More than 50,000 European citizens have signed a petition calling on the European Union to relax the stablecoin rewards restrictions embedded in the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA), according to a TradingView news feed item referencing the campaign.

What is the petition asking for?

The signatories are urging EU policymakers to revisit provisions in MiCA that effectively bar issuers of euro-denominated stablecoins from passing yield, interest or rewards to holders. Petitioners frame the carve-out as a structural disadvantage for European-licensed stablecoin projects relative to offshore issuers — most notably U.S.-dollar-pegged tokens — that continue to distribute returns generated on reserve assets.

Where the rewards rules sit in MiCA

MiCA, the EU's flagship crypto framework, took effect in stages through 2024 and classifies euro-pegged tokens either as e-money tokens (EMTs) or as asset-referenced tokens (ARTs) under separate authorization regimes. The regulation's headline rewards provision, Article 23, prohibits EMT issuers from granting interest or "any other benefit related to the length of time during which a holder holds the electronic money token." A parallel authorization and reserve regime for ARTs under Articles 21 to 38 carries comparable limits, alongside stricter capital, custody and disclosure obligations.

Why European issuers say the ban hurts them

European crypto businesses have argued since MiCA's negotiation that the rewards prohibition channels user activity toward non-EU issuers, deepening the euro's structural deficit in tokenized liquidity. They have asked for either a relaxation of the yield ban for euro-denominated EMTs or a reciprocal arrangement that would extend EU-style restrictions to foreign stablecoins distributed inside the bloc — a step that would, in their view, level the playing field with U.S. dollar stablecoins that remain yield-bearing under their home regulators.

How would any change actually happen?

Any amendment to the rewards prohibition would have to travel through the formal MiCA review process built into the regulation. The European Commission is required to assess specific parts of the framework — including the EMT and ART regimes — and report to the European Parliament and the Council on whether adjustments are needed. Changes proposed by the Commission would then need to clear the ordinary legislative process, meaning a binding revision is unlikely before late 2025 or 2026 even if Brussels moves quickly.

What happens next?

The petition's arrival during the active review window gives regulators a measurable — if non-binding — signal of citizen sentiment to weigh alongside industry submissions from European stablecoin issuers, banking groups and consumer associations. The next inflection point will be the Commission's published assessment of the EMT and ART rules, at which point the direction of any legislative proposal should become clearer. For European stablecoin issuers, the open question is whether the bloc will move toward yield parity with dollar-denominated competitors — or hold the line on one of MiCA's most contested provisions.