Lucía Peña
On Friday, cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase announced that it plans to remove non-compliant stablecoins from its platform in the European Union by the year’s end.
In an emailed statement, Coinbase expressed, “In line with our dedication to compliance, we aim to limit services for users in the European Economic Area concerning stablecoins that do not adhere to MiCA regulations by December 30, 2024.”
The Markets in Crypto Assets regulations introduced by the European Union represent the most comprehensive regulatory framework for the blockchain industry thus far. According to these guidelines, stablecoin issuers are required to secure e-money authorization in at least one EU member country and must comply with stringent regulations regarding the assets that back their tokens.
Tether’s USDT, currently the leading stablecoin by market value, has yet to acquire an e-money license, in contrast to its main competitor, Circle. Circle, the issuer of USDC and EURC stablecoins, became the first official Electronic Money Institution in the EU in July. Coinbase has partnered with Circle to issue the USDC stablecoin, which is prominently available on its exchange.
Other exchanges, including Binance, Bitstamp, Kraken, OKX, and Uphold, have already removed Euro Tether’s EURT and USDT tokens since the MiCA regulations began implementation in June, with the rules for stablecoins taking effect on June 30.
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