Kraken excludes USDT and other stablecoins from its listings in accordance with the EU MiCA regulations

Kraken, Crypto.com, and Coinbase are all taking steps to comply with the upcoming Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulations in Europe. Kraken will be removing Tether’s USDT and four other stablecoins from its European market. The delisting process will occur in stages, with the complete removal of these stablecoins set for March 31, 2025. The affected stablecoins include PayPal USD, Euro Tether, TrueUSD, and TerraClassicUSD. The first stage of the delisting process will begin on February 13, where margin pairs for these assets will be set to “reduce-only” mode. This means that European users will only be able to close existing positions but will not be able to open new ones. By February 27, trading will be further limited to “sell-only” mode, preventing users from generating new deposit addresses for these stablecoins. Spot trading for these assets will be halted on March 24, and any remaining holdings will be converted into a different stablecoin by March 31. Other major exchanges, such as Crypto.com and Coinbase, have also started delisting USDT and similar stablecoins to comply with the EU regulations. Crypto.com will stop supporting ten stablecoins, including USDT, starting from January 31, 2025, while Coinbase had already delisted eight tokens, including USDT, in December 2024. These actions align with the EU’s efforts to implement stricter regulations for stablecoins, aiming to protect retail investors and ensure financial stability. It is important for users to convert their affected assets before the deadlines to avoid automatic conversions. Additionally, under the new regulations, undisclosed crypto holdings discovered during tax searches will be treated as hidden income starting from February 2025. Businesses will be required to report crypto transactions and correct any errors within a 30-day period starting from April 2026. Despite concerns that these strict regulations may discourage stablecoin adoption and limit crypto access for retail investors, Kraken and other exchanges are making these changes to comply with the regulations while still serving their European customers.