# European Central Banks Recommend Replacing MiCA Deposit Rules

By Riza Dagoc

Canonical URL: https://www.tokenpost.com/news/regulation/23234
Published: 2026-09-23T11:48:15.000Z
Updated: 2026-09-23T11:48:15.000Z

The European System of Central Banks (ESCB) has recommended replacing MiCA’s fixed bank-deposit requirements for some stablecoin issuers with minimum holdings of assets that mature quickly, a change that would alter how reserves support redemptions in the European Union.

The ESCB includes the European Central Bank and the 27 national central banks of EU member states. Its proposal targets the mandatory allocation of reserves to credit institutions while preserving a broader liquidity requirement.

Under the current Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation, or MiCA, issuers of e-money tokens must keep at least 30% of their reserves with credit institutions. The requirement rises to 60% for issuers classified as significant.

The recommended framework would replace those fixed thresholds with minimum reserve percentages in assets maturing within one and five working days.

The recommendation is not yet law. MiCA’s existing reserve requirements remain in force while the European Commission reviews the framework, and no legislative timetable has been identified.

The ESCB’s stated concern is that stablecoin-issuer deposits could make bank funding less stable and more sensitive to market conditions than ordinary retail deposits. That could increase the connection between stablecoin redemption activity and commercial-bank funding conditions.

MiCA allows stablecoins to be issued by credit institutions or electronic-money institutions. Nonbank issuers must use an asset-backed model, while banks generally rely on their balance sheets.

The United Kingdom has taken a different approach for systemic sterling stablecoins. The Bank of England’s framework permits up to 70% of backing assets to be held in short-term U.K. government debt, with the remainder in central-bank deposits. Commercial-bank deposits are excluded from the backing-asset pool because of financial, operational and contagion risks.

The Bank of England’s consultation closed Sept. 22. It plans to finalize its Code of Practice by the end of 2026.