Crypto.com Delists 10 Tokens, Including USDT, in Europe Amid MiCA Regulations

Crypto.com, a leading global cryptocurrency exchange, has announced its decision to delist Tether's USDT stablecoin and nine other tokens in Europe, effective January 31, 2025. This move is in response to the enforcement of the European Union's Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework, which has led to stricter regulations for cryptocurrencies in the region.

Tether, the operator of the USDT stablecoin, has expressed disappointment over the developments in Europe, stating that the actions taken by exchanges like Crypto.com are rushed and lack clarity. The company fears that these changes will lead to further risks being placed on consumers in the EU and create a disorderly market at a time when MiCA is still in its early stages of implementation.

The delisting process by Crypto.com will affect a total of 10 tokens, including Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) and the Dai (DAI) stablecoin. Coinbase, another major exchange, had previously delisted USDT in December 2024 and has since delisted a total of eight tokens to comply with MiCA regulations.

Tether has reiterated that MiCA poses negative implications for stablecoins licensed in the EU, making their operation more complex and potentially introducing new risks. The company has also highlighted the differences in stablecoin use cases between Europe and emerging markets, where USDT is extremely popular. Despite these challenges, Tether remains committed to ensuring compliance with evolving regulations while introducing groundbreaking technologies such as Hadron and investments in transformative projects like Quantor, designed to be MiCA compliant.

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has pushed European crypto asset service providers (CASP) to start complying with MiCA by the end of January 2025. While still allowing the listing of non-compliant stablecoins in sell mode until March 31, 2025, the regulator has asked CASPs to completely restrict non-compliant stablecoins by the end of the first quarter of 2025.