Cryptocurrency exchange Binance will delist several stablecoins in the European Economic Area (EEA) to comply with the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA).
On March 31, Binance will delist spot pairs for users in the EEA, with nine stablecoins, including Tether’s USDt (USDT) and Dai (DAI), to be removed to comply with Europe’s MiCA regulations, the exchange announced on March 3.
Still, affected users will still be able to sell their non-MiCA-compliant stablecoins using Binance Convert, the company said.
MiCA-compliant stablecoins, such as Circle-issued stablecoins, USDC (USDC) and Eurite (EURI), will remain available and unchanged, Binance said.
Deposits and withdrawals remain supported
The exchange is encouraging EEA users to convert non-MiCA-compliant stablecoins into alternatives such as USDC, EURI, or fiat currencies like the euro. However, Binance will continue to support custody for affected stablecoins.
“Custody of non-MiCA-compliant stablecoins will continue, and you will be able to withdraw or deposit non-MiCA-compliant stablecoins at any time,” the announcement noted.
An excerpt from Binance’s announcement of delisting non-MiCA-compliant stablecoins. Source: Binance
“EEA users will still be able to hold and deposit non-MiCA-compliant stablecoins and will be able to convert them to MICA-compliant stablecoins or withdraw them,” a spokesperson for Binance told Cointelegraph, adding:
“However, they will not be able to use these stablecoins for any other products and services on our platform.”
Binance encourages its EEA users to convert non-MiCA-compliant stablecoins at their earliest convenience to benefit from the full range of products and services, the spokesperson added.
Binance is yet to receive a MiCA license
The full list of the affected non-MiCA-compliant stablecoins on Binance includes Tether USDt, Dai, First Digital USD (FDUSD), TrueUSD (TUSD), Pax Dollar (USDP), Anchored Euro (AEUR), TerraUSD (UST), TerraClassicUSD (USTC) and PAX Gold (PAXG).
While Binance will continue to allow deposits and withdrawals for these stablecoins after March 31, questions remain over whether this approach aligns with MiCA compliance requirements.
The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) — a key MiCA compliance supervisor — in January urged European crypto asset service providers to fully delist non-compliant tokens by March 31, 2025.
Source: LinkedIn
“No trace of USDT should remain, not even in ‘sell-only’ mode, by March 31,” Juan Ignacio Ibañez, a member of the Technical Committee of the MiCA Crypto Alliance, wrote on LinkedIn in January.
Binance’s announcement comes as the exchange is still working to receive a MiCA license. The exchange previously announced changes to its deposit and withdrawal procedures in Poland to comply with the MiCA framework in January 2025.
Cointelegraph approached Binance for comment regarding its MiCA license plans but did not receive a response by the time of publication.
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