Paxos Launches MiCA-Compliant Global Dollar (USDG) Stablecoin in EU

The USDG token is issued by Paxos Digital Singapore Pte. Ltd. and Paxos Issuance Europe S.A., both of which operate under direct oversight from national financial regulators, including Singapore’s Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and Finland’s Financial Supervisory Authority (FIN-FSA). The new token is fully backed 1:1 with high-quality liquid assets, including short-term U.S. government debt and cash equivalents.

“USDG is a fully regulated global USD-stablecoin that is compliant with MiCA and now available in the EU,” said Walter Hessert, Head of Strategy at Paxos. “This is a testament to our commitment to offering global digital assets that are supervised by prudential regulators and also meet the highest standards of consumer protection.”

The rollout of USDG is supported by an extensive group of ecosystem partners. Crypto exchanges and platforms including Kraken, Gate.io, SwissBorg, Zodia Custody, Coinmetro, Orbital, Hercle, Bitwyre, CoinsPaid, HiFi, and others have joined the launch effort. These partnerships are expected to facilitate immediate accessibility, liquidity, and integration into existing trading and payments infrastructure.

The token is also embedded within the Global Dollar Network (GDN), an open, collaborative stablecoin initiative that includes industry players such as Robinhood, Bullish, Galaxy Digital, Nuvei, and Anchorage Digital. GDN is designed to promote responsible stablecoin adoption while rewarding ecosystem participants that contribute to its growth and functionality.

The timing of the launch is strategically aligned with the phased implementation of the MiCA regulatory framework, which came into effect in June 2023 and began full enforcement in mid-2024. MiCA sets strict rules around the issuance, reserve backing, and operational transparency of stablecoins, requirements that Paxos says USDG has been purpose-built to meet.

Under MiCA, stablecoin issuers operating in the EU must be authorized as Electronic Money Institutions (EMIs) or crypto-asset service providers (CASPs). They are also required to maintain reserve assets matching or exceeding the total value of tokens in circulation. Regular independent audits and investor disclosures are mandated to ensure consumer protection and market integrity.

USDG’s compliance with these rules gives it a first-mover advantage in a region where regulatory clarity is quickly becoming a competitive differentiator. Unlike other USD-pegged stablecoins that operate with more limited regulatory oversight, USDG’s structure could appeal to institutional players seeking predictable legal environments.

Paxos’s dual-entity structure, leveraging licenses in both Asia and Europe, reflects its broader strategy to build globally compliant products through local regulatory engagement. In the U.S., Paxos is already well-known for its role in issuing PayPal USD (PYUSD) and its former partnership with Binance to issue BUSD, which the company stopped minting in 2023 following regulatory scrutiny.

The launch of USDG in Europe, by contrast, is being framed as a new chapter, one that emphasizes transparency, compliance, and cross-border utility without the baggage of prior enforcement actions. Paxos claims that USDG is the first global stablecoin to launch simultaneously under multiple prudential regulators, setting a precedent for future international digital asset deployments.

Despite its regulatory edge, USDG enters a competitive market dominated by incumbents like Tether (USDT) and Circle’s USDC, both of which command tens of billions in circulating supply. However, neither is currently MiCA-compliant, and both face uncertainty over how they will adapt to the EU’s framework.

By contrast, USDG is designed from the ground up to meet the region’s legal requirements, potentially giving it a cleaner pathway to institutional partnerships, fintech integrations, and even adoption by traditional banks seeking compliant digital dollar exposure.

The success of USDG in Europe could become a template for how stablecoins are issued and adopted globally. As jurisdictions around the world move toward clearer crypto regulations, including pending legislation in the U.S. and the United Kingdom, Paxos’s model may be seen as the benchmark for safe, government-supervised stablecoin infrastructure.