Regulation
Kraken will keep USDT in the EU despite regulatory challenges
Despite regulatory challenges, Krakenone of the largest in the world cryptocurrency exchangeshas no plans to delist Tether USD stable currency (USDT).
On May 19, Mark Greenberg, global head of growth and asset management at Kraken, disclosed the company’s position in a send ON X amid rumors of a possible delisting. Greenberg acknowledged demand for USDT from European clients, saying they would “consider all options” to keep it on the list.
Let’s be clear: @krakenfx continues to list USDT in Europe and we have no plans to delist it at this time.
We know that our European customers value access to USDT and we continue to explore all options for offering USDT under the next regime.
Obviously we will follow all legal regulations…
— Mark Greenberg (@marklg) May 18, 2024
however, the cryptocurrency The executive warned that the company will follow all legal requirements, which have yet to be defined in Europe. Therefore, delisting USDT is still possible in the near future, despite Kraken’s desire to maintain it.
Speculation about the delisting began on May 17, following a Bloomberg report relationship stating that Kraken was “actively reviewing” Tether’s status under MiCa rules.
Kraken plans to relist cryptocurrencies deleted from Germany
Recently, Kraken announced a new partnership with DLT Finance for its operations in Germany. As a result, the company removed dozens of them cryptocurrencies not supported by its new partner, creating uncertainty for the region.
In this regard, Mark Greenberg commented in response to a user, stating that they intend to “relist some of these assets soon.”
We are working hard to get some of these assets back on sale soon. Watch this space!
— Mark Greenberg (@marklg) May 18, 2024
OKX removed Tether’s USDT in Europe due to impending regulation
In March, cryptocurrency exchange OKX removed Tether’s USDT stablecoin for users in the European Union and European Economic Area (EEA), citing a focus on expanding euro-denominated liquidity in the region. OKX limited space cryptocurrency trading TO USDC and euro pairs, while USDT could only be traded against USDC and euro.
However, the exchange said the decision would only impact a small subset of its user base. Furthermore, it has recently expanded its product offering in the EEA by introducing various euro fiat ramps and euro pairs. USDT remained available for EEA-based users to deposit, withdraw and trade on over-the-counter (OTC) markets.
OKX’s move could be a sign of upcoming regulatory challenges for USDT in the region as the European Union prepares to implement its comprehensive digital assets regulatory framework called MiCA later this year.
In particular, the new rules will require stablecoin issuers to be regulated as electronic money institutions, potentially making many stablecoins currently offered in Europe illegal if they are not licensed and regulated as electronic money transmitters. Circle, the issuer behind USDC and EURC, has already taken steps to comply with upcoming regulations by applying for an electronic money institution license in the EU