Overview
- The European Banking Authority announced on October 14 that it has designated USDC, issued by Circle’s EU arm, as the first 'significant' e‑money token under MiCA and will assume core prudential supervision from November 12, 2026.
- From November 12 the EBA will take direct responsibility for USDC’s own funds, reserve assets, liquidity rules, and recovery and redemption plans while France’s ACPR keeps governance, fit‑and‑proper checks, outsourcing and conflict‑of‑interest oversight.
- The EBA has signed a memorandum of understanding with the New York State Department of Financial Services to enable cross‑border information sharing and coordinated supervision of the token issued on both sides of the Atlantic.
- The designation hands EU‑level oversight to the reserves behind a token Circle reported at about $73.3 billion in circulation at the end of June and may affect how EU exchanges and brokers list and present USDC to customers.
- The move applies MiCA’s significance test and starts regular annual reassessments of USDC’s status while the broader MiCA review continues to debate reserve rules, permitted yield on reserves, and cross‑border recognition.