Uphold will eliminate 5 stablecoins in Europe to comply with regulation – DiarioBitcoin
By Hannah Perez
Uphold users in Europe will no longer have access to USDT, DAI, TUSD, and other stablecoins starting June 30, when a provision of MiCA takes effect.
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- Uphold will remove USDT, DAI, TUSD and other stablecoins from its trading listing this June
- The measure will apply to users in Europe and responds to new local regulations
- A MiCA stablecoin provision will go into effect on June 30
- Other cryptocurrency exchanges have also taken similar measures
The cryptocurrency exchange Uphold is taking steps to comply with new European regulations.
In a notice sent by email, Uphold informed its users in Europe that it will remove trading support for five stablecoins pegged to the US dollar citing the “new rules” local.
A screenshot of the email with the information was shared by users on social networks.
In particular, the company detailed that as of July 1, 2024, the following tokens will no longer be available for its European clients: Dai (DAI), Frax Protocol (FRAX), Gemini Dollar (GUSD), Pax Dollar (USDP), TrueUSD (TUSD), as well as the stablecoin largest by market capitalization, Tether (USDT).
Uphold It urged holders of those tokens to convert their holdings by June 28 to any of the other cryptocurrencies supported on the platform. If you do not make the change, your funds in any of those stablecoins will be automatically converted and expressed into USDCircle (USDC), another major dollar-pegged stablecoin.
MiCA stablecoin rule goes into effect this June
The move possibly comes in anticipation of the upcoming entry into force of the Markets in Crypto Assets Act (MiCA), the legislative framework created specifically to regulate cryptocurrencies in the European Union.
MiCA became law in 2023, after European lawmakers spent three years developing cryptocurrency-specific regulation. Taking a comprehensive approach, the framework covers cryptocurrency companies such as issuers, exchanges and wallet providers, and introduces a licensing system between all members of the block.
While most regulations will come into effect by the end of 2024, A one-off provision on MiCA stablecoins will come into force in the European Economic Area (EEA) on June 30.
Binanceone of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges, announced at the beginning of the month its intention to suspend access to stablecoins “unregulated“for customers residing in EU member countries. Although the company did not specify which tokens would be affected, it said that the measure would be applied progressively in the following weeks and that the purchase option for said stablecoins in Europe it will be disabled from June 30.
OKX and Kraken Are others exchanges which have also taken actions to adjust their stablecoin commercial offering in Europe in view of the implementation of MiCA. OKX ended support for USDT trading pairs in the EU in March, while Kraken has apparently been reviewing the status of USDT under the new rules and may consider removing it.
As part of the MiCA framework, stablecoin issuers in the EU must be licensed as electronic money institutions (EMIs) or credit institutions. It also requires requirements for the issuers of said tokens, including guarantees of backing in a 1:1 ratio and liquid reserves that are guarded by a third party and isolated from other assets. The rule outright prohibits algorithmic stablecoins.
Article by Hannah Estefanía Pérez / DailyBitcoin
Picture of Unsplashedited with logo Uphold
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