Coinbase reportedly plans to cut support for certain stablecoins in the European Union (EU) by the end of the year.
A spokesperson for the crypto exchange tells Bloomberg the exchange will delist stablecoins in Europe that don’t comply with the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA).
“Given our commitment to compliance, we intend to restrict the provision of services to EEA users in connection with stablecoins that do not meet the MiCA requirements by December 30, 2024.”
MiCA provides rules covering the supervision, consumer protection and environmental safeguards of crypto assets. The legislation includes measures that aim to reduce financial crimes including market manipulation, money laundering and terrorist financing.
MiCA also placed stablecoin issuers under the European Banking Authority and is requiring them to hold sufficient liquid reserves. The part of the legislation covering stablecoins took effect in June, while the rest is scheduled to roll out in December.
Coinbase’s compliance with MiCA could mean it ceases to support Tether’s USDT, the top stablecoin by market cap.
The second-largest stablecoin, USDC, became compliant with the legislation this summer.
Coinbase and the stablecoin firm Circle co-created USDC in 2018 and jointly managed the asset through the Centre Consortium until last year.
Last August, Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire announced that his company would bring all of USDC’s governance and operations responsibilities in-house to streamline management of the stablecoin.
Coinbase said at the time that it would purchase an equity stake in Circle.
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