CEO says Tether is ‘concerned’ by EU’s ‘problematic’ MiCA stablecoin requirement.

“Tether has been actively participating in regulatory technical standards consultations over the past few months, and we remain concerned that MiCA contains several problematic requirements,” Ardoino told The Block. “These requirements would not only make the job of stablecoin issuers extremely complex, but would also make EU-licensed stablecoins extremely vulnerable and risky to operate. As with any regulatory framework of this scale, there is a strong need for technical implementation standards. “Further discussions are important to provide clarity,” he added.

On Monday, Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, They said it starts from June 30th., access to “unsanctioned” stablecoins is restricted. The company did not mention Tether’s USDT stablecoin in its announcement. that much World’s largest in terms of distribution volumebut it is It is still unclear whether MiCA will impact Europeans’ access to stablecoins.

Binance CEO Richard Teng said: Monday in X Post “Binance will not remove unauthorized stablecoins. dot However, we will limit availability to (European) users only for certain products,” he said, adding, “Updates on regulated stablecoins will be shared soon.”

While Binance said will be It has begun restricting access to “unsanctioned” stablecoins, and rival exchanges OKX and Kraken have also done so. existence The potential impact of MiCA had to be considered. As of last month, Kraken was ‘actively considering’ whether to delist USDT. according to the report. In March OKX announced that it is discontinuing support for USDT trading pairs in Europe. previously reported.

Binance appeared to acknowledge on Monday that the upcoming regulations could cause difficulties. “There are currently few regulated stablecoins with limited liquidity that may not be sufficient to support sudden demand across the industry,” the exchange said. blog post.

Questions about reserves

In April Ardoino posted to

“Uninsured cash deposits are not a good idea,” he added. “We need to learn from what happened with Silicon Valley Bank and another major US stablecoin. If the bank goes bankrupt, so will your uninsured cash. Stablecoins should be able to maintain 100% of their reserves in government bonds, rather than being exposed to bank failures that maintain large amounts of reserves in uninsured cash deposits. If the bank fails, the securities are returned to their rightful owners.”

that much plurality According to a notarization announced last month, the U.S. Treasury supported approximately $110 billion of USDt in circulation as of the end of the first quarter.

‘Tether has collaborated extensively with exchange counterparties’

“Tether has worked extensively with our exchange counterparts in Europe on their requirements, including: To about “Ongoing listing of USDt and other Tether tokens and interpretation of key regulatory provisions.”

While Tether is “optimistic about the implementation of MiCA,” it remains important to ensure that stablecoin regulatory policies enacted are balanced, protect consumers, and foster the growth of emerging industries.said Ardoino.

MiCA regulations

To become a regulated stablecoin provider in the EU, the issuer is currently under MiCA. ~ have to We hold an Electronic Money Institution (EMI) license. This requirement could be positive for users, but only if the EU takes it seriously, Jon Egilsson, co-founder of Monerium, told The Block.

“EMI licenses are mostly about consumer protection and ensuring single currency,” Egilsson said. “But it won’t work if regulators don’t enforce the law, and EU regulators have failed so far.”

Monerium is the first company to receive an EMI license. According to Egilsson, stablecoins can be issued legally in Europe.

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