MiCA & EMTs: EBA Advises Industry As Grace Period Is Ending

MiCA established a harmonised EU framework for crypto asset services – but left uncertainty where activities involving electronic money tokens (EMTs) overlap with the Revised Payment Services Directive (PSD2). To address this, the EBA issued a No Action Letter in the form of an Opinion in June 2025, setting out (i) which type of EMT transactions are not to be regarded as payment services under PSD2, and therefore do not to require an additional authorisation under the same directive, and (ii) for those EMT transactions that would trigger a licensing requirement, which PSD2 provisions are recommended to be de-prioritised for the purpose of supervision and enforcement and from what date. In the latter instance, the EBA advised national regulators not to prioritise enforcement and recommended a grace period until 2 March 2026.