remittances.
Circle’s USDC, valued at $32B, is the second-largest stablecoin, with the gap widening between it and the market leader, Tether’s USDT, which is valued at $110B.
After receiving the license from the French banking regulator, Circle Mint France announced it would transfer the issuance of its euro-denominated stablecoin, EURC, to the EU and also issue USDC through the same entity. Prior to the implementation of the MiCA stablecoin rules, some crypto exchanges had delisted euro-denominated stablecoins such as Tether’s EURT.
The comprehensive stance of MiCA on stablecoins was driven by the emergence of major tech companies in financial markets, such as Meta’s Diem initiative (formerly Libra). According to Circle’s Head of Policy, Dante Disparte, this situation spurred Europe to develop its regulatory framework.
Disparte noted that MiCA simultaneously legitimizes the industry and its permanence but also makes it clear that there are no more shortcuts in the world’s third-largest economy. The days of operating in a regulatory haven or in the shadows, expecting liberal and unfettered access to consumers and market participants, are over.