Zerohash secures Dutch e-money licence for European stablecoin payments
Zerohash has cleared a significant regulatory hurdle in Europe. Zerohash europe, the European arm of the digital asset infrastructure provider, has been granted an Electronic Money Institution (EMI) licence by De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB), the Dutch central bank. The authorisation lets the firm run stablecoin payment services across the European Economic Area (EEA).
The licence matters because of what sits behind it. Zerohash says it is the first firm authorised under the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCAR) to also secure an e-money licence, putting it ahead of the field on a regulatory question that the rest of the stablecoin industry is still working through.
Why two licences, not one
The European Banking Authority spelled out in a June 2025 no-action letter, with further clarifications in February 2026, that some e-money token payment flows need both a MiCAR licence and a separate payments or e-money authorisation. It also told MiCAR-authorised firms handling those flows to secure the relevant payments licensing by early 2026.
That left a compliance gap for crypto infrastructure providers who held a MiCAR authorisation but nothing on the payments side. Zerohash europe, which picked up its MiCAR authorisation from the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets in October 2025, has now closed that gap with the DNB approval. The company said the licence "further buttresses zerohash's leading global regulatory posture" and gives its clients additional certainty.
What it unlocks
The practical upshot is that banks, brokerages, fintechs, payment providers and enterprise platforms operating in Europe can route stablecoin and digital asset flows through a counterparty that holds both authorisations. For regulated institutions weighing whether to touch stablecoins at all, a fully licensed infrastructure partner removes one of the larger objections.
The move also signals where the stablecoin market is heading in Europe. As supervisors firm up the rules, the firms that move early on dual authorisation stand to become the default rails for everyone else. Zerohash has positioned itself as one of them.
Source: Electronic Payments International.
