Kraken plans to delist USDT due to EU encryption bill MiCA?
"Bloomberg" recently reported that Kraken, a cryptocurrency exchange established for more than ten years, is actively reviewing its development plans due to the EU's "Crypto Asset Market Act" (MiCA), which includes the "possible" removal of support for the largest U.S. dollar stablecoin. USDT support. However, one of the Kraken executives also publicly clarified that there are currently no plans to delist the USDT trading pair.
MiCA's regulations on stablecoins will take effect as soon as July 2024. The regulations stipulate that only electronic money institutions (EMIs) and credit institutions can issue stablecoins.
Marcus, head of global regulatory strategy at Kraken. Marcus Hughes told Bloomberg that the new regulations will reduce the number and currencies of stablecoins available in Europe, and it will depend on which companies comply with the EU's system.
"We are certainly preparing for all possible situations, including the inability to continue to list tokens such as USDT." Hughes added that this is something Kraken is actively reviewing, and as regulations or the overall situation becomes clearer, the company will be able to Make clear decisions.
However, Mark., Kraken’s global head of asset growth and management business. Mark Greenberg recently posted on the X platform to clarify that Kraken will continue to list USDT in Europe and has no plans to delist it now.
“We understand that European customers value the use of USDT and will continue to consider all options related to offering USDT under the new system in the future. Even if we are not satisfied with certain regulations, we will still comply with all legal requirements. However, these rules have not yet been finalized and we Every effort will continue to be made to provide all relevant stablecoins to our European customers,” Greenberg wrote.
Concerns about the MiCA Act
In an interview with Bloomberg, Tether, the issuer of USDT, stated that the company expects exchanges to reserve USDT trading pairs for European customers as a solution for entering and exiting funds.
A Tether spokesperson also stated that company CEO Paul. Paolo Ardoino expressed concerns about MiCA regulations and said Tether would continue to dialogue with regulators. Ardoino also revealed in an interview with foreign media "The Big Whale" in April that Tether has no plans to accept the supervision of MiCA regulations in the near future.
MiCA regulations. Issuers of fiat stablecoins must comply with the existing EU Electronic Money Directive. Starting in July 2024, issuers will need to maintain sufficient reserves to meet large-scale withdrawal requests. In addition, larger stablecoins will also need to set transaction limit limits.
In fact, many cryptocurrency exchanges have also taken adjustment measures due to MiCA regulations. For example, OKX delisted Tether’s USDT for EU users in March, but continued to support Circle’s USDC, a stablecoin issuer that values regulations. In order to operate legally in France, Circle also applied for electronic currency institution and digital asset service provider licenses from the French Prudential Authority and the French Financial Market Authority in March this year.
In addition, Marina. Marina Parthuisot said in September 2023 that she planned to remove stablecoins from the European market by June 2024. At that time, Binance founder CZ(CZ) stated on X that Patuiso’s meaning had been taken out of context. In fact, the company had several partners that had launched the euro and other stablecoins in a fully compliant manner.
Source: Bloomberg , CryptoSlate
