Coinbase is restricting European users from trading some stablecoins, such as Tether, in order to meet MiCA regulatory requirements.
Starting December 13, Coinbase Europe will take down a range of stablecoin tokens, including Tether, the largest fiat-pegged coin in the crypto space, in order to comply with the broader rules set out by the Marketplace Crypto Assets (MiCA) framework.
Coinbase will also prohibit trading in stablecoins such as PAX, PYUSD, GUSD, GYEN, and Maker’s (now known as Sky) DAI, which are categorized as non-MiCA compliant.
Notably, the crypto exchange will continue to support trading of Circle stablecoin and EURC, which has previously been licensed as a European stablecoin, the first under the new MiCA law, Coinbase added, adding that Tether and the other stablecoins that were taken offline may be relisted if they meet the MiCA compliance requirements at a later date.
At press time, Tether had not publicly responded to the takedown notice. crypto.news sent a request for comment that was unanswered at the time of reporting.
Observers have been discussing Tether’s fate in the European market for months, as MiCA is expected to come into full effect at the end of December. Previously, Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino had said that the company intended to continue to serve EU users. However, details of the plan are scarce, and it’s unclear whether Tether will exit Europe by 2025, and Ardoino noted in August that MiCA could put the stablecoin at risk.
Tether is the world’s largest stablecoin operator, with a market capitalization and liquidity of $140 billion. While the European Union is a major economy, much of Tether’s business is concentrated in emerging markets such as Latin America and Southeast Asia.
The company has posted record profits so far this year and has invested some of its earnings into bitcoin, mining facilities and data centers. In addition, Tether’s holdings of U.S. Treasuries are expected to make it one of the main beneficiaries of the U.S. stablecoin policy. However, Tether has yet to clearly disclose a specific strategy for expanding its business stateside.
Author’s Note
Algorand Foundation @AlgoFoundation
As you can see (ICYMI): as of today, @coinbase is notifying European users that restrictions will be put in place for stablecoins that do not meet MiCA requirements 🇪🇺
On #Algorand, there are two options that fully meet MiCAR compliance requirements and are legally available to 450 million people in the European Economic Area (EEA):
1️⃣ $USDCa from @circle
Algorand among the few non-EVM chains selected by @circle to natively support USDC.
$USDCa offers instant transaction finality and very low fixed fees, and is supported on all major centralized exchanges (CEX).
2️⃣ $EURD from @Quantoz
Quantoz is one of the few crypto companies in Europe with an EMI license to legally issue e-currencies in Europe.
@Quantoz is fully regulated by the Dutch Central Bank, which is one of the most demanding central banks in Europe!
$EURD is more than just a regular stablecoin, it is an EMT, which means that it has no volatility whatsoever (1 $EURD is always equal to 1 Euro).
It’s a truly digital, programmable euro, exclusively available on $ALGO and has been endorsed by the Dutch central bank as suitable for supporting the digital euro 💶
