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<p>UniCredit director Elena Carletti has warned Europe may struggle to contain a crypto bank crisis under MiCA rules.</p>
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   <li>UniCredit’s Elena Carletti warned Europe lacks tools to backstop crypto-linked deposits the way US regulators did after SVB.</li>
   <li>MiCA pushes stablecoin issuers closer to banks but EU deposit insurance is capped at €100,000.</li>
   <li>Carletti cited Circle’s $3.3 billion stuck at SVB in 2023 as the model risk Europe has not solved.</li>
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<p>UniCredit deputy vice chair Elena Carletti has warned that Europe may struggle to contain a crypto-linked banking shock under MiCA. The Italian bank executive said EU tools are weaker than the US emergency response of 2023.</p>
<p>The comments land as MiCA pulls stablecoin issuers closer to traditional lenders. Carletti, who chairs UniCredit’s board risk committee, <a href="https://www.investing.com/news/economy-news/europe-less-able-than-us-to-contain-cryptobank-shocks-unicredit-director-says-4713801" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">said</a> at an IESE Business School conference in Madrid that the same systemic-risk exception used to guarantee all SVB and Signature deposits “cannot be easily taken in Europe.”</p>
<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="why-mica-creates-a-double-weakness">Why MiCA creates a “double weakness”</h2>
<p>MiCA requires stablecoin issuers, classified as electronic money tokens, to hold reserves in liquid assets including bank deposits and government securities. That ties stablecoin stability directly to bank balance sheets.</p>
<p>You might also like: <a href="https://crypto.news/trezor-adds-usdc-usdt-yield-via-morpho/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow"> Trezor’s Morpho integration unlocks stablecoin yield </a></p>
<p>The link became visible during the March 2023 SVB collapse. Circle, issuer of USDC, disclosed $3.3 billion of reserves stuck at the failed bank, and the stablecoin briefly lost its dollar peg before US regulators guaranteed all deposits.</p>
<p>“The coverage and protection … was given to all deposits, including stablecoin companies, and that also allowed to maintain the stability of the stablecoin,” Carletti said. EU deposit insurance, capped at €100,000, cannot absorb stress from large stablecoin reserve accounts the same way.</p>
<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="what-it-means-for-europe-s-stablecoin-push">What it means for Europe’s stablecoin push</h3>
<p>Carletti’s warning comes as European banks lean further into stablecoins. UniCredit itself is a founding member of Qivalis, the consortium <a href="https://crypto.news/nine-banks-plan-to-launch-a-euro-stablecoin-under-mica/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">planning</a> a MiCA-compliant euro stablecoin for launch in the second half of 2026.</p>
<p>Italy’s Banca Sella, another Qivalis founder, recently <a href="https://crypto.news/banca-sella-crypto-services-win-italy/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">won</a> Bank of Italy approval to offer crypto custody and transfer services under MiCA’s notification route for credit institutions. The full MiCA rollout <a href="https://crypto.news/bitcoin-defi-faces-mica-stress-test-into-july-2026/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">tightens</a> supervision of CASPs, stablecoin issuers and DeFi front-ends by July 2026.</p>
<p>Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino has previously argued MiCA’s 60% uninsured cash reserve requirement could itself trigger systemic risk, echoing Carletti’s concern from the issuer side.</p>
<p>Read more: <a href="https://crypto.news/standard-chartered-says-battered-ethereum-looks-like-amazon-in-2001/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow"> Standard Chartered says battered Ethereum looks like Amazon in 2001 </a></p>

UniCredit warns Europe faces crypto bank crisis

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