50,000 Europeans have signed letters addressed to Brussels demanding that the European Commission relax restrictions on stablecoin rewards during the upcoming review of the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA), according to reporting dated October 1, 2026.

The petition runs parallel to separate submissions from EU central banks pressing for broader revisions to the bloc's stablecoin regime, putting the rewards question at the centre of the next legislative cycle for European digital assets.

What does MiCA say about stablecoin rewards?

MiCA, the European Union's horizontal crypto framework, entered into force on June 29, 2023, with stablecoin-specific provisions applying from June 30, 2024. Under Titles III and IV, issuers of euro-denominated asset-referenced tokens (ARTs) and electronic money tokens (EMTs) must hold reserves, meet disclosure requirements and obtain authorisation from national competent authorities.

The regulation limits how authorised issuers can compensate token holders. Significant ongoing yield payments are treated as a hallmark of deposit-taking activity — a category reserved for credit institutions licensed under the Capital Requirements Regulation. Stablecoin issuers operating under MiCA's e-money licence can therefore return only limited amounts to holders, a structure designed to preserve monetary sovereignty and protect bank funding.

What does the campaign want?

The 50,000 signatories are pressing the Commission to reconsider the rewards framework as part of the MiCA review. Campaign organisers argue that the restrictions place EU-issued stablecoins at a structural disadvantage against dollar-pegged tokens issued outside Europe, which can continue to pass through treasury yields to wallet holders in compliance with their local rules.

A relaxation, campaigners contend, would anchor more euro-denominated liquidity inside the EU regulatory perimeter and reduce the flow of European users toward non-EU stablecoins — a position that has gained traction among digital-asset trade associations and fintech lobby groups in Brussels.

What are central banks seeking to change?

EU central banks, in parallel submissions, are pushing broader revisions to MiCA's stablecoin chapter. Their priorities include reserve-asset composition, redemption guarantees at par, and the prudential treatment of issuers — areas where supervisors have flagged gaps since the rules reached full application.

The European Central Bank and national governors have framed stablecoin oversight as a monetary-stability issue rather than solely a consumer-protection matter, and have asked for clearer limits on foreign-issued tokens circulating in the Union, including the conditions under which dollar-pegged assets can be distributed to EU residents.

What happens next?

The Commission is obliged to report on MiCA's operation at defined intervals and can table amendments through the ordinary legislative procedure. With industry petitioners and central-bank supervisors now formally on the record, the rewards question will feature prominently in the next trilogue cycle, alongside reserve and redemption reforms.

The outcome will determine whether euro stablecoins issued under EU authorisation can compete on yield with dollar counterparts — a structural question for European payment sovereignty, not just for crypto-market positioning.