If you are planning a euro stablecoin or e-money token (EMT) licence, the EBA's USDC decision on 14 October 2026 is the clearest signal yet of where supervision is heading. USDC became the first significant e-money token under MiCA, and from 12 November 2026 the EBA takes over part of the supervision of its issuer. The practical lesson: choose your home regulator on the assumption that, if you scale, a second supervisor will sit alongside it.
What the EBA decided on USDC
The EBA press release of 14 October 2026 classifies USDC, issued in the EU by Circle Internet Financial Europe SAS, as a significant e-money token. It says there are currently 45 EMTs notified under MiCA, and USDC is the first to be classified as significant.
For this issuer, the split of supervision is as follows. The EBA takes direct responsibility for own funds, the reserve of assets, liquidity requirements, and recovery and redemption plans. The French authority, the ACPR, keeps governance, qualifying holdings, fit and proper assessments, outsourcing and conflicts of interest. The EBA has also signed a memorandum of understanding with the New York State Department of Financial Services to support information exchange.
What does significant EMT status mean for an issuer?
It means dual supervision. Under the MiCA Regulation, significance is assessed against set criteria, and the EBA's procedure is set out in Decision EBA/DC/558. The EBA's supervisory role under MiCA page explains how it carries out that work.
An EMT issuer needs an e-money licence or a credit institution authorisation, so the national regulator you pick still decides your first two years. The prudential and reserve questions are what move to direct EBA oversight once you cross the significance line. Your capital planning, reserve policy and redemption plan should therefore be written to a standard the EBA could examine, not only the standard of your home authority.
What this means for licensing choices
First, home-state choice still matters, but it matters for governance and conduct supervision. Compare how France and other major EMI hubs handle authorisation using the e-money comparison, and check the crypto-side picture in the crypto comparison if you also plan a CASP licence.
Second, treat the redemption plan as a core product document. It is one of the items the EBA now supervises directly for USDC, so any issuer with ambitions to scale should expect that scrutiny to arrive eventually.
Third, only one token has crossed the line so far, out of 45 notified. Most issuers will not face the EBA directly in the near term, but the classification shows the route exists and has now been used. The EBA reviews significance annually, so growth in holders, volumes and reserves can change your position.
What to do before 12 November
Founders should map which supervisory topics sit with the national authority and which could pass to the EBA. Compliance leads should check that reserve reporting and liquidity stress tests are documented consistently, because two supervisors will read the same numbers. Our France crypto page and the reports library track how the wider licensing picture is moving.
Sources
- EBA: USDC classified as the first significant e-money token (14 October 2026)
- EBA Decision EBA/DC/558 on the significance assessment procedure
- EBA: supervisory role under MiCA
- Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 (MiCA), EUR-Lex
This article is for information only and is not legal advice.