-
Circle
is
claiming
bragging
rights
as
the
first
global
stablecoin
issuer
to
comply
with
MiCA. -
Before
the
rules
took
effect
on
June
30,
some
exchanges
delisted
euro-denominated
stablecoins,
such
as
Tether’s
EURT.
-
02:25
Bitcoin
Hovers
Near
$65.5K;
Cross-Chain
Bridge
Wormhole
Debuts
at
$3B
Valuation -
02:12
Bitcoin
Price
Crossed
$57K;
Is
Stablecoin
USDC
Making
a
Comeback? -
02:27
Grayscale
Begins
Trading
First
Spot
Bitcoin
ETF;
Circle
Files
for
IPO -
05:04
Large
Cap
Fiat-Backed
Stablecoins
Depegged
Over
600
Times
in
2023:
Moody’s
Analytics
Circle
became
the
first
global
stablecoin
issuer
to
secure
an
Electronic
Money
Institution
(EMI)
license,
a
prerequisite
to
offering
dollar-
and
euro-pegged
crypto
tokens
in
the
European
Union
(EU)
under
the
Markets
in
Crypto
Assets
(MiCA)
regulatory
framework.
The
license
gives
the
company,
whose
USDC
trails
behind
rival
Tether’s
market-leading
USDT,
pole
position
in
grabbing
market
share
among
the
27-nation
trading
bloc’s
450
million
people.
Stablecoins
are
a
key
piece
of
infrastructure
in
the
digital
asset
market,
facilitating
trading
on
exchanges
and,
increasingly,
used
for
transactions
and
remittances.
Circle’s
$32
billion
USDC
is
the
second-largest
stablecoin
and
the
gap
to
market
leader
Tether’s
$110
billion
USDT
has
been
widening.
Armed
with
a
license
from
the
French
banking
regulatory
authority,
Circle
Mint
France
will
“onshore”
the
issuance
of
its
euro-denominated
EURC
stablecoin
to
the
EU
and
issue
USDC
from
the
same
entity,
the
company
said.
Before
MiCA’s
stablecoin
rules
took
effect
on
June
30,
some
crypto
exchanges
delisted
euro-denominated
stablecoins,
such
as
Tether’s
EURT.
MiCA’s
comprehensive
stance
on
stablecoins
was
catalyzed
by
the
specter
of
big
tech,
like
Meta’s
Diem
(formerly
Libra)
initiative,
entering
financial
markets.
That
prompted
five
years
of
concerted
policy
development
in
Europe,
said
Circle’s
head
of
policy,
Dante
Disparte,
who
was
involved
in
the
Libra
project.
“Personally,
I
feel
a
little
bit
of
a
semi-parental
relationship
with
MiCA
because
in
some
ways
it
was
accelerated
by
my
prior
life
and
my
prior
project,
Libra
Diem,”
Disparate
said
in
an
interview.
“MiCA
is
both
vindicating
of
the
industry
and
its
permanence,
but
it’s
also
clear
that
there
is
no
more
shortcuts,
at
least
not
in
the
third-largest
economy
in
the
world.
Gone
are
the
days
where
you
could
operate
in
a
regulatory
haven
or
in
the
shadows
and
then
expect
to
have
liberal
and
free
access
to
consumers
and
market
participants.”
UPDATE
(July
1,
15:15
UTC):
Adds
stablecoin
utility,
relative
market
caps
of
USDC,
USDT
in
third
paragraph.