European Union official pledges action on stablecoins after calls for new curbs

A senior official for the European Union's executive branch said Saturday that concerns among the bloc's finance ministers about stablecoins will be addressed in future legislation.

On Friday, finance ministers from major EU members like Germany and France called for heightened restrictions on stablecoin activities in the region. The next day, during a press conference, European Commission executive vice president Valdis Dombrovskis sought to assuage such concerns.

"Some ministers yesterday expressed some concerns about the risks of so-called stablecoins currently outside our rules. Rest assured that our legislative proposals will address those concerns comprehensively," he remarked, according to a published copy of his remarks. "We will regulate the risks for financial stability and monetary sovereignty linked to so-called ‘stablecoins' used for payments purposes."

At the same time, Dombrovskis advocated for a "proportionate" policy response.

"But we want to be proportionate: crypto assets provide many opportunities, and we want to regulate innovation in, not out," he said.

The European Union is expected to unveil a detailed framework for the oversight of cryptocurrencies and stablecoins, and recent reports indicate that the latter — as well as their issuers — could fall under the jurisdiction of both state-level and EU-level regulators.