Regulation decides which stablecoins an exchange can list, which cards can serve which countries, and what protections you have as a user. This page tracks the regimes that matter most for stablecoin payments. It is orientation, not legal advice — rules change fast, so verify before acting.
United States: the GENIUS Act
The GENIUS Act (signed into law in July 2025) created the first federal framework for “payment stablecoins” in the US:
- Issuers need a federal or qualified state license.
- Coins must be backed 1:1 by cash and short-term, high-quality liquid assets, with monthly public reserve disclosures.
- Issuers fall squarely under anti-money-laundering rules, including the ability to freeze and burn tokens when legally required.
- Paying interest or yield directly on a payment stablecoin is prohibited — which is why reward programs route through affiliated platforms instead.
What it means for users: the big fiat-backed coins gain legitimacy and clearer recourse, but also more surveillance and freeze capability at the issuer level. Expect more banks and fintechs to issue their own stablecoins under this framework.
European Union: MiCA
The EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation has applied to stablecoins since mid-2024 and in full since the end of 2024:
- Stablecoins are regulated as e-money tokens (EMTs) or asset-referenced tokens (ARTs), with licensing, reserve, and redemption requirements.
- Issuers of significant (“systemic”) tokens face caps on non-EU-currency transaction volumes for everyday payments — pressure aimed squarely at dollar stablecoins.
- Exchanges serving EU users must list compliant tokens, which pushed several platforms to delist or restrict USDT pairs for EU residents.
What it means for users: in the EEA, expect USDC and euro-denominated tokens to be the path of least resistance, and expect card programs to geofence features by EEA residency.
Hong Kong: licensing for fiat-referenced stablecoins
Hong Kong’s Stablecoins Ordinance (passed in 2025, in force from August 2025) requires a license from the HKMA for issuing fiat-referenced stablecoins in or from Hong Kong, with full-reserve and redemption requirements. Hong Kong is also where many crypto card providers and program managers base their Asia operations, so the regime matters beyond issuers.
Elsewhere in brief
- Singapore (MAS): a single-currency stablecoin framework with reserve and redemption standards; tightly supervised but open for business.
- Japan: stablecoins sit under the Payment Services Act; issuance is limited to licensed banks, trust companies, and fund-transfer agents.
- UAE: dirham-referenced payment tokens are licensed by the central bank; Dubai’s VARA covers virtual-asset services more broadly.
- Mainland China: crypto trading and related services for residents remain prohibited; offshore yuan stablecoin experiments are watched warily. Using crypto cards involves real legal and practical risk.
The patterns that matter
- Full reserves and monthly disclosure are becoming the global baseline — issuers that can’t meet it get squeezed out of regulated markets.
- Rules apply by residency, not by where you are standing. Card and exchange features are geofenced by KYC address.
- Compliance = convenience with strings. Regulated coins are easier to buy and spend, and easier for authorities to freeze.
- Card programs move when licensing moves. When a program manager loses or gains a license, your card’s terms can change overnight — one more reason to keep card balances as spending float.
We track the user-facing impact of new rules in the news section of the blog.