Elena Carletti, deputy vice chair of UniCredit, has cautioned that Europe lacks the emergency measures the United States used to contain a crypto-related banking crisis. Speaking at an IESE Business School conference in Madrid, Carletti noted that the systemic-risk exception that allowed US regulators to insure all deposits at Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank cannot be easily replicated in Europe under current rules. Her assessment follows the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework, which pushes stablecoin issuers closer to traditional banking by requiring them to hold reserves in bank deposits and government bonds. This linkage creates what she calls a “double weakness,” tying the stability of stablecoins directly to the health of banks.
The risks became clear during the 2023 collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, when Circle, the issuer of USDC, reported $3.3 billion in reserves trapped at the failing lender. USDC briefly lost its dollar peg until federal authorities guaranteed all deposits, including those from crypto firms. Carletti warned that European deposit insurance, capped at €100,000, cannot cover such large stablecoin reserve accounts, leaving the system vulnerable. Her comments arrive as European banks embrace stablecoins. UniCredit is a founding member of the Qivalis consortium, which aims to launch a MiCA-compliant euro stablecoin in the second half of 2026. Italy’s Banca Sella, another Qivalis member, recently received regulatory approval to offer crypto custody and transfer services. Carletti’s warning echoes earlier concerns from Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino, who argued that MiCA’s 60% uninsured cash reserve requirement might itself create systemic risk. With MiCA’s full enforcement deadline set for July 2026, the debate over Europe’s ability to handle a crypto bank crisis is intensifying.