A senior official from Italy's central bank stated on Thursday that the European Union should clarify regulatory rules for cross-border issued stablecoins of the same type, calling for unified standards to protect user rights.

Stablecoins are crypto assets pegged to traditional currencies or commodities, also known as "Electronic Money Tokens (EMT)," which have sparked disagreements between the European Commission and the European Central Bank.

Currently, there exists a "multi-issuer model": whether electronic money tokens issued by licensed EU institutions can be considered "interoperable" with tokens issued by non-EU entities under the same company has prompted requests for clarification from the European Commission.

In June this year, sources revealed that the European Commission believes EU rules allow such "interoperability," while the European Central Bank warned that this could pose financial stability risks.

Chiara Scotti, Deputy Governor of the Bank of Italy, speaking at an international central bank payments conference, noted: "Clarifying rules at the legislative or standard-setting level is both timely and of significant value." Scotti previously worked in the U.S. Federal Reserve System for 20 years before joining the Bank of Italy.

Scotti explained that under the multi-issuer model, EU stablecoin issuers might receive redemption requests from holders outside the EU, requiring third-country entities to transfer assets to cover any shortfall in reserves.

She pointed out: "While this structure may enhance global liquidity and scalability, it creates significant legal, operational, liquidity, and financial stability risks at the EU level—particularly when one of the issuing entities is located outside the EU."

"Both resident and non-resident holders would view all tokens as interoperable assets. This could lead to mismatches between debt obligations (of issuers) and available reserves."

The EU adopted a comprehensive set of crypto asset regulatory rules in 2023, known as the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCAR).

Scotti stated: "In the multi-issuer model, third-country issuers may not necessarily need to comply with consumer protection, transparency, and information disclosure requirements stipulated by MiCAR."

"To mitigate these risks and avoid regulatory blind spots, stablecoin issuance should be limited to jurisdictions that: uphold equivalent regulatory standards, ensure redemption at face value, and implement cross-jurisdictional crisis response agreements."