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MiCA and stablecoins: how USDT left the EU and authorised coins took over

MiCA's most visible real-world effect: by early 2025 the EU's licensed exchanges had removed Tether (USDT) for EEA users, while Circle's MiCA-authorised USDC and EURC moved in. The delisting timeline, why it happened, and how the EBA's 'significant token' test works — sourced to the regulators and editorial press.

Published June 10, 2026 · Updated June 10, 2026 · 4 min read · 8 sources cited

MiCA did not need a single fine to reshape Europe’s stablecoin market. Its conduct rules did it: by early 2025 the EU’s licensed exchanges had pulled Tether (USDT) for users in the European Economic Area, and MiCA-authorised coins — Circle’s USDC and EURC — took its place. This is the registry of that shift.

Quick facts

  • What happened: EU-licensed exchanges removed USDT (and other non-authorised stablecoins) for EEA users across late 2024 – early 2025
  • Why: Tether never applied for MiCA authorisation; under MiCA’s Title V conduct rules, an authorised crypto-asset service provider (CASP) that offers a non-authorised stablecoin to the public risks its own authorisation
  • What replaced it: Circle became the first global stablecoin issuer MiCA-compliant on 1 July 2024, issuing USDC and EURC under an e-money institution licence from France’s ACPR (CNBC)
  • Still legal: holding USDT, moving it in self-custody, or using it on decentralised exchanges remains lawful — MiCA restricts what licensed EU providers may offer the public, not what individuals may hold
  • The EU-level lever: the EBA can classify an asset-referenced or e-money token as “significant” (Articles 43 and 56 MiCA) by size and usage thresholds — moving its supervision from the national regulator to the EBA
  • Status (June 2026): USDT is still not MiCA-authorised and remains off EU-licensed venues for EEA users — Tether has not applied (DL News)

The USDT delisting timeline

Each EU-licensed venue set its own cut-off in the run-up to 31 March 2025:

ExchangeWhat it didTiming
CoinbaseAnnounced removal of non-MiCA stablecoins for EEA usersAnnounced December 2024; USDT removed by 31 March 2025 (CryptoSlate)
Crypto.comStopped offering USDT to EU customers; conversion/withdrawal window to 31 MarchFrom 31 January 2025
KrakenPut USDT in “sell-only” mode, then disabled trading for EEASell-only late March; off by 31 March 2025 (DL News)
BinanceDelisted USDT and other non-MiCA stablecoins from EEA spot trading (derivatives kept)March 2025 (Finance Magnates)

The common trigger: Tether did not seek MiCA authorisation as an e-money token issuer. EU-licensed venues that kept listing it would have put their own MiCA licences at risk under Title V conduct rules (DL News).

What moved in: MiCA-authorised stablecoins

On 1 July 2024 Circle became the first global stablecoin issuer to comply with MiCA, after obtaining an electronic money institution (EMI) licence from the ACPR — France’s banking supervisor (Circle; Ledger Insights). Both USDC (dollar) and EURC (euro) are now issued in the EU as MiCA-compliant e-money tokens, passportable across the bloc. A small set of euro tokens — EURC and Société Générale-FORGE’s EURCV — and USDC now dominate EEA on-ramps. The e-money-token rules they comply with applied from 30 June 2024 (MiCA, EUR-Lex).

”Significant” tokens and the EBA

MiCA splits stablecoin supervision in two. Ordinary tokens are supervised by the national competent authority that authorised the issuer (Circle’s, for example, by France’s ACPR). But if a token grows large enough, the EBA can classify it as “significant” under Articles 43 (asset-referenced tokens) and 56 (e-money tokens) MiCA — on thresholds for holders, value and transactions — and supervision of the issuer transfers to the EBA within 20 working days of the decision (EBA).

Significance also raises the prudential bar: a significant token must hold a larger share of its reserve as deposits in EU credit institutions — at least 60%, against 30% for non-significant tokens (EBA). That reserve rule is one reason the largest global issuer, Tether, has stayed outside MiCA rather than restructure its backing.

That test is the centralised backstop in an otherwise national system: the bigger a euro or dollar stablecoin becomes inside the EEA, the closer it moves to direct supervision from the EBA in Brussels rather than a single member-state regulator.

What this means for you

  • If you run a CASP (exchange, broker, custody): offering a non-authorised stablecoin to EU users is a direct risk to your own MiCA licence. The ESMA MiCA Register is the authoritative source for which issuers and tokens are authorised.
  • If you hold or use stablecoins: for EEA business, use MiCA-authorised tokens (USDC, EURC and other authorised e-money tokens). Holding USDT yourself stays legal, but EU-licensed venues will not offer it.
  • If you issue a stablecoin for the EU: authorisation is the entry ticket, not optional — and if your token gets large, plan for the EBA significance test and the higher prudential bar that comes with it.

Sources