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Stablecoin Crackdown: European Central Bank Gathers Backing For Joint Issuance Ban

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The European Central Bank (ECB) is reportedly gaining traction in its pursuit of a ban on multi-issuance stablecoins across the European Union (EU). This move comes in light of recommendations from the European Systemic Risk Board (ESRB), which is tasked with safeguarding Europe’s financial integrity.

Multi-Issuance Stablecoins Under Fire

Last week, the ESRB approved a recommendation that advocates for a prohibition on multi-issuance stablecoins. Sources familiar with the discussions, told Bloomberg that this guidance was sanctioned by a board comprising central bank governors and EU officials. 

Under the multi-issuance model, licensed providers in the EU are required to hold local reserves in at least one member state while simultaneously managing reserves for identical tokens issued abroad. 

The ECB, under the leadership of President Christine Lagarde, has been a vocal advocate for the proposed ban, stressing the need for clearer safeguards around the operation of such stablecoins within the European Union.

The implications for existing stablecoin companies, such as Paxos and Circle (CRCL), which are already licensed to operate under the multi-issuance framework, remain uncertain. 

Growing Concerns Over Financial Stability

Both Paxos and Circle primarily operate out of the US, known for its crypto-friendly regulations under President Donald Trump’s vision of transforming America as the “crypto capital of the world”, which has raised concerns among some European regulators. 

Concerns have been repeatedly voiced by ECB officials regarding the potential risks posed by these dollar-pegged stablecoins to both financial stability and monetary sovereignty in Europe. 

Lagarde has previously warned that foreign holders of stablecoins may create significant “legal and operational risks” for European Union-based issuers, emphasizing the need for regulatory clarity.

Despite this, the European Central Bank does not have direct authority over the implementation of regulations governing digital assets in the EU. The European Commission has yet to adopt an official stance on the matter. 

Judith Arnal, a board member at the Bank of Spain and an associate senior research fellow at the Centre for European Policy Studies, highlighted in a recent paper that the ongoing debate over multi-issuance stablecoins poses a more profound challenge to the credibility of the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework. 

She cautioned that a regulatory landscape characterized by disputes among the ECB, the Commission, and the European Parliament could send a troubling message internationally, suggesting that MiCA may be fragile and open to varying interpretations.

In conjunction with these developments, the ECB has been working since 2021 to establish a central bank digital currency (CBDC) tied to the euro, although it is still waiting for the necessary legal framework to move forward. 

The daily chart shows the total crypto market cap at $3.8 trillion. Source: TOTAL on TradingView.com

Featured image from DALL-E, chart from TradingView.com

Editorial Process for bitcoinist is centered on delivering thoroughly researched, accurate, and unbiased content. We uphold strict sourcing standards, and each page undergoes diligent review by our team of top technology experts and seasoned editors. This process ensures the integrity, relevance, and value of our content for our readers.



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Brazil’s president has signed a ban on selling loot boxes to minors as part of a larger online child safety law

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In March, videogames will no longer be able to sell lootboxes to users under the age of 18 in Brazil due to a ban signed earlier this month by Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Part of a broader law passed by Brazil’s congress to enact online safety measures for children, the ban continues an ongoing international effort to regulate exploitative monetization practices (via Eurogamer).

The law, Lei 15.211/2025, aims to defend “the best interests of children and adolescents,” which it defines—according to machine translation—as “the protection of their privacy, safety, mental and physical health, access to information, freedom to participate in society, meaningful access to digital technologies, and well-being.”

Chapter 7 of the law says that “loot boxes offered in electronic games aimed at children and adolescents or likely to be accessible by them are prohibited, in accordance with the respective age rating.”


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Additionally, the law mandates that games featuring “interaction between users through text, audio or video messages” must comply with guidelines established by a separate law passed in 2024, which requires companies to moderate “abuse and irregularities committed by users” and provide transparency for how their moderation systems are used, maintained, and updated.

Brazil isn’t the first country to attempt to regulate loot boxes, and likely won’t be the last. Belgium banned loot boxes—with varying degrees of success—in 2018, while US lawmakers, Dutch political coalitions, and members of Australian parliament have proposed their own bans on loot boxes as a form of digitized gambling.

For those protections to have any effect in Brazil, however, they’ll necessitate the usage of age-verification mechanisms. Previously, Brazilian law had considered it sufficient for users of digital services to self-declare their age. The new law, however, requires the providers of those services to “take proportionate, auditable and technically secure measures to assess the age or age range of users.”

While the law states “data collected to verify the age of children and adolescents may be used solely for this purpose, and its processing for any other purpose is prohibited,” similar age verification measures have been the source of privacy concerns as online safety legislation has advanced in the UK, Australia, some US states, and elsewhere.



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House GOP Pushes Crypto Market Structure-CBDC Ban Merger

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House Republicans are pushing to ban the Federal Reserve from creating a central bank digital currency (CBDC) by combining the anti-CBDC bill with the bipartisan crypto market structure bill.

GOP Lawmakers Push For CBDC-CLARITY Merger

GOP members in the US House of Representatives voted to retroactively combine H.R. 1919, also known as the Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act, with H.R. 3633, the Digital Asset Market Clarity (CLARITY) Act of 2025.

According to a Politico report, the House was set to vote on Tuesday afternoon on a procedural vote that included a provision to combine the Anti-CBDC legislation with the CLARITY Act, both of which passed the US Congress’s lower chamber back in July.

The engrossment would include the CBDC text in the final version of the market structure bill sent to the Senate. “Provides that in the engrossment of H.R. 3633, the Clerk shall add the text of H.R. 1919, as passed by the House, as new matter at the end of H.R. 3633; conform the title of H.R. 3633 to reflect the addition of H.R. 1919, as passed by the House, to the engrossment,” the provision reads.

Notably, the anti-CBDC measure, sponsored by Majority Whip Tom Emmer, narrowly passed the House vote two months ago during the historic “Crypto Week,” which saw the passage of crucial crypto legislation, including the GENIUS Act.

At the time, GOP leaders pushed to combine the two bills after passing the vote to reconsider the bills, which initially failed to pass their procedural vote. However, Republican representatives on the Financial Services Committee opposed the measure, arguing that it could endanger the CLARITY Act’s bipartisan support.

House Agriculture Committee Republican representatives also considered that combining the two bills would have killed the CLARITY Act, arguing that it risked losing Democrats’ votes over the anti-CBDC language.

Ultimately, Republican leaders vowed to include the CBDC ban in Congress’s annual must-pass defense policy legislation and added the anti-CBDC language in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Politico noted that “few Democrats support the provision, meaning it is likely to get stripped out of the bill by the Senate.”

Senate To Advance Its Crypto Market Structure Bill

In a statement, a spokesperson for House Financial Services Chair French Hill said that “passing both the CLARITY Act and Anti-CBDC bill were key priorities for members of the House.” They added that “by combining both measures and sending them to the Senate, the House continues to advance both priorities.”

According to crypto journalist Eleanor Terret, the broad response among Capitol Hill sources was that the measure “really doesn’t change anything, as the Senate is working on its own bill which includes anti-CBDC language anyway.”

Notably, multiple US lawmakers, including Senator Cynthia Lummis, expect the bill to pass before the end of the month and reach President Donald Trump’s desk by year’s end. Some senators have raised concerns about the status of the upper chamber’s version of the bill, which has not been introduced yet, while House leaders have asked the Senate to pass the CLARITY Act.

“Republican and Democratic senators continue talks on the market structure legislation, which a group of leaders from several major crypto firms is set to meet tomorrow morning with Senate Banking Committee leadership in a roundtable, according to two industry invitees,” Terret reported on Tuesday night.

She noted that the meeting follows “more than a week of industry review of the committee’s latest approach to distinguishing securities from commodities, DeFi treatment, and other key issues.”

Bitcoin (BTC) trades at $115,718 in the one-week chart. Source: BTCUSDT on TradingView

Featured Image from Unsplash.com, Chart from TradingView.com

Editorial Process for bitcoinist is centered on delivering thoroughly researched, accurate, and unbiased content. We uphold strict sourcing standards, and each page undergoes diligent review by our team of top technology experts and seasoned editors. This process ensures the integrity, relevance, and value of our content for our readers.



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NFT Gaming

US House Slips CBDC Ban Into Defence Spending Bill

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In brief

  • House Republicans have attached anti-CBDC measures to an upcoming Defense Bill.
  • The U.S. remains the only major economy to halt retail CBDC development.
  • Stablecoins have gained traction in the U.S. as lawmakers cite fears over the privacy and control of CBDCs.

House Republicans have added a provision banning central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) into a 1,300 page bill which lays out defense spending and priorities for the next financial year.

The amendment, included in bill H.R. 3838, would prohibit the Federal Reserve from testing, developing or implementing a CBDC under any label.

It adds an exception for “any dollar-denominated currency that is open, permissionless, and private, and fully preserves the privacy protections of United States coins and physical currency.”

“Attaching our Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act to the NDAA will ensure unelected bureaucrats are NEVER allowed to trade Americans’ financial privacy for a CCP-style surveillance tool,” GOP Majority Whip Tom Emmer said last month, referring to the bill.

Attaching our Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act to the NDAA will ensure unelected bureaucrats are NEVER allowed to trade Americans’ financial privacy for a CCP-style surveillance tool. @POTUS has made it clear: our legislation is a key piece of our America First agenda, and we…

— Tom Emmer (@GOPMajorityWhip) July 17, 2025

The charge to stop CBDCs in the U.S. is a largely Republican-led effort. Emmer himself attempted to introduce a CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act in 2023 but it failed to gain momentum. It was reintroduced upon Trump coming to office and is currently making its way through the Senate.

CBDCs around the world

Globally, however, CBDCs are advancing rapidly. According to the Atlantic Council, 137 countries are exploring digital versions of their currencies, up from just 35 in 2020, and with 72 already in advanced stages of development. The U.S. remains an outlier after President Trump’s executive order earlier this year to halt all retail CBDC work.

The opposition to CBDCs in the U.S. reflects competing visions of the future of money. Critics of CBDCs fear government overreach, surveillance and disruption to the banking sector.



The American Bankers Association (ABA), which backed the House measure in July, argued that a CBDC “would fundamentally change the relationship between citizens and the Federal Reserve, undermine the important role banks play in extending credit, exacerbate economic and liquidity crises, and impede the transmission of sound monetary policy.”

Nanak Nihal Khalsa, Co-Founder of human.tech by Holonym, told Decrypt that he hoped the senate bill against CBDCs passed because he feared “sleepwalking into surveillance money.”

“The fears are definitely justified,” he said, calling CBDCs “programmable money controlled by the state.” He added that, “Once every transaction runs through a state ledger, privacy is gone by default and the question isn’t if it gets abused, it’s when.”

“If the US takes a stand against CBDCs, it opens up space to build alternatives that are open, permissionless, and actually preserve privacy, the things that made digital money worth caring about in the first place,” Khalsa said.

Khalsa added that stablecoins issued by private companies also carried some of the same risks. “Private companies have the same incentives to track, exclude, and monetize,” he said. “The only difference is who you’re forced to trust, the state or a corporation. Without privacy guarantees built into the protocol itself, you’re choosing which empire you want to live under.”

Europe-based financial non-profit Finance Watch told Decrypt it believed concerns about surveillance are about “design, not about the concept of a CBDC itself.”

“It is entirely possible to create a CBDC that is open, permissionless, and preserves the same privacy protections as cash,” a spokesperson said. “That requires privacy by design and by default, strict limits on data collection, and offline functionality for small payments.”

“The real question is whether money should be run by private companies or issued by the central bank, as with cash,” they added, arguing that the digital Euro being developed in the EU is being designed as “a public alternative to established, privately controlled means of payment, reasserting citizens’ control of money and payments.”

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