Coinbase to delist non-compliant stablecoins in EU following implementation of MiCA guidelines

Crypto exchange Coinbase (ticker: COIN) will delist non-compliant stablecoins in the European Union by the end of the year, the company said on Friday.

"Given our commitment to compliance, we intend to restrict the provision of services to [European Economic Area] users in connection with stablecoins that do not meet the MiCA requirements by December 30, 2024," Coinbase said in an emailed statement.

The European Union’s Markets in Crypto Assets guidelines are the most advanced set of regulations for the blockchain sector to date. Under the framework, stablecoin issuers must obtain e-money authorization in at least one EU member state and follow strict rules related to their backing treasury assets.

Tether's USDT +0.27% , the world's most valuable stablecoin, has not yet received an e-money license, unlike its closest rival Circle, the issuer of the USDC and EURC stablecoins, which became the first official Electronic Money Institution in the EU in July. Coinbase partnered with Circle to launch the USDC stablecoin, which is featured prominently on its exchange platform.

Other exchanges including Binance, Bitstamp, Kraken OKX and Uphold have all de-listed Euro Tether’s EURT and USDT tokens since the MiCA guidelines began rolling out in June. Rules for stablecoins came into effect on June 30.