Important announcement for users of the Binance crypto exchange in Europe. The world’s largest crypto platform has announced that from June 30, 2024, access to unregulated stablecoins will be restricted in Europe. The platform intends to comply with the MiCA law, which comes into force at the end of the month, and encourages its users to migrate to regulated tokens. The stablecoins concerned have not been named, but all indications are that the largest of them, USDT, is one of them.
Change at Binance in Europe
European Binance users will soon be subject to new restrictions. In compliance with European regulations on crypto-asset markets (MiCA law), Binance has announced that from June 30, 2024, it will restrict access to stablecoins not authorized in the European Union. The platform’s aim is to encourage its users to gradually migrate to regulated tokens in compliance with MiCA law.
The exchange nevertheless promises that the changes will be gradual, in order to minimize any disruption to the market. As stated by the CEO of Binance, the exchange will not immediately remove unauthorized stablecoins, but will limit their availability to European users only on certain services. This applies in particular to the conversion function for unauthorized Stablecoins, which will be maintained for sale only. This means that Binance users in Europe will be able to sell unauthorized Stablecoins against other regulated digital assets, but not vice versa.
The change made by Binance is aimed at complying with European regulations on crypto-asset markets. Commonly known as MiCA law, this law lays down new rules for stablecoins, which come into force on June 30, 2024. From this date onwards, MiCA requires stablecoins to be issued and offered only by electronic money institutions (EMIs) and credit institutions, i.e. banks. This makes many of today’s stablecoins, including USDT, illegal.
Tether CEO worries about MiCA
The prospect of the new MiCA Stablecoin rules coming into force in the European Economic Area is causing a stir in the crypto ecosystem. Interviewed by our colleagues at The Block, the CEO of Tether, the issuer of the world’s largest stablecoin USDT, has expressed concerns about the MiCA law.
For Paolo Ardoino, the EU’s requirements for stablecoins are problematic. In particular, the CEO of Tether fears that stablecoins will become vulnerable and risky if they are brought into line with MiCA. To this end, Ardoino argues in favor of discussions on MiCA implementation measures.
These requirements could not only make the work of a stablecoin issuer extremely complex, but also make European-licensed stablecoins extremely vulnerable and riskier to operate. As with any regulatory framework of this scope, further discussions on technical implementation standards are crucial to bring clarity to the market on certain provisions.
Paolo Ardoino
While its competitors lag behind, Binance is putting its house in order so that it can operate in full compliance in Europe. Earlier, the exchange had already withdrawn from Cyprus and restructured its leadership in France to comply with MiCA. Visit Binance’s legal woes in the USA have clearly had a profound impact on internal compliance policy.
I dream of a world where every citizen has total control over themselves, including their finances. I believe that Bitcoin is one of the tools that will achieve this revolution. Since 2019, I am learning about this cryptocurrency and spreading the word around.
