Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino rejected the MiCA pathway, specifically citing the regulation's mandate that issuers hold 60% of their reserves in uninsured European bank deposits. Ardoino argued this requirement introduces systemic risk, clashing with Tether’s strategy of backing its $186 billion market cap primarily with U.S. Treasury securities and globally diversified assets. This fundamental disagreement rendered the company’s business model incompatible with European licensing standards.
In section Cryptocurrency
Tether Exits EU Exchanges as MiCA Compliance Deadline Bites
The European Union’s transition to the Markets in Crypto-Assets framework has effectively purged USDT from the bloc’s regulated exchanges. As of July 1, 2026, major platforms like Coinbase, Kraken, and Crypto.com have pulled the world’s largest stablecoin from their order books, marking a definitive split between Tether and European regulators.
While Tether exits the regulated space, Circle has capitalized on the vacuum by securing an Electronic Money Institution license in France. This status allows USDC and EURC to serve as the primary dollar- and euro-pegged assets on licensed European platforms. Despite the delistings, Tether maintains a foothold through its Hadron tokenization platform, which powers local partners like StablR and Oobit to issue compliant stablecoins. Meanwhile, traditional financial heavyweights including BNP Paribas and ING are moving to launch their own regulated alternative, Qivalis, as the broader market adjusts to the rigid new landscape.
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