Major cryptocurrency exchanges licensed to operate in Europe continue to change their stablecoin listing policies as they prepare for the full regulatory requirements for stablecoin issuers under Europe’s MiCA bill.
Crypto exchange Uphold notified its European users that it’ll end support for six popular stablecoins from July 1 this year. The decision was made due to the requirements of the new EU legislation.
In particular, the exchange decided to stop supporting the following stablecoins ultimately:
- Tether (USDT);
- TrueUSD (TUSD);
- Dai (DAI);
- Frax (FRAX);
- Gemini Dollar (GUSD);
- Pax Dollar (USDP).
That said, Uphold users will still be able to use Circle’s USDC and PayPal’s PYUSD, as well as the euro-pegged stablecoin EURS. Users who received the notice must transfer their assets from the exchange’s accounts by June 27. All stablecoins from the list that remain in users’ accounts will be automatically converted to USDC on June 28.
Other major crypto exchanges took steps to adapt to the new regulatory requirements. Binance, for example, didn’t delist assets but divided them into categories, i.e., “Regulated Stablecoins” and “Unauthorized Stablecoins.” The assets that fall into the second category will be available to users from Europe only in a “sell-only” mode. Spot trading with such assets will remain available on the platform for the time being, as will the storage of “Unauthorized Stablecoins” on the crypto exchange’s accounts. However, Binance representatives warned of possible changes.
In March, crypto exchange OKX warned its users that it would no longer support USDT trading pairs in Europe, citing EU regulatory requirements. At the same time, it was announced that Kraken was planning to stop supporting USDT on European platforms. Nonetheless, Mark Greenberg, Global Head of Asset Growth & Management at Kraken, denied these rumors, claiming that the company is evaluating the possibility of supporting Tether’s stablecoin in the region after the MiCA bill comes into force.
The MiCA bill was approved by members of the European Parliament in 2023. The new regulatory rules for stablecoins will come into effect in the European Economic Area on June 30. Therefore, crypto exchanges are rushing to bring their platforms into compliance with the new EU laws.
The new EU regulations require stablecoin issuers to meet strict requirements. In particular, their assets must be fully collateralized, and the issuing company must have a European license to operate as a credit institution or an Electronic Money Institution (EMI) service provider. However, under MiCA, the use of algorithmic stablecoins is completely prohibited in the EU.
Moreover, the European Banking Authority (EBA) recently unveiled new requirements for asset-referenced token (ART) and electronic money token (EMT) issuers.
