EBA Names USDC the EU's First Significant E-Money Token Under MiCA
From 12 November 2026 the EBA takes direct supervision of USDC's own funds, reserves, liquidity and recovery and redemption plans, while France's ACPR keeps governance; USDC is the first of 45 notified EMTs to be designated.
By Margaret Liu, Journalist, CBDCs and Regulation
The European Banking Authority (EBA) said on 14 October 2026 that it has classified USDC, issued in the EU by Circle Internet Financial Europe SAS, as a significant e-money token (EMT) under the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA). There are currently 45 EMTs notified under MiCA in the European Union, and USDC is the first to be classified as significant.
The classification is a final EBA decision; the change in supervision takes effect on 12 November 2026. From that date USDC falls under the dual supervision MiCA sets for significant EMTs. Direct supervisory responsibility for own funds, the reserve of assets, liquidity requirements, and recovery and redemption plans moves from France's Autorité de Contrôle Prudentiel et de Résolution (ACPR) to the EBA. The ACPR remains responsible for governance, qualifying holdings, fit-and-proper assessments, outsourcing and conflicts of interest.
Who supervises what from 12 November
Area — Supervisor
Own funds — EBA
Reserve of assets — EBA
Liquidity requirements — EBA
Recovery and redemption plans — EBA
Governance, qualifying holdings, fit and proper, outsourcing, conflicts of interest — ACPR
The EBA said it and the ACPR will work closely together on the transition and on supervisory cooperation afterwards.
The legal basis for the designation
Under MiCA Articles 43 and 56, the EBA is responsible for classifying asset-referenced tokens (ARTs) and EMTs as significant, and it reassesses each year whether tokens should be considered significant or continue to meet the criteria. Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2024/1506 specifies the indicators used in that assessment. Issuers of significant ARTs move under EBA supervision, while issuers of significant EMTs are supervised jointly by the EBA and the relevant national authority under MiCA Article 117.
A supervisory link to New York
USDC is issued in the EU by Circle Internet Financial Europe SAS and in the United States by Circle Internet Financial, LLC. To support supervision of that cross-border activity, the EBA has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) to facilitate cooperation and information exchange between the two authorities. The release does not publish the MoU's terms.
What the first designation shows
USDC is the first live test of MiCA's two-tier regime for e-money tokens. The areas moving to the EBA, reserves, liquidity and redemption planning, are the prudential questions that matter most to holders, and to the banks, payment firms and exchanges that hold or distribute the token in Europe. Governance, ownership and outsourcing oversight stay with the French national supervisor.
The split also means a single dollar stablecoin now has an EU-level prudential supervisor alongside a national one, plus a formal information-sharing channel with its US state regulator. Because the EBA reviews significance annually against the delegated-regulation indicators, other notified EMTs could be added later; the EBA release does not say whether any other token is under assessment.