Stripe’s Bridge gains MiCA approval for EU stablecoin operations

Stripe’s Bridge has received approval from the Luxembourg government for its Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) authorization as a crypto-asset service provider (CASP) and Electronic Money Institution (EMI) licence. This will allow it to legally operate as a stablecoin service provider in all 27 countries of the European Union (EU) under one regulatory regime.

The twin authorization allows Bridge to grow its euro-backed stablecoin infrastructure for use by businesses, financial institutions, and developers, while ensuring that MiCA’s requirements regarding capitalization, custody, and operational safeguards are satisfied.

Bridge’s recent authorization is part of a rapidly expanding trend for Luxembourg to position itself as a premier European location for several digital asset-related businesses due to its friendly regulation policies. For example, on June 29, Standard Chartered announced it secured both a MiCA approval as well as EMI licenses from the Luxembourg government under its digital asset strategy. Likewise, Ripple announced that on June 23, it received its first semi-official MiCA CASP approval from the CSSF (Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier) in Luxembourg, as it is moving towards obtaining its existing EMI license. Similarly, in June of 2025, Coinbase announced it received a MiCA approval and authorization from CSSF.

Earlier in the year, French fintech company Fipto received MiCA approval and, combined with their existing payment institution license, became the first dual-licensed stablecoin payments provider in Europe. The collective nature of these licenses demonstrates a very competitive environment amongst stablecoin payment processor providers throughout Europe as well as for those wishing to establish such services.

Bridge expands enterprise stablecoin capabilities

The new license will greatly enhance the types of businesses that can now make use of the company’s platform within Europe, according to Bridge.

Fintech companies will be able to offer their customers named virtual IBANs (International Bank Account Numbers) and Euro accounts that operate throughout the entire EU and allow them to conduct their business operations through one banking relationship instead of needing banking relationships in each of the 27 member states. The businesses will also be able to create custom euro-backed stablecoins to be used for payment systems, loyalty programs, rewards, as well as on and off-ramp services and in-app currencies through or with the support of Bridge in terms of compliance and reserve infrastructure.

In addition, the company stated that enterprises will be able to send custom stablecoins for fund transfers between subsidiaries and reduce reliance on traditional correspondent banking networks and banks can also use stablecoin rails to settle transactions between different banks, instead of through traditional interbank messaging systems.

“A business in the EU can now issue its own euro stablecoin and pair it with named IBANs and named EUR payouts across all 27 member states, on a single integration,” said Mai Leduc Blount, Head of Product at Bridge. “Bridge works closely with regulators around the world so that every global business can benefit from stablecoins.”

The announcement coincides with the continuing trend of the industry moving towards using regulatory-compliant stablecoin payment systems. According to FXC Intelligence, the use of stablecoins for cross-border payments accelerated significantly during 2025, as payment companies increasingly use the technology for treasury management, liquidity optimization and settlement of accounts versus solely for crypto-native-based applications.

Dual licensing raises barriers to entry

The Bridge approval spells out how critical it is now for companies to have a MiCA license and payment licenses to offer regulated stablecoin services within the EU. MiCA offers the regulatory framework by which crypto asset services can be availed of, while the electronic money licenses provide a mechanism allowing for the issuance and redemption of e-money tokens, i.e., many of the euro-denominated stablecoins. Once both licenses are in place, a company can provide regulated services throughout the EU while fully complying with the regulations that govern both crypto assets and payments.

Fipto, which recently completed the dual licensing process earlier this year, confirmed that the process of obtaining both licenses presents each company with significant operational and compliance challenges. Ripple’s CASP and EMI combined licenses will also allow the company to establish a fully MiCA-compliant digital asset infrastructure for financial institutions operating within Europe once they have completed the final step of receiving the final license approvals.

The high volume of approvals occurring in Luxembourg is also indicative of the increasing role of Luxembourg as a regulatory gateway for all digital asset companies that wish to access European markets.

Stablecoins target cross-border payment inefficiencies

The growth of Bridge is happening as more and more banks look into using stablecoins as a way to settle international payments.

According to the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), transferring funds from one country to another takes longer, is less efficient, and is much more costly than moving money within a country because cross-border payments involve multiple jurisdictions, currencies, regulatory regimes, and intermediaries.

At this moment, regulatory bodies have signaled there are indications that stablecoins will enhance transactional timelines. However, at this point there has been little to no empirical evidence indicating that stablecoins consistently offer an advantage of price savings when compared to existing payment systems, with variations based on each individual payment corridor, liquidity arrangements, and the expense to convert currency from one currency into another.

That being said, as the MiCA regulations will provide regulated markets for the exchange of stablecoins, and as companies continue to integrate stablecoins into their traditional financial services, stablecoins will become more like traditional financial products as opposed to just cryptocurrencies.

Bridge, powered by Stripe’s global payments network, will now have two licenses, allowing it to compete legally against existing financial institutions and digital assets for European regulated stablecoin payment markets. As competition increasingly relies on integrating with an enterprise solution, settlement functionality, and obtaining customers, licensing is becoming a lesser factor for assessing an entity’s competitive positioning.