#
BaFin authorises ART/EMT issuance under MiCA and has taken active enforcement action against non-compliant stablecoin issuers, including the EU's first MiCA-related cease-and-desist action (March 2025); Ethena Labs discontinued its German subsidiary after BaFin scrutiny.
What has been specifically revised this cycle is confidence in EURAU's marketed positioning as the 'first' MiCA-compliant euro stablecoin. That characterisation rests on a single T4 news source relaying the issuer's own hedged claim, without independent confirmation from BaFin's or EBA's own registers or supervisory statements. Given the materiality of a 'first-of-kind' claim to market positioning and potential competitive or reputational significance, this claim has been downgraded from Confirmed to Probable confidence, consistent with the higher sourcing bar this module applies to superlative issuance claims generally. Readers should treat the 'first' framing specifically -- not EURAU's underlying BaFin e-money authorisation, which is separately evidenced -- as provisional pending primary-source corroboration.
Separately, EBA supervisory work continues to address the interplay between PSD2 and MiCA for CASPs handling e-money tokens; a related EBA No-Action Letter transition period addressing authorisation-process coordination closed on 2 March 2026, a date that has now passed and is treated as being in force for German EMT-handling CASPs going forward.
Outlook
The stablecoin module's central open item for the next cycle is evidentiary rather than regulatory: independent confirmation, from BaFin or EBA sources rather than issuer or news reporting, of EURAU's superlative 'first' claim. Substantively, the framework itself -- MiCA's ART/EMT authorisation and significant-designation regime -- is settled and fully in force; the residual uncertainty sits specifically at the level of marketing characterisation of individual issuances rather than at the level of the regulatory architecture.
Stablecoin Regime
MiCAR Title II sets out transparency and conduct obligations for issuers of crypto-assets other than asset-referenced tokens (ARTs) and e-money tokens (EMTs), while Titles III and IV impose specific authorisation requirements, notification duties and whitepaper-publication obligations on ART and EMT issuers respectively, per BaFin's own Merkblatt on ART/EMT authorisation, a confirmed-confidence finding drawn from primary BaFin guidance retrieved this cycle. Asset-referenced tokens and e-money tokens are defined by direct reference to Article 3(1) Nos. 6 and 7 of Regulation (EU) 2023/1114, incorporated into German law via KMAG Section 2, paragraphs 2 and 3 respectively, both confirmed-confidence findings drawn from directly-retrieved primary statutory text.
The material development this cycle is institutional: Deutsche Bank secured BaFin authorisation under MiCA for crypto-asset custody and transfer services in Germany, with planned custody support for Bitcoin, Ether, and the stablecoins USDC, EURC and EURAU for institutional and corporate clients, with first clients expected in 2026. This is a probable-confidence finding sourced to a single tier-four report. It signals institutional-grade convergence of German banking and crypto custody, extending stablecoin custody capability into an established credit institution rather than a crypto-native CASP, and is the most structurally significant stablecoin-regime development of the cycle for Germany.
Outlook
Deutsche Bank's stablecoin-custody rollout in 2026 is the item to watch: its client onboarding pace and scope, particularly for EURC and EURAU custody, will be an early indicator of institutional demand for bank-grade stablecoin custody under Germany's now-mature MiCAR Title III/IV authorisation regime.
1 earlier distinct update(s)
Stablecoin Regime
BaFin authorises Asset-Referenced Token and E-Money Token issuance under MiCA and, this cycle, has demonstrated a willingness to enforce reserve-attestation requirements directly. In March 2025, BaFin issued what secondary reporting characterises as the European Union's first MiCA-related cease-and-desist order, suspending issuance by a smaller stablecoin issuer after the issuer omitted required reserve attestations from its disclosures. The issuer remediated the attestation gap within ninety days and resumed issuance, suggesting the action was calibrated to compel compliance rather than to permanently exclude the issuer from the German market -- a distinction that matters for how the action should be read as precedent.
The enforcement action coincides with a market-exit event: Ethena Labs discontinued its German subsidiary operations and will not pursue MiCA authorisation in Germany following BaFin scrutiny. While the structured evidence does not establish a direct causal link between the cease-and-desist action and Ethena's decision, both developments point in the same direction -- a German stablecoin supervisory environment that is demonstrably willing to act on reserve-disclosure gaps, and at least one significant issuer choosing to concentrate elsewhere in Europe rather than meet that bar in Germany specifically.
Outlook
The open question is whether the March 2025 action represents a one-off calibration exercise or the first of a recurring enforcement pattern. Further cease-and-desist or remediation actions against stablecoin issuers, or additional issuer relocations away from the German market, would together indicate BaFin intends reserve-attestation enforcement as a standing feature of its MiCA supervisory posture rather than an isolated event.
Sources and findings (4)
- T4 · CoinDeskAllUnity EURAU — EURAU is claimed to be the first euro-backed stablecoin issued under MiCAR and licensed as electronic money by Germany's BaFin, issued on Ethereum as an ERC-20 asset for institutions, fintechs, and corporates.retrieved M5bindingin forcenew
- T4 · CoinDeskAllUnity — AllUnity partnered with a consortium of European banks to act as reserve custodians for EURAU, supported by routine proof-of-reserve disclosures.retrieved M4bindingin forcenew
- T1 · EUR-LexEBA — EBA classifies ARTs/EMTs as 'significant' where holders, value, or transactions exceed certain thresholds, triggering additional requirements and EBA supervisory takeover from the national authority.retrieved M3bindingin forcenew
- T1 · European Banking AuthorityEBA — EBA opinion addresses PSD2/MiCA interplay for CASPs handling e-money tokens; transition period under its No-Action Letter ends 2 March 2026, addressing authorisation processes and coordination relevant to German EMT-handling CASPs.retrieved M3bindingin forcenew