Stablecoin Giants Must Play by Stricter Rules — MiCA (art 58) Demands It
- BECTRA
- Apr 15
- 2 min read
Since January 2025, if you’re a major issuer of stablecoins — officially labeled as a “significant” issuer — you are now operating under a tightened regulatory framework that leaves zero room for approximation.
Your mission is clear: preserve liquidity, ensure price stability, and guarantee transparency.You’re now under the direct scrutiny of the European Banking Authority (EBA) and your national regulator.And in this game, one misstep could cost you dearly.
Asset Reserves: Your First Line of Defense
Objective: Ensure that your tokens can always be redeemed at face value, with no delays and no surprises.
To achieve this, your reserves must:
Fully cover market and redemption risks,
Be kept entirely separate from your other assets, and managed on a per-token basis,
Be backed by a transparent and formalized stabilization policy.
Additional requirement:
A biannual audit conducted by an independent auditor,➤ Sent to the EBA,➤ Then published publicly for consultation.
Reserve Safekeeping: Rigor, Traceability & Immediate Access
⏱ Deadline : Within five business days following the issuance of a stablecoin, the associated reserves must be transferred to an external custodian, independent from your own entity.
As issuer, you must ensure that:
The assets cannot be pledged, nor used as collateral in any loan contract.
Asset safekeeping depends on the asset type:
🧱 Asset Type | 📋 Safekeeping Method |
💶 Cash (fiat) | Held in dedicated bank accounts |
📈 Securities | Recorded in the books of a financial institution or held physically |
🔐 Crypto-assets | Stored by a licensed PSCA (Crypto Asset Service Provider), either as full custody or via secured private keys |
📁 Other assets | Must be clearly identified and logged in a dedicated bank ledger |
Reserves must remain readily accessible for immediate tokenholder redemption.
You must avoid concentration risk:
Do not entrust all assets to a single custodian,
Do not allocate excessively to a single asset class.
In case of losses:
The custodian must compensate or return equivalent assets — unless they can prove that the loss resulted from a verifiable force majeure.
Investing Reserves ? Yes — But With Caution
MiCA allows issuers to invest their reserves, but only under strict conditions:
Permitted investments:
Assets must be:
Highly liquid,
Carry low market, credit, and concentration risk,
Be easily sellable without significant price impact.
Examples:
High-quality sovereign bonds,
Secured time deposits,
Money market funds fully compliant with EBA guidelines (e.g., UCITS-compliant MMFs).
⚠️ One crucial reminder:
You retain full responsibility for any losses, returns, or operational incidents tied to these investments.
In Summary: Compliance or Consequences
Being a “significant” issuer is no longer just a label.It’s a full-fledged regulatory status that demands:
Solid governance,
Impeccable transparency,
Daily accounting and legal rigor.
Trust is the only truly stable currency. And how you manage your reserves is its strongest guarantee.
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