Circle asks the EU to swap MiCA's fixed bank-deposit reserve rule for a liquidity test
Circle wants MiCA's fixed bank-deposit reserve rule replaced by a liquidity test, plus home-jurisdiction supervision for foreign stablecoins.
Why it matters
The submission goes to how euro-denominated stablecoin reserves must be held and to which rules govern non-EU issuers, so an adoption of the liquidity test and home-country supervision model would loosen EU-level reserve constraints on USDC and other foreign tokens. Bitcoin Insider, citing The Cryptonomist and Bitcoin.com News, notes Circle already holds USDC reserves mainly in short-term government securities and cash equivalents elsewhere, which is the policy it is asking the EU to accept. Crypto News reports the Commission has made no decision, so no MiCA rule has changed and the effect on USDC's standing in the EU is untested.
Where the sources disagree
Whether the EU is ready to change its stablecoin rules
Diplomatic leaks indicate the EU is open to altering stablecoin rules
Bitcoin.com News
The European Commission has not accepted the proposals or amended the MiCA rules
Crypto News (CryptoNews.net)
One outlet reports diplomatic leaks pointing to EU openness to amending the rules, while the other states the Commission has accepted nothing so far.
Key facts
Circle asked EU regulators to replace MiCA's fixed bank-deposit reserve requirement with a liquidity test assessing whether an issuer's overall reserve mix can meet redemption demand under stress.
Reported by Crypto News (CryptoNews.net)
Circle cited the 2023 Silicon Valley Bank collapse, when roughly $3.3 billion in USDC reserves were held at the bank and USDC briefly lost its $1 peg.
3,300,000,000 USDReported by Crypto News (CryptoNews.net)
Circle wants a liquidity requirement allowing part of reserves to be cashed out within one to five business days instead of a strict minimum bank-deposit requirement.
Reported by Crypto News (CryptoNews.net)
Circle proposed that foreign-regulated stablecoins be supervised primarily in their home jurisdiction under measures equivalent to those applied in the EU, with locally licensed institutions handling distribution.
Reported by Bitcoin.com News
USDC, described as the second-largest stablecoin, has a market capitalization of over $74 billion.
74,000,000,000 USDReported by Bitcoin.com News
The European Central Bank and some national central banks support a similar liquidity requirement for stablecoin reserves.
Reported by Crypto News (CryptoNews.net)
The European Commission has not accepted the industry proposals or amended MiCA, and a formal assessment and a potential legislative process are still needed.
Reported by Crypto News (CryptoNews.net)
The Hyperliquid Policy Center asked that perpetual futures contracts on its chain be evaluated under the existing MiFID II derivatives rules instead of MiCA.
Reported by Crypto News (CryptoNews.net)
What happened
Circle, the issuer of USDC, has asked EU regulators to change how stablecoin reserves must be held under MiCA, replacing the fixed bank-deposit requirement with a test of whether an issuer's overall reserve mix can meet redemption demand under stress. In the same submission it proposed a separate regime for foreign-regulated stablecoins, supervised primarily in the issuer's home jurisdiction under measures equivalent to those applied in the EU, with locally licensed institutions handling distribution. Circle argues that bank deposits expose reserves to the credit of individual banks, citing the 2023 Silicon Valley Bank collapse, when roughly $3.3 billion in USDC reserves sat at the bank and the token briefly lost its $1 peg, and it asks for a liquidity window that would let part of reserves be cashed out within one to five business days. Circle also objected to the cap on how much of reserves can sit in one country's government bonds, saying it makes it hard for a dollar-based stablecoin to hold a significant share in US Treasury bonds, and Crypto News reports that the European Central Bank and some national central banks back a similar liquidity requirement. Bitcoin.com News, citing diplomatic leaks, reports that the EU is open to altering stablecoin rules, while Crypto News states that the European Commission has not accepted the proposals or amended MiCA and that a formal assessment and a possible legislative process come first. The same review also saw the Hyperliquid Policy Center ask that perpetual futures on its chain be evaluated under MiFID II rather than MiCA.
How the story developed
- First report
First report by Crypto News (CryptoNews.net)
USDC Issuer Circle Objects to Europe’s Stablecoin Rule: Could the 60% Reserve Requirement Change?
- Update
Circle's MiCA review recommendations surface
Crypto News reports Circle asked for a liquidity-based reserve requirement, a looser single-country government bond limit, and notes the requests come from industry bodies with no Commission decision yet.
- Official statement
Official statement from Bitcoin.com News
Circle Urges EU to Scrap Strict Bank Deposit Rules for Stablecoins
- Update
Bitcoin.com News details Circle's proposal for foreign stablecoins
The outlet describes home-jurisdiction supervision with locally licensed distribution, gives USDC's market capitalization as over $74 billion, and cites diplomatic leaks on EU openness to rule changes.
- Update
Bitcoin Insider attributes the liquidity-test account to other outlets
The piece credits reporting from The Cryptonomist and Bitcoin.com News and adds that Circle already holds USDC reserves mainly in short-term government securities and cash equivalents in other jurisdictions.
How coverage built up
Independent sources over time, counted the way the consensus panel counts them: a republication of a wire story does not move the line.
- 2 Oct 2026, 09:30 UTC: Crypto News (CryptoNews.net) — 1 independent source, 1 reports
- 3 Oct 2026, 14:15 UTC: Bitcoin.com News, official — 2 independent sources, 2 reports
- 3 Oct 2026, 14:17 UTC: Bitcoin Insider — 3 independent sources, 3 reports
Affected entities
Also mentioned: United States, Ripple, Base, Hyperliquid
Original sources
| Publisher | Report | Role | Published |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bitcoin.com News Company, official | Circle Urges EU to Scrap Strict Bank Deposit Rules for Stablecoins | Independent | |
| Crypto News (CryptoNews.net) Aggregator | USDC Issuer Circle Objects to Europe’s Stablecoin Rule: Could the 60% Reserve Requirement Change? | Original | |
| Bitcoin Insider Aggregator | Circle Pushes EU to Replace 30% Stablecoin Bank Deposit Rule With Liquidity Test | Syndicated |
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