The European Central Bank and the EU’s national central banks have asked Brussels to delete a Markets in Crypto-Assets rule that forces stablecoin issuers to keep up to 60% of their reserves in commercial bank deposits.
The European System of Central Banks (ESCB) made the request on September 22 in its response to the European Commission’s review of MiCA, the EU’s crypto-asset framework. MiCA currently requires issuers of electronic money tokens and asset-referenced tokens to hold at least 30% of reserves as bank deposits, rising to 60% for tokens regulators classify as significant.
In its place, the ESCB backed minimum liquidity thresholds under which reserve assets would have to mature within one to five working days. It pointed to overnight reverse repos and short-term sovereign bonds as instruments issuers could use instead. The central banks also cited 2024 draft rules from the European Banking Authority that require significant stablecoins to hold at least 40% of reserves in assets maturing within one working day and 60% within five working days, with 20% and 30% respectively for non-significant tokens.
The central banks argued the current deposit mandate “creates a direct link between issuers and credit institutions” and could leave banks facing liquidity problems if a stablecoin run forces an issuer to withdraw deposits quickly. They cited the March 2023 collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, which triggered a run on Circle’s USDC after Circle disclosed that $3.3 billion of its reserves sat at the bank.
The proposal puts Europe’s central banks on the same side as the stablecoin industry. Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino has warned since 2024 that the deposit requirements could create systemic risks, saying in an October 2024 interview that a stablecoin with 10 billion euros in reserves would have to keep 6 billion euros in bank deposits, of which only 600 million might remain if the bank lent out 90%. Ardoino said in a post on X that Tether refused an EU licence over the same clause, writing that the rule “forces large issuers to keep 60% of that money in commercial banks.” That claim rests on his own account.
The response also warned of material challenges in enforcing MiCA, saying non-compliant crypto companies operating outside EU borders can still reach EU customers.
The submission is a recommendation to the Commission’s MiCA review, not a change in law, and no timeline for a decision has been given. MiCA’s stablecoin provisions became fully applicable during 2024 and 2025, making Europe the first major jurisdiction with a comprehensive crypto-asset rulebook. The EU has already moved against member states over the framework, opening infringement proceedings against 13 EU nations over crypto tax and MiCA violations.
