ESMA Gives EU Supervisors Three Months to Enforce Non-MiCA Stablecoin Exit

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA)’s opinion directs national supervisors to require EU-authorized crypto firms to wind down services involving stablecoins that do not meet the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA), bringing custody and transfers into the supervisory review.

ESMA’s Oct. 8 opinion gives national supervisors up to three months to require remediation of remaining client exposure, putting the effective deadline in early January 2027. The guidance covers asset-referenced tokens and e-money tokens that fail MiCA requirements.

The scope includes trading platforms, exchange services, order execution, investment advice, portfolio management, transfers, custody and administration. Firms must use technical and contractual controls to prevent EU clients from acquiring or increasing exposure to the affected tokens.

Warnings, disclosures and client acknowledgments do not resolve the issue. ESMA’s guidance also points to the requirement that licensed firms act honestly, fairly and professionally in clients’ best interests.

Existing holdings may receive a limited wind-down period. Firms can support liquidation, conversion, withdrawal, transfer and safekeeping, but those services must be time-limited, closely supervised and unavailable for new purchases or promotional activity. The earlier 2025 framework had allowed custody and transfers to continue after delisting; the new opinion places both services within the supervisory scope.