Key Takeaways
- The ECB and all 27 EU national central banks want the mandatory bank-deposit requirement for stablecoin reserves under MiCA removed.
- MiCA currently requires stablecoin issuers to hold at least 30% of reserves in bank deposits, rising to 60% for significant issuers.
- Central banks want the fixed deposit threshold replaced with liquidity rules requiring more reserve assets to mature within one to five working days.
Europe’s central banks are pushing for a major rewrite of MiCA’s stablecoin reserve rules, arguing that a regulation designed to make stablecoins safer could instead create new risks for commercial banks.
The European System of Central Banks, which includes the European Central Bank and the national central banks of all 27 EU countries, recommended removing MiCA’s minimum bank-deposit requirement in its response to a review of the bloc’s crypto rules.
Under MiCA, stablecoin issuers must currently keep at least 30% of their reserves in credit institutions, while the requirement rises to 60% for significant stablecoins.
The central banks instead want reserve requirements tied more directly to liquidity, including minimum holdings of assets that mature within one and five working days.
Why the ECB Wants MiCA’s 60% Rule Gone
The concern centers on what happens if stablecoins grow substantially.
Consumers moving money from ordinary bank accounts into stablecoins could drain relatively stable retail deposits from banks. MiCA then sends part of that money back into the banking system through stablecoin issuers.
But the ECB argues that those issuer deposits behave differently.
Stablecoin reserves could be withdrawn rapidly during heavy redemptions, potentially leaving banks increasingly dependent on funding that is more sensitive to crypto market conditions. The central banks warned that this could replace stable retail deposits with less stable deposits from stablecoin companies.
ECB research has previously highlighted the same two-way contagion problem. A bank failure could threaten a stablecoin that holds deposits at that bank, while a stablecoin run could force an issuer to withdraw large amounts from banks. The 2023 USDC depeg following Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse provided a real-world example of the first risk.
The proposed change would potentially shift more reserves toward highly liquid securities rather than forcing issuers to park a fixed percentage at commercial banks.
Tether Rejected the Same MiCA Requirement
The debate also touches on one of MiCA’s biggest unresolved competitive issues.
Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino said the USDT issuer did not pursue an EU license because of MiCA requirements that significant issuers keep 60% of reserves in bank deposits.
The rule is particularly significant because dollar stablecoins dwarf their euro counterparts. ECB data showed euro-denominated stablecoins had a market capitalization of only around €450 million in January 2026, compared with roughly $300 billion for dollar-denominated stablecoins.
Changing the reserve framework could therefore affect how attractive Europe is to global stablecoin issuers.
MiCA Review Goes Beyond Stablecoin Reserves
The central banks are also pushing Brussels to maintain tight restrictions on “multi-issuance” structures, where tokens issued inside and outside the EU are treated as interchangeable.
They warned such arrangements could create financial stability risks and said any future permission would require additional safeguards and assessments of whether overseas regulatory regimes provide equivalent protections.
Enforcement is another problem. Crypto companies were required to secure an EU license or wind down their operations by June 2026, yet the central banks said non-compliant firms continue to reach European customers.
The result is an unusual turn for MiCA: Europe’s central banks are not arguing that stablecoin reserves need fewer safeguards. They are arguing that forcing up to 60% of those reserves into commercial banks may be the wrong safeguard.
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Giuseppe Ciccomascolo began his career as an investigative journalist in Italy, where he contributed to both local and national newspapers, focusing on various financial sectors.
Upon relocating to London, he worked as an analyst for Fitch's CapitalStructure and later as a Senior Reporter for Alliance News. In 2017, Giuseppe transitioned to covering cryptocurrency-related news, producing documentaries and articles on Bitcoin and other emerging digital currencies. He also played a pivotal role in establishing the academy for a cryptocurrency exchange website. Crypto remained his primary area of interest throughout his tenure as a writer for ThirdFloor.
