The European Securities and Markets Authority, or ESMA, is urging EU countries to take action. They want to make sure that exchanges stop offering non-compliant stablecoins for trading.
This is especially important for stablecoins that don’t meet EU regulations, like Tether's USDT, if it were to be available to clients in the EU.
ESMA has set a clear deadline. By the end of the first quarter of 2025, the 27 EU member states need to ensure that crypto asset service providers, known as CASPs, follow the rules regarding stablecoins.
In simple terms, CASPs that run trading platforms must stop offering any crypto-assets that qualify as asset-referenced tokens (ARTs) or electronic money tokens (EMTs) unless the issuer is authorized within the EU.
This move will impact stablecoins that don’t comply with EU laws. Major issuers are already working on compliance with the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulations. For example, Tether announced in November that it would discontinue its euro stablecoin, EURT. They couldn’t get an e-money license to operate in the EU. On the other hand, Circle successfully obtained such a license in July.
Exchanges like Gemini and Coinbase, which are registered in the EU, will need to remove any unauthorized stablecoins from their platforms. ESMA has made this very clear.
Coinbase had already announced plans to delist such tokens by December of last year. A spokesperson from Coinbase confirmed their commitment to compliance. They stated that they restricted services for retail, exchange, and prime vault customers related to stablecoins that don’t meet MiCA requirements starting December 13, 2024.
They also mentioned that Coinbase would look into re-enabling services for stablecoins that achieve MiCA compliance later on.
CoinDesk has reached out to Gemini for additional comments. Stay tuned for updates!