Bank of France urges tighter MiCA rules on non-euro stablecoins

The Bank of France has urged European regulators to strengthen the Markets in Crypto-Assets framework, known as MiCA, and to restrict the use of stablecoins backed by currencies other than the euro in routine payments. The bank said current rules leave Europe exposed to dollar-backed tokens and regulatory gaps.

In an official report, Denis Beau wrote that regulators should “press for a strengthening of MiCA, particularly to restrict the use of stablecoins for everyday payments, all‑the‑more when they are backed by a currency other than the euro.” The report recommends giving the European Securities and Markets Authority direct oversight of large crypto issuers and imposing stricter limits on multi‑issuance, where the same stablecoin is issued across multiple platforms.

The report distinguishes risk by issuer type, noting that stablecoins issued by banks or licensed electronic money institutions carry lower financial risk than tokens issued by nonbank firms. It also highlights the potential for multi‑issuance to circumvent national controls and increase cross‑border exposures.

French lawmakers have moved in parallel. The National Assembly approved a requirement that individuals report cryptocurrencies held in private digital wallets when the total value exceeds 5,000 euros. That provision has not yet become law.

In a separate development in Asia, Vietnam Prosperity Crypto Asset Exchange JSC, known as CAEX, announced on April 10 that OKX Ventures and HashKey Capital will provide funds to help the exchange meet Vietnam’s minimum capital requirement of 10 trillion Vietnamese dong, about $380 million. That capital threshold is the entry requirement for exchanges seeking to join a five‑year pilot program for licensed, government‑supervised crypto trading.

Vietnam’s pilot rules require institutional investors such as banks or securities firms to supply at least 65 percent of the capital needed for an exchange to qualify. Five domestic operators, including CAEX (associated with VPBank), TCEX (associated with Techcombank) and LPEX (associated with LPBank), passed an early assessment stage.

Netero Dai, vice president of OKX Global Markets, described Vietnam as a market with strong user adoption and a clear shift toward regulated trading, and said the investment in CAEX aims to support a safer environment for crypto transactions.

Vietnam plans additional legal and tax changes for the sector, including a proposed 0.1 percent tax on cryptocurrency transactions and formal recognition of digital assets in legislation expected later in 2026.

Beau’s report calls on EU policymakers to revisit MiCA to tighten safeguards, increase supervisory powers and reduce potential exposures linked to non‑euro currencies. The document sets out specific concerns about reliance on dollar‑pegged stablecoins, risks tied to multi‑issuance, and different risk profiles depending on whether issuers are banks, licensed electronic money institutions or unregulated firms.