Ireland: Stablecoins & Digital Money

The national discretion exercised in Ireland is stricter than in several peer member states. Ireland reduced the MiCA CASP transition to 12 months and did not grant existing VASPs a simplified-authorisation route, deeming the VASP regime not comparable to MiCA; the CBI applies a high authorisation threshold and is highly sceptical of CASP models marketing unbacked crypto-assets to retail for speculation. The shorter transition compresses the runway for incumbent VASPs and signals a high CBI authorisation bar relative to other EU NCAs.

As a dated illustration of hub status, Kraken secured a MiCA licence via the Central Bank of Ireland, with passporting activating once the CBI uploads the authorisation to ESMA's central register — a concrete demonstration of Ireland attracting major CASP authorisations.

Outlook

The stablecoin trajectory is established but escalating in supervisory intensity. The combination of a 12-month transition, no VASP grandfathering and overt CBI scepticism of speculative retail crypto models points to a continuing high authorisation bar. Dublin's attraction of major CASP authorisations such as Kraken suggests the hub positioning will persist, but firms should expect the authorisation process itself to remain rigorous, with EMT issuers held to credit-institution or EMI reserve and redemption standards.