ECB and EU Central Banks Push to Rewrite MiCA Stablecoin Reserve Rules as Banks Fight Back - CCN.com

The European Central Bank and national central banks across the EU are pressing to revise the reserve requirements for stablecoin issuers under the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework, according to CCN.com. The push reflects a broader supervisory concern: that stablecoin reserves — the assets backing tokens pegged to traditional currencies — should be structured in ways that withstand redemption pressure and reduce reliance on instruments that could prove illiquid in stress.

Commercial banks, for their part, are pushing back. The dispute centers on how strictly reserve assets should be defined, where they can be held, and what role bank deposits versus other instruments should play. For token issuers, any tightening of reserve rules could raise compliance costs and reshape business models; for banks, the outcome may determine how much of the stablecoin ecosystem's deposit-like activity sits within the regulated banking perimeter.

What to watch: the specific reserve standards regulators propose, how existing MiCA provisions would be amended, and whether the banking industry's counterarguments gain traction. The direction of this debate could influence stablecoin design and issuance across the EU, and potentially inform regulatory approaches elsewhere.