Kraken considers delisting USDT in Europe due to MiCA rules News ▸ EU ▸ Regulation
Kraken considers delisting USDT in Europe due to MiCA rules
Kraken's global head of regulatory strategy said listing Tether's stablecoin is potentially 'untenable.'
2 min read
Updated: May. 18, 2024 at 12:16 am UTC
Cover art/illustration via CryptoSlate. Image includes combined content which may include AI-generated content.
Kraken could drop EU support for Tether’s USDT stablecoin, Bloomberg reported on May 17.
Kraken Global Head of Regulatory Strategy Marcus Hughes said the company is planning for circumstances in which it is “not tenable to list specific tokens such as USDT.”
The EU’s regulatory landscape is set to change when the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) guidance comes into effect in July. MiCA will require companies that issue fiat-backed stablecoins, such as Tether, to register as electronic money institutions (EMIs) and meet other requirements.
Hughes said that new regulations will reduce the number and varieties of stablecoins available in Europe depending on which firms comply with the EU’s regime.
Other statements do not describe delisting. In a separate report from The Block, a Kraken spokesperson said that the firm continually examines its global strategy and operations for compliance but has “no current plans to delist Tether or alter [its] USDT trading pairs.”
EU regulatory concerns
Tether told Bloomberg that it expects exchanges to maintain USDT as an on-ramp and off-ramp while providing EUR liquidity for European customers.
Tether also referred to the concerns of its CTO, Paolo Ardoino, in its statement. Ardoino criticized the MiCA’s “strong constraints” around reserve management and said the company does not have plans to gain regulatory approval in the EU “for the moment.”
Other crypto exchanges have also made similar moves in recent months in anticipation of MiCA. OKX delisted Tether for EU users in March but did not directly cite the upcoming regulations. The company said it would continue to support Circle’s competing USDC stablecoin.
Elsewhere, Binance France’s head of legal, Marina Parthuisot, said in September 2023 said the company could delist “all stablecoins in Europe on June 30.”
Binance’s then-CEO, Changpeng Zhao, later said this was taken out of context and that the firm had partnered with compliant stablecoins issuers.
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Author 
Mike Dalton
Before transitioning to crypto writing in 2018, Mike studied library and information sciences. Currently, he resides on Canada's West Coast.
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Launched in 2014, Tether is a blockchain-enabled platform designed to facilitate the use of fiat currencies in a digital manner.
Kraken
Kraken is a San Francisco-based digital asset exchange in euro volume and liquidity that trades various currencies, including Canadian dollars, US dollars, British pounds, and Japanese yen.
Binance
Binance is a global cryptocurrency exchange that provides a platform for trading more than 100 cryptocurrencies.
OKX
OKX is a world-leading digital asset exchange, providing advanced financial services to global traders by using blockchain technology.
Changpeng Zhao, popularly known as “CZ,” is a notable figure in the cryptocurrency world, primarily for founding and leading Binance, the world’s leading cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume.
