ECB Chief Lagarde Calls for Stricter Rules on Non-EU Stablecoin Issuers to Close MiCA Gaps
European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde known as for stricter laws on non-EU stablecoin issuers to shut harmful gaps within the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) framework that would set off liquidity crises.
Speaking on the European Systemic Risk Board convention, Lagarde warned that multi-issuance schemes permit EU and non-EU entities to collectively problem fungible stablecoins whereas solely EU operations face regulatory necessities.
Euro Stablecoins Struggle as Dollar Dominates Global Markets
The warning comes as euro-backed stablecoins seize merely 0.15% of the $230 billion international market, with USD-pegged tokens accounting for 99% of stablecoin capitalization.

ECB advisor Jürgen Schaaf had previously cautioned that widespread adoption of greenback stablecoins may weaken European financial management and monetary sovereignty.
Lagarde recognized vital vulnerabilities within the present MiCA implementation, the place traders would naturally favor to redeem stablecoins in jurisdictions with the strongest safeguards throughout disaster intervals.
EU-held reserves could show inadequate to meet concentrated redemption demand, which creates systemic dangers harking back to conventional banking liquidity mismatches.
The ECB chief demanded European laws guarantee multi-issuance schemes can’t function with out sturdy equivalence regimes in different jurisdictions and safeguards for asset transfers between EU and non-EU entities.
Her intervention follows mounting stress to speed up digital euro development after the United States’ complete stablecoin laws, the GENIUS Act.
MiCA Loopholes Create “Path of Least Resistance” for Financial Risk
Lagarde used a submarine metaphor to emphasize how monetary dangers search the simplest routes by way of regulatory gaps, no matter technological innovation.
“Without a degree international taking part in area, dangers will at all times search the trail of least resistance,” she acknowledged on the Frankfurt convention.
The particular vulnerability entails multi-issuance preparations the place EU-licensed entities and offshore companions collectively problem interchangeable stablecoins.
MiCA requirements apply only to European operations, leading to uneven regulatory protection inside single-token techniques.
During market stress, traders would logically focus redemption requests in EU jurisdictions the place MiCA prohibits redemption charges and mandates par worth redemptions.
However, Lagarde highlighted that reserve allocation could not match this redemption movement sample, doubtlessly triggering liquidity shortfalls.
Banking teams already face consolidated liquidity necessities that guarantee reserve availability throughout all operational ranges by way of web steady funding ratios and liquidity protection requirements.
Stablecoin multi-issuance schemes will replicate similar dangers with out equal regulatory oversight.
The European Commission beforehand clarified that corporations may deal with tokens as fungible throughout jurisdictions if EU-licensed entities take part.
However, the ECB warned that this method dangers undermining EU strategic autonomy by permitting non-EU redemption stress to drain European reserves.
Lagarde emphasised that regulatory rules stay fixed regardless of technological evolution.
“The classes of threat they create will not be new. They are dangers lengthy acquainted to supervisors and regulators,” she famous concerning stablecoin improvements.
Digital Euro Acceleration Targets US Stablecoin Dominance Challenge
European officers accelerated digital euro planning after Trump signed the GENIUS Act, establishing complete greenback stablecoin laws.
The swift US motion unsettled EU policymakers who had pursued extra cautious growth approaches for their central financial institution digital forex challenge.
Current debates heart on whether or not digital euros should operate on public blockchains, similar to Ethereum, or personal, ECB-controlled ledgers.
Public blockchain advocates argue for broader circulation prospects, whereas critics cite issues about privateness and transaction publicity dangers.
Some policymakers imagine that open blockchain digital euros may strengthen the forex’s attain past European borders.
At the present velocity of progress, greenback stablecoin integration into mainstream cost techniques by Visa and Mastercard already threatens European monetary management.
Major US retailers, together with Walmart and Amazon, are exploring stablecoin adoption for high-volume transactions, which implies some cost flows could happen exterior conventional banking infrastructure.
Notably, Deutsche Bank, Galaxy Digital, and Flow Traders launched EURAU as Europe’s first MiCA-compliant euro stablecoin. However, its affect stays minimal given present market scale disparities.
Lagarde concluded that worldwide cooperation stays indispensable for efficient regulation whereas sustaining that conventional threat administration rules can tackle rising challenges by way of up to date utility strategies.
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ECB advisor warns Europe dangers dropping financial sovereignty as euro-denominated stablecoins seize simply 0.15% of $230 billion international stablecoin market.
European officers are fast-tracking the digital euro, weighing Ethereum or Solana, as stress mounts to hold tempo with US progress in digital currencies.