Stand With Crypto urges EU to ease stablecoin rewards restrictions
More than 50,000 Europeans weighed in on the MiCA review as central banks push to widen the ban on stablecoin yield
Europe’s stablecoin rulebook is getting a performance review, and the public showed up in force. More than 50,000 Europeans sent comments to the European Commission’s MiCA review consultation, asking that regulated stablecoins be allowed to offer rewards like cashback and loyalty perks.
The push was organized by the advocacy group Stand With Crypto EU. It lands at an awkward moment, because Europe’s central banks are lobbying in the opposite direction.
A letter-writing campaign meets a central bank wall
The consultation closed on September 30, 2026. By that deadline, the 50,000-plus submissions had turned a typically sleepy regulatory process into something closer to a public referendum.
Stand With Crypto EU says a separate petition backing a broader pro-innovation stablecoin strategy has collected more than 126,000 signatures. The group framed that figure as a sharp break from engagement levels in earlier consultations.
Harry Pearce-Gould, the group’s general manager, argued that the sheer number of direct letters shows users understand what the rewards restriction means for them in practice.
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The core issue is a provision already baked into MiCA, the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets framework. Under current rules, stablecoin issuers cannot pay interest or any equivalent remuneration on regulated tokens.
Central banks want the ban to go further
On September 22, 2026, the European System of Central Banks, which includes the European Central Bank, called for tightening the rules rather than loosening them. Their proposal would extend the existing prohibition on direct interest-like payments to cover indirect yield as well.
That means mechanisms such as lending and staking would fall under the ban too.
Their reasoning rests on a philosophical position about what electronic money is for. In the ECB’s view, e-money should function as a payment tool, not a savings product.
Stand With Crypto EU wants issuers to be able to offer consumer-facing incentives such as cashback and loyalty rewards. The central banks want to make sure no form of return, direct or indirect, sneaks into regulated tokens.