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The European Central Bank, together with the national banks of the EU countries, proposed to change one of the MiCA rules regarding stablecoin reserves. As reported by Reuters, we are talking about the requirement to keep 30% of reserves in bank deposits, and for large issuers — 60%. The ECB wants to remove this rule and instead introduce a more flexible approach based on asset liquidity.

The reason is simple: central banks fear that such deposits may be more unstable than regular deposits. If the crypto market drops sharply, token holders will start cashing out en masse, and issuers will have to quickly withdraw money from banks, which will create unnecessary pressure on the banking system. The ESCB documents explicitly state that stablecoins can change the financing structure of banks, replacing stable retail deposits with less reliable ones.

Instead of fixed percentages, it is proposed to establish a minimum share of reserves available through assets with repayment within one and five business days. This will give issuers more flexibility, but will require better risk management. So far, this is only a proposal within the framework of consultations of the European Commission, and the current requirements continue to apply.

The ESCB also noted problems with MiCA compliance: by June 2026, many companies had not received licenses, but continued to work with Europeans, which creates risks for investors.

Interestingly, the ECB's position partially coincides with the opinion of Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino, who criticized this requirement back in 2024, calling it dangerous. Because of him, Tether did not apply for a license, but may return to this issue if the rules change. MiCA remains one of the first comprehensive regulatory regimes for crypto assets, but some of its rules have proven to be too stringent. The ECB's proposal shows that regulators are ready to listen to the market, although they do not abandon the basic principles. If the changes are adopted, the situation in the European crypto market may change significantly.