Circle’s European USDC issuer will come under European Banking Authority supervision for reserves, liquidity, and capital from Nov. 12 after the regulator classified the dollar stablecoin as a significant e-money token under the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation, or MiCA.
The EBA disclosed the decision on Oct. 14. It said 45 e-money tokens have been notified under MiCA across the bloc, and USDC is the first to be designated significant. The authority did not say which of MiCA’s significance tests USDC met, and it gave no figures on the token’s size. The EBA reviews each classification once a year.
How supervision will be split
USDC’s EU issuer is Circle Internet Financial Europe SAS, which holds an electronic money institution license from France’s banking and insurance supervisor, the Autorité de Contrôle Prudentiel et de Résolution, or ACPR.
Circle, which went public in June 2025, said in July 2024 that the French license made it the first global stablecoin issuer to comply with MiCA.
Under MiCA’s dual-supervision framework for significant e-money tokens, the EBA will oversee the issuer’s capital requirements, asset reserves, liquidity, and its recovery and redemption plans. The ACPR will remain responsible for governance, qualifying holdings, fit-and-proper checks, outsourcing, and conflicts of interest.
The EBA said the two supervisors will work closely together to ensure a smooth transition and effective supervisory cooperation.
U.S. issuance and cross-border coordination
In the United States, USDC is issued by Circle Internet Financial, LLC.
The EBA also pointed to a memorandum of understanding signed with the New York State Department of Financial Services for sharing information on cross-border stablecoin activity. That agreement was made public in June.
Circle’s earlier comments on reserve rules
The classification came two weeks after Circle filed its response to the European Commission’s review of MiCA. In an Oct. 1 post, Circle said MiCA requires e-money token issuers to keep at least 30% of reserves in commercial bank deposits. For issuers of significant tokens, that floor rises to 60%.
Circle said the deposit requirement increases exposure to credit risk and counterparty risk in the banking sector, and supported replacing it with a looser liquidity standard.
The EBA’s release did not address that deposit requirement. As of publication, Circle had not published a statement on the classification.