The EBA responds to Commission’s proposed changes to the technical standards on liquidity requirements of the reserve of assets under MiCA

The European Banking Authority (EBA) today published two Opinions in response to the European Commission's (EC) amendments relating to the draft Regulatory Technical Standards (RTS) specifying the composition and liquidity requirements of the reserve of assets under the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA). The EBA considers that the EC's proposed substantive amendments are not consistent with the prudential framework established by MiCA.

On 28 August 2025, the EC informed the EBA of its intention to endorse, with amendments, the draft RTS specifying the highly liquid financial instruments (HLFI) with minimal market, credit and concentration risk, and the liquidity requirements of the reserve of assets under MiCA.

The EC's amendments could be interpreted as allowing investments of issuance proceeds into non-highly liquid financial instruments (non-HLFI such, as commodities or crypto-assets), classifying all money market funds as HLFI while relaxing concentration and look-through limits, and removing undertakings for collective investment in transferable securities concentration rules. While supporting the proposed drafting clarifications, the EBA considers these substantive amendments inconsistent with Articles 36(1)(b) and 38(1) under MiCA, as they would introduce material liquidity risk, weaken alignment with the banking liquidity framework, and open scope for regulatory arbitrage.

With the publication of these two Opinions, the EBA reaffirms its close scrutiny of the implementation of the MiCA prudential framework for asset-referenced and e-money tokens, in particular regarding the liquidity, credit and concentration risks of the reserve of assets and their implications for financial stability.

Legal basis

This Opinion is based on Article 10(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1093/2010, which requires the EBA to submit its response in the form of an opinion to amendments to draft regulatory technical standards (RTS) proposed by the European Commission.

On 13 June 2024, the EBA submitted its final draft RTS to the EC and on 28 August 2025, the EC sent a letter to the EBA about its intention to endorse the RTS with amendments and submitted a modified version of the RTS. The opinion constitutes the EBA's response to the EC.