EU CRYPTO REGISTER · GLOSSARY · LAST VERIFIED
What is Title III of MiCA?
Title III of MiCA (Articles 16-47) regulates the issuance of Asset-Referenced Tokens - stablecoins that reference a basket of assets or rights, including baskets of official currencies. Title III entered force on 30 June 2024. Significant ART issuers are subject to EBA supervision.
What is the exact legal definition?
MiCA Title III sets out the authorisation, white-paper, reserve, redemption and conduct rules for ART issuers (Articles 16-47), with thresholds for 'significant' status under Article 43 triggering enhanced EBA supervision. Source: Articles 16-47 MiCA.
What does it actually mean in practice?
What Title III regulates. ART issuance, public offering, white-paper publication and approval, reserve composition and safeguarding, redemption rights, conduct of issuers, and enhanced supervision for issuers crossing significance thresholds (large book of token holders, large transaction volumes, large interconnections with banking system).
Authorisation. Article 21 requires ART issuers to be authorised by the home Member State NCA. Article 16 requires a white paper, drawn up in accordance with Annex II and approved by the NCA, before any public offer or trading admission.
Reserves and redemption. Articles 36-38 require ART issuers to maintain a reserve of high-quality liquid assets, segregated from the issuer's own assets, sufficient to redeem all outstanding tokens. Article 39 establishes the permanent right of redemption at market value of the referenced assets.
Significant ARTs. Article 43 triggers a 'significant' designation for ART issuers exceeding specified thresholds (number of holders, value of issuance, volume of transactions, banking-system interconnections). Significant issuers are subject to enhanced supervision by the EBA, in addition to the home NCA.
Where do we see this in the public record?
| Example | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Effective date | 30 June 2024 |
| White-paper requirement | Article 16 - published before public offer or trading admission |
| Reserve rules | Articles 36-38 - segregated, high-quality liquid assets |
| Significant issuer threshold | Article 43 - multiple criteria, EBA supervision |
What else do users ask about this?
Is a basket-of-currencies stablecoin an ART?
Yes. A token referencing a basket - even if the basket is entirely of official currencies - is an ART under MiCA, not an EMT. Single-currency stablecoins are EMTs.
How many ART issuers are authorised today?
A handful as of 12 May 2026; ESMA's register lists the current authorised set. The ART regime is more burdensome than the EMT regime, and most market participants have prioritised EMT-track issuance.
Does Title III cover algorithmic stablecoins?
Algorithmic stablecoins that do not maintain a reserve cannot be authorised as ARTs (which require full reserve backing). Algorithmic models are effectively outside MiCA's stablecoin regime, though their issuers may need CASP authorisation if they offer crypto-asset services.
Which sources is this entry based on?
- MiCA Title III (Articles 16-47)
- EBA - MiCA stablecoin landing page
- ESMA Register
- Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 (MiCA) on EUR-Lex
Glossary entries on The Crypto Register are sourced from primary legal texts (Regulation (EU) 2023/1114, ESMA guidelines, national regulator publications). They are not legal advice. Last verified .