Kraken is actively evaluating plans that could lead to the removal of support for Tether (USDT), the world's most traded cryptocurrency, from its platform in the European Union.
This comes in line with a new regulatory legislation for digital assets that will be implemented in the EU in July.
Tether USDT, a stablecoin designed to maintain parity with the US dollar, is expected to be affected by upcoming EU regulations known as MiCA. These guidelines of the European Banking Authority, which have not yet been finalized, will impose restrictions on stablecoins offered to investors in member countries.
Marcus Hughes, Kraken's Head of Global Regulatory Strategy, said in a recent interview: “We are certainly planning for all possibilities, including situations where it may not be appropriate to list certain tokens like USDT. This is something we are actively looking at and will be firm on this as the situation becomes clearer.” We can make decisions.”
In response to Kraken's comments, Tether stated that while it expects USDT to remain an option for entering and exiting the market, it expects exchanges to focus on EUR liquidity for European customers.
OKX, one of the world's largest crypto exchanges, modified trading support for USDT in the EU this year and removed the ability to use stablecoins to buy or sell other crypto assets. However, on the exchange, European users can continue to deposit or withdraw USDT assets, conduct over-the-counter transactions, and exchange them for Euros.
European regulators are nearing completion of technical guidance for MiCA, which is expected to be fully implemented by 2025.
“This is an evolving picture. What we are clear about is that it is not possible to present the scope of the type and number of stablecoins offered in Europe today going forward,” Hughes said. said.
*This is not investment advice.