Data from Circle’s EU strategy and policy director, Patrick Hansen, highlights the reality of the bloc’s regulatory adoption: only three of the world’s 30 largest stablecoins currently comply with the MiCA framework. All three - USDC, USDG, and EURC - are Circle-affiliated products or derivatives.
While EU authorities have authorized around 30 electronic money tokens, the regulatory umbrella has yet to cover the majority of dominant assets in the global market. Responding to this gap, Circle submitted a policy review document on October 1, 2026, urging changes in three regulatory areas: reserve assets, cross-border issuance, and foreign stablecoin recognition.
Reserve Rules Becoming a Burden
Circle’s primary objection lies in institutional asset placement requirements. Draft MiCA regulations mandate that token issuers hold at least 30% of their reserve assets in commercial bank deposits. This placement requirement doubles to 60% for significant token issuers.
Circle is asking policymakers to shift from the rigid percentage requirement to benchmarks evaluated purely on asset liquidity. Current rules also impose strict deposit concentration limits. Issuers are prohibited from placing deposits exceeding 1.5% of a depository bank’s total assets and face a 35% exposure limit for a single sovereign issuer. These layers of rules create new operational hurdles: major issuers would be forced to spread funds and manage relationships with dozens of banks simultaneously just to satisfy listing quotas.
Proposing a Foreign Regulatory Pathway
As a solution for stablecoins entering from outside the continent, Circle proposed establishing a dedicated recognition pathway. Foreign crypto assets would simply be distributed through licensed European intermediaries, while primary supervisory responsibility remains with home-country authorities. Circle cited Section 18 of the U.S. GENIUS Act as an ideal framework model for recognizing foreign issuers.
At the same time, Circle’s homegrown European products continue to expand. The circulating supply of EURC, issued through Circle’s licensed French electronic money institution, reached 400 million euros in August 2026 - more than doubling compared to the same period the previous year.
Spreading to the Derivatives Sector
The Hyperliquid Policy Center also capitalized on the MiCA review agenda to demand clarity on the status of perpetual futures contracts. The policy group urged that legacy financial regulation MiFID II continue to govern derivatives, regardless of the underlying blockchain technology.
Reported by crypto.news.
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Disclaimer: This article is for informational and educational purposes only, not financial advice. Cryptocurrency assets are highly volatile and carry significant risk. Always do your own research (DYOR) and never invest more than you can afford to lose.
