Stripe's Bridge Wins EU MiCA and EMI Licenses, Joins Register as 42nd Authorised Stablecoin Issuer
Stripe-owned Bridge has added a formal MiCA register entry to its dual Luxembourg approvals, giving its EU entity CASP and EMI permissions across 27 member states. The 42nd-authorised-issuer listing strengthens Bridge's pitch to enterprises that want custom EUR stablecoins, named virtual IBANs and payouts through one integration.
Stripe-owned Bridge has moved from an early-July licensing announcement to a formal place in the European Union's public rulebook. On August 7, its Luxembourg entity, Bridge Building, appeared in the MiCA register as the 42nd authorised electronic money token issuer, following dual approvals from Luxembourg's CSSF for a MiCA Crypto-Asset Service Provider authorisation and an Electronic Money Institution licence. [1][2]
The entry matters because it lands just after the final MiCA transition period ended on July 1. For providers serving the bloc, the old national transition routes have closed: the CSSF says crypto-asset services may now be offered only by authorised CASPs, while unauthorised firms must wind down. Bridge has arrived with both the crypto and payments permissions needed for the product it wants to sell. [3]
From a licence announcement to the public register
Bridge announced the two Luxembourg permissions on July 2. The CASP approval supplies the MiCA-side authority for regulated crypto-asset services; the EMI licence provides the e-money and payments leg. Together, the authorisations can be passported across the 27 EU member states, so a customer does not have to assemble a separate country-by-country regulatory stack to use the product. [1]
Registration as the 42nd EMT issuer is more than a tally. It makes Bridge Building visible in the supervisory record used by institutions, counterparties and customers to check which legal entity sits behind an e-money token activity. The difference is material for an enterprise sales conversation: a platform can now point to a named EU issuer and a named EU payments institution, not simply a product promise from a US parent. [2]
Metric — Bridge position as of August 7, 2026 — Why it matters
EU market coverage — 27 member states — One passportable EU operating perimeter
Luxembourg permissions — 2, CASP plus EMI — Joins crypto-asset services with e-money functions
MiCA EMT register position — 42nd authorised issuer — Formal listing of Bridge Building
MiCA transition deadline — July 1, 2026 — Unauthorised CASPs must cease EU service activity
Bridge card-program reach — More than 100 markets — Evidence of an existing global distribution build-out
The product bundle is the strategic point
The practical offer is not a generic declaration of MiCA compliance. Bridge says an EU business can issue a custom EUR-backed stablecoin, create named virtual IBANs, operate EUR accounts and make named EUR payouts through a single integration. That brings token issuance and the familiar account identifiers used by finance teams into the same developer and compliance workflow.
"A business in the EU can now issue its own euro stablecoin and pair it with named IBANs and named EUR payouts across all 27 member states, on a single integration."
Mai Leduc Blount, Bridge head of product [1]
That package is useful for a platform that wants a closed-loop rewards balance, in-app currency, contractor payout flow or intercompany treasury instrument without becoming the regulated issuer and payments operator itself. The commercial proposition is issuance-as-a-service, not merely the distribution of a pre-existing token. It also creates a cleaner route between a euro account, a euro-denominated token and a payout instruction, three functions that are often sourced from separate vendors.
A two-continent regulatory scorecard, with an important caveat
Bridge can now describe a credible EU and US regulatory trajectory, but the two sides are not at the same stage. In the United States, the OCC gave proposed Bridge National Trust Bank preliminary conditional approval on February 12. The OCC document is explicit that this is not final approval and does not permit the bank to commence business until preopening requirements are met. That distinction matters when assessing custody, reserve management, issuance and orchestration plans. [4]
Region — Bridge regulatory position — Status on August 7 — Practical reading
European Union — CSSF CASP authorisation plus EMI licence; Bridge Building is an EMT issuer — Authorised and register-listed — EUR issuance and e-money services can be offered across 27 member states
United States — Proposed Bridge National Trust Bank received OCC preliminary conditional approval — Not final; no authority to commence business — A federal path for custody, issuance, orchestration and reserves remains conditional
United Kingdom — No UK authorisation is claimed in the announced package — Not stated — The EU passport does not substitute for a UK permission
APAC — No APAC licence is claimed in the announced package — Not stated — Global product reach should not be read as local regulatory authorisation
The comparison set needs care. Circle has its own regulated stablecoin issuance model for USDC and EURC, while Paxos has disclosed MiCA-compliant USDG issuance in Europe through Paxos Issuance Europe Oy. Tether remains outside the MiCA-authorised issuer route for USDT. Bridge's distinction is narrower but commercially significant: it is positioning its combined permissions around a white-label infrastructure layer for businesses that want their own branded currency and account experience. Within that narrower issuance-as-a-service category, Bridge is the only platform publicly presenting a regulated route to native EUR and USD stablecoin issuance in one enterprise stack, although the US route remains conditional rather than final.
The same precision applies to US payment-rail claims. Circle's trust-bank path is separate from Ripple Standard Custody's application for Federal Reserve account access. The Federal Reserve's proposed special-purpose Payment Account framework, sometimes called a skinny account, remains a proposal with bounded services and balance limits, not a universal direct-access shortcut. [5] Bridge's advantage is therefore not a completed federal operating bank, but an EU-authorised enterprise issuance stack paired with a conditional US charter route.
The Meta test and a personnel change
That positioning has implications for any consumer platform weighing a second-half 2026 stablecoin launch. Reporting has named Meta as examining a Stripe-led pilot model, although Meta, Stripe and Bridge have not confirmed a deal. If such a project advances, Bridge's new EUR capability could give a global product team a more credible European design from the outset, while the US piece remains dependent on the separate conditional-charter process.
The regulatory milestone also comes as Connor Fitzgerald, Stripe's head of stablecoin partnerships, announced his late-July departure. Fitzgerald said he had helped build the Bridge card programme from zero to more than 100 markets. The timing puts the spotlight on whether Bridge can turn licences, a register entry and global card distribution into a repeatable enterprise issuance business without a key builder at the helm.
References
[1] FinTech Futures, "Stripe's Bridge secures EU MiCA authorisation and e-money licence," July 6, 2026. https://www.fintechfutures.com/blockchain-crypto-digital-assets/stripe-bridge-eu-mica-authorisation-e-money-licence
[2] Coinpaprika, "Stripe's Bridge Joins EU MiCA Register, Unlocking Euro Stablecoins ...," August 8, 2026. https://coinpaprika.com/news/stripes-bridge-joins-eu-mica-register/
[3] CSSF, "MiCA: Transition period for virtual asset service providers ended on 1 July 2026," July 2, 2026. https://www.cssf.lu/en/2026/07/mica-transition-period-for-virtual-asset-service-providers-ended-on-1-july-2026/
[4] Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, "Corporate Decision #1365," February 12, 2026. https://www.occ.treas.gov/topics/charters-and-licensing/interpretations-and-decisions/2026/cd1365.pdf
[5] Federal Reserve Board, "Proposed Revisions to the Federal Reserve Policy on Payment System Risk," May 20, 2026. https://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/pressreleases/files/other20260520a3.pdf