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The silence of the EU does not mean that USDT complies with the MiCA regulations, says the executive
While the implementation phase of MiCA ends on December 30, 2024, there is also a transition phase of 18 months in the total 36-month timeline of MiCA.
The European Union's cryptocurrency regulations will come into effect in a matter of days, but there is still a great deal of uncertainty regarding Tether's USDt stablecoin.
The U.S. cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase removed Tether's USDt from its listing at mid-December, citing compliance with the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA).
After the exclusion of USDT from Coinbase, the stablecoin has continued to be traded across the EU, and many exchanges apparently await more clarity from European authorities regarding USDT's compliance with MiCA.
EU regulators have not stated whether USDt complies with MiCA, but this does not mean that the stablecoin is not considered incompatible in Europe, according to a member of the MiCA Crypto Alliance.
The fate of USDt in Europe: all eyes on the MiCA deadline
"No regulator has explicitly stated that USDT does not comply with the rules, but that does not mean that it does," said Juan Ignacio Ibañez, a member of the Technical Committee of the MiCA Crypto Alliance, to Cointelegraph.
Addressing exchanges like Binance or Crypto.com that continue to trade USDT, Ibañez said there are no reasons for cryptocurrency exchanges to remove USDT from their listings on the same date as Coinbase.
"Coinbase's decision may reflect a proactive approach to avoid last-minute compliance risks or regulatory uncertainty, a precautionary approach," he said.
As the EU's MiCA is expected to come into full effect on December 30, it is likely that there will still be exclusions of USDT in the EU, Ibañez noted, adding.
