According to crypto advocacy group Stand With Crypto EU, more than 50,000 Europeans have petitioned the European Commission to relax restrictions on stablecoin rewards as part of a review of the Block Market in Crypto-Assets (MICA) framework.
The campaign came as the Commission closed its MICA review consultation on Wednesday, with Stand With Crypto pushing to allow EU-regulated stablecoin providers to offer incentives including cashbacks, loyalty benefits and fee reductions.
The group said more than 50,000 supporters wrote to the commission during the consultation, while more than 126,000 people individually signed its petition calling for a more permissive EU approach to stablecoins.
Stand with the Crypto EU campaign car outside the European Parliament in Brussels, Belgium. Source: Stand with Crypto EU
MICA prohibits issuers and crypto service providers from paying interest on stablecoins, a restriction on standing with cryptos that puts the products at a disadvantage for bank deposits and other e-money products that can benefit consumers.
Stand With Crypto said the campaign exceeded more than six times the 8,221 responses submitted to the European Central Bank’s (ECB) digital euro consultation and the 198 responses received during the Commission’s 2020 consultation on crypto rules.
Stand with crypto calls on EU to compete with US
“We are calling on the Commission to use the MICA review to allow regulated stablecoins to reward holders,” Stand With Crypto EU General Manager Harry Pearce Gold told Cointelegraph.
Piers Gould pointed to the US when questioning whether Europe should look to regulatory models outside the EU:
The US has made a clear choice to support stablecoins as the settlement layer for tokenization. Europe does not need to copy it, but compete with it.
He added that allowing rewards could help euro-denominated stablecoins gain acceptance and compete with dollar-denominated stablecoins.
“Strong euro stablecoins are important for the euro’s global position and the EU’s payments sovereignty,” he said.
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EU central banks want changes to stablecoin rules
The campaign comes as European central banks are pushing for broader changes to stablecoins’ treatment of MICA.
In its September 22 response to the European Commission’s MICA review, the European System of Central Banks (ESCB) called for the existing ban on fixed coin interest to be extended to lending, borrowing and stocking arrangements that generate yield.
The ESCB also proposed replacing the MiCA requirement that stablecoin issuers hold a minimum portion of their reserves in bank deposits with a liquidity threshold. Central banks have argued that existing rules could pressure lenders if a stable coin movement forces issuers to quickly withdraw deposits.
The ECB separately highlighted a potential liquidity mismatch, noting in June that stablecoins last around the clock while their reserve assets can still operate on traditional settlement timelines.
Source: European Central Bank
The proposals come amid the ECB’s wider concerns over the potential impact of stablecoins on financial stability.
In May, ECB President Christine Lagarde warned that shifting bank deposits to stablecoins could weaken the transmission of bank lending and monetary policy, arguing that Europe should instead prioritize tokenized financial infrastructure anchored by central bank money.
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