Overview
- UniCredit deputy vice chair Elena Carletti warned on Thursday that Europe likely cannot replicate the blanket deposit guarantees U.S. authorities used after the 2023 Silicon Valley Bank collapse.
- The EU’s Markets in Crypto‑Assets rules force certain stablecoin issuers to hold reserves as bank deposits or similar low‑risk assets, creating direct balance‑sheet links between stablecoins and lenders.
- EU deposit insurance typically covers up to €100,000 per depositor, a level Carletti said could be insufficient if very large on‑chain reserve accounts face runs.
- Industry plans for euro stablecoins continue to advance with bank consortia such as Qivalis now planning a MiCA‑compliant token for the second half of 2026, a rollout that regulators and bankers say increases on‑chain euro liquidity while leaving backstops unresolved.
- The 2023 episode in which Circle disclosed $3.3 billion of USDC reserves at SVB is cited as a model for the risk; policymakers, the ECB, and banks face a choice between keeping strict reserve rules or creating stronger crisis tools to limit contagion.