EBA Tightens EU Oversight of Circle’s USDC Under MiCA

The European Banking Authority has named Circle’s USD Coin (USDC) the European Union’s first major e-money token under the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation, or MiCA. From Nov. 12, 2026, the EBA will supervise the stablecoin’s capital, reserves, liquidity and redemption arrangements.

Circle will be required to hold at least 60% of USDC’s reserves in segregated bank accounts. Previously, non-significant e-money token issuers were required to keep at least 30% of their reserves in such accounts.

Circle’s governance and operational activities will remain supervised by France’s Autorité de contrôle prudentiel et de résolution, or ACPR. The EBA will oversee the areas covered by its new responsibilities. Its cooperation with New York state regulators will support oversight of Circle’s operations.

The designation will increase Circle’s compliance requirements in Europe. The company will need to maintain sufficient reserves and liquidity and ensure that USDC holders can redeem their tokens under the applicable guarantees.

Circle is expanding its Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol, which allows assets to move between supported blockchain networks. The protocol has processed more than $100 million in non-USDC assets, including EURC, CirBTC and wrapped Ether, or WETH.

EURC was added to the protocol in September, followed by CirBTC later that month. Data on destination blockchains show continued growth in the protocol’s use.

Euro-pegged stablecoins accounted for 0.25% of the combined supply of euro- and dollar-pegged stablecoins in October 2026. Their share has ranged from 0.15% to 0.27% since January 2024.

The total value of euro stablecoins was about $768 million, compared with $306.5 billion for dollar-pegged tokens. Qivalis, a consortium of 37 European banks, has received an e-money license to issue a euro stablecoin.