Tether, the issuer of the USDT stablecoin, is facing significant challenges in Europe due to new regulations established by the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA), which will come into full force on December 30, 2024. MiCA requires stablecoin issuers to obtain authorization as electronic money institutions in at least one European Union member state. Tether has not yet met these requirements, which puts USDT at risk of being delisted from trading platforms in the region.

In response to these regulations, some exchanges have already taken action. Coinbase, for example, announced that it will remove USDT from its platform for European customers starting December 13, 2024, in order to comply with MiCA requirements. However, other exchanges such as Binance, Crypto.com, and Kraken continue to support USDT on their European platforms, at least for now.

Tether is aware of these challenges and is looking for solutions to prevent its stablecoin from being delisted from exchanges once MiCA comes into effect. However, until concrete measures are implemented, there is a possibility that USDT will be removed from some platforms in Europe, depending on how exchanges and Tether itself adapt to the new regulations.

For a more detailed analysis of the impact of MiCA on USDT and European exchanges, you can continue this research from this post.