ESMA wants European crypto firms barred from providing regulated services involving stablecoins that fail MiCA, including custody and transfers. For a holder, that could mean a licensed provider could no longer keep or move a non-compliant token, even if the holder never plans to trade it again.

The proposal is not yet an operative EU rule. ESMA submitted its response to the European Commission on September 30, 2026. The Commission may later include legislative changes, but neither an application date nor a timetable for those changes has been confirmed.

What ESMA Wants Prohibited

ESMA recommends explicit rules preventing regulated crypto firms from offering services linked to stablecoins that do not comply with MiCA requirements. In its…