EU Banking Regulator Grants USDC 'Significant' Status Under MiCA Crypto Rules

The European Banking Authority has designated Circle's USDC stablecoin as a significant e-money token under the bloc's Markets in Crypto Assets framework, making it the first of 45 notified stablecoins in the region to receive the label.

In a notice published Wednesday, the regulator said the classification means USDC, the second-largest stablecoin by market value at roughly $73 billion, will fall under direct EBA oversight starting Nov. 12. The Paris-based Autorité de Contrôle Prudentiel et de Résolution, France's banking and insurance supervisor, will share supervisory duties.

The dual supervision structure assigns specific responsibilities to each authority. The EBA will directly oversee USDC's own funds, reserve assets, liquidity requirements, and recovery and redemption plans. The French authority retains responsibility for governance, qualifying holdings, fit-and-proper assessments, outsourcing, and conflicts of interest.

The designation comes as European policymakers grapple with how to handle dollar-pegged stablecoins, which dominate the market despite the bloc's push for euro-denominated alternatives. Tether USDt remains the largest stablecoin with a market capitalization of about $184 billion, more than double USDC's.