Stablecoins are among the most strictly regulated crypto products. How they are regulated in the EU, Norway and the US.
In the EU, the MiCA regulation has had specific rules for stablecoins since 2024. Stablecoins pegged to a single currency are called e-money tokens and can only be issued by banks and companies with an e-money licence.
The issuer must hold reserves, give holders the right to redeem and cannot pay interest. Large stablecoins face extra requirements.
Stablecoins that do not meet MiCA cannot be freely offered to European customers. Several crypto exchanges have therefore removed USDT for their European customers, while USDC and the euro stablecoin EURC meet the requirements.
MiCA is also being introduced in Norway through the EEA agreement.
In 2025 the US got its first federal law for stablecoins, known as the GENIUS Act. The law sets requirements for reserves, supervision and who may issue stablecoins.
The law was seen as a breakthrough, and has led several banks and large companies to consider their own stablecoins.
Many central banks, including in Europe, worry that dollar stablecoins could weaken control over their own currency. It is one of the reasons the EU is working on a digital euro.
At the same time, many European banks are looking at their own euro stablecoins to meet the competition.