How MEXC sidesteps the MiCA interest ban on stablecoins with a 7% USDT yield
A new crypto card promises something that sounds almost too good inside the European Union: up to 10 percent cashback in USDT on every purchase, plus up to 7 percent a year on the USDT balance sitting behind it. Since August 31, 2026, MEXC Global has been advertising exactly that combination through a Visa-linked card, and the numbers raise an obvious question for anyone who has followed European crypto rules: how does this square with the MiCA interest ban on stablecoins? The answer sits in a single, tightly worded article of EU law โ and it explains why offers like this one donโt come from providers licensed inside the bloc.
Key takeaways
- Article 50 of MiCA bans licensed EU providers from paying interest on regulated stablecoins, known as e-money tokens, and the ban covers bonuses, rewards and flexible savings products, not just interest by name.
- MEXC Global launched a USDT card on the Visa network on August 31, 2026, offering up to 10 percent cashback and up to 7 percent annual return on USDT held with the exchange.
- USDT is not authorized as an e-money token under MiCA, so the MiCA interest ban on stablecoins does not directly apply to offers built on it.
- Cashback tied to spending is legally distinct from interest paid on a holding balance, and only the latter falls under the EU ban.
MiCAโs interest ban on stablecoins, explained
Article 50 of the EUโs Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation, or MiCAR, flatly stops licensed providers from paying anything for holding a regulated stablecoin. The rule applies in two layers: issuers of e-money tokens cannot grant interest, and crypto-asset service providers โ exchanges, custodians, card issuers โ cannot grant interest either, even if they never issued the token themselves.
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