Netherlands-based technology firm, Quantoz Payments announced on Monday that it will begin issuing USDQ and EURQ, two stablecoins designed to be MiCA compliant.
The Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) is a piece of legislation in the European Union (EU) that aims to establish a comprehensive regulatory framework for the crypto market. It seeks to ensure consumer protection, market integrity, and financial stability within the crypto sector.
Quantoz holds an Electronic Money Institution (EMI) license backed by the Dutch Central Bank with USDQ and EURQ issued as E-Money Tokens (EMTs) on Ethereum. The stablecoins will be used to facilitate U.S. Dollar and Euro transfers and payments in secondary markets as well as transfers across digital asset and crypto exchanges.
USDQ and EURQ will officially open for trading on Thursday, Nov. 21 on Bitfinex and Kraken exchanges.
Arnoud Star Busmann, Quantoz Payments CEO, said:
The MiCA regulation brings a new level of trust to digital assets markets, not least through its prudential requirements on the issuers of stablecoins. As the world of payments becomes more digital, having well-regulated, transparent, and fully backed stablecoins is critical to enabling faster, cheaper, and more secure settlement.
Quantoz received investments from a group of investors including Fabric Ventures, Kraken and Tether, with Tether likely seeing this as a strategic move, if it doesn’t receive a MiCA license for USDT.
Paolo Ardoino, CEO of Tether commented, “Our support for Quantoz highlights Tether’s commitment to fostering innovative and regulated solutions within the digital asset landscape.”
The entire amount of EURQ and USDQ in circulation is backed 1-to-1 by highly liquid financial instruments like government bonds and fiat reserves. Under MiCA regulation, Quantoz’s will hold 2% of the stablecoins on its balance sheet in addition to keeping 100% reserves to fully back all circulating assets.