ECB Wants to Scrap MiCA Rule After Tether Refusal
The ECB and national central banks want Brussels to scrap the 60% bank deposit rule for stablecoin reserves. The debate directly affects Tether, USDT, and the further rollout of MiCA.
Key Takeaways
- The ECB and all EU central banks want to scrap a MiCA rule that requires large stablecoin issuers to keep 60% of reserves at commercial banks.
- Tether did not apply for an EU license under that condition and said the requirement makes tokens less safe for consumers and issuers.
- The central banks fear that large stablecoin redemptions could pull money away from lenders and want more reserves in highly liquid assets.
The European Central Bank and the central banks of all 27 EU member states want Brussels to scrap a MiCA rule for stablecoin reserves. That rule requires large issuers to keep 60% of those reserves at commercial banks. Tether had already refused an EU license under exactly that condition.
What the Central Banks Want
The call is part of the ongoing review of MiCA, the European rulebook for crypto. According to the European System of Central Banks, money that moves with the issuing and redeeming of tokens is not stable deposit money. The banks warn that large redemptions over a short period could pull money away from lenders.
That is why they want a minimum share of reserves to be held in highly liquid assets with a maturity of one to five business days. Reserves are the cash and bonds an issuer holds to back every token sold. The ECB has also warned before that the growth of euro stablecoins could affect bank lending. That ties into the broader European debate over the lag in euro stablecoins, where MiCA is seen as a possible driver of more euro activity.
Why Tether Walked Away
Under MiCA, there is a 30% bank deposit threshold for regular issuers. For so-called significant issuers, that rises to 60%. Tether, the issuer of USDT, the largest stablecoin, never applied for that license.
CEO Paolo Ardoino said back in 2024 that this requirement actually makes tokens less safe. According to him, the European deposit guarantee stops at 100,000 euros, which means a large part of the reserves still falls outside that protection. He also said at the time that Tether might come back if MiCA becomes safer for consumers and issuers.
So the two sides are looking at the same risk from different angles. Ardoino wants to protect the token from banks. The central banks want to protect banks from the token. Revolut already stopped USDT for European customers this year, while the European Commission consultation closes on September 30.
Why This Matters for Europe
For European crypto users, this shows that MiCA is not yet a final endpoint, but a work in progress. The debate is not only about stablecoins themselves, but also about how much risk banks should take on when large tokens are issued or redeemed quickly. The ECB has also raised broader concerns about the impact of euro stablecoins on the government bond market, which could further increase political pressure around these rules.
