More than 50,000 people contacted the European Commission during its consultation on the review of Europe's crypto rules, asking that regulated stablecoins be allowed to pay rewards to holders. The campaign, organised by the advocacy group Stand With Crypto EU, targeted a single provision in the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) that effectively bars stablecoin issuers and crypto platforms from paying interest or rewards on stablecoin holdings.
The consultation, part of the Commission's broader review of MiCA, closed on September 30. The scale of the response has put the stablecoin reward ban at the centre of the review process, with campaigners arguing the rule puts European stablecoin products at a disadvantage compared with other instruments that can offer a return.
"Zehntausende EU-Bürger haben sich die Zeit genommen, der Kommission wegen einer einzigen Regel zu schreiben", said Harry Pearce-Gould, General Manager of Stand With Crypto EU.
ECB wants the opposite
The European Central Bank has taken the contrary position. In a statement issued on September 22, the ECB called for the existing ban to be extended rather than relaxed, proposing that it also cover crypto lending, credit business and staking activities where these produce an indirect yield for holders. The central bank's intervention sets up a direct clash with the petition campaign as the Commission weighs how to amend MiCA.
The ECB's stance reflects longstanding concerns among euro area regulators about stablecoins competing with bank deposits and about the risks of yield-bearing crypto products more broadly. Extending the ban to lending, credit and staking would mark a significant tightening of the regime that industry groups had hoped the review would loosen instead.
Review under pressure from both sides
The Commission now faces submissions pulling in opposite directions: a large grassroots campaign asking for the interest and rewards ban to be lifted, and the euro area's central bank asking for it to be widened. Pierre-Andréa Bozicas, associated with 50 Partners, is among those named in connection with the campaign, which has framed the rule as a single, isolated obstacle rather than part of a wider set of demands.
No timeline has been given for when the Commission will publish its conclusions from the review or propose amendments to MiCA. The outcome will determine whether regulated stablecoin issuers operating in the EU can offer rewards to holders, or whether the restriction is extended further into crypto lending and staking, as the ECB has requested.
