Our interlocutors concluded that MiCa could indeed significantly change the landscape of the EU cryptocurrency market. At the same time, they believe that this move is unlikely to “crush” Tether. We will tell you why MiCa is not as scary for USDT as many people think.
What happened
By the end of 2024, a series of measures to regulate digital asset markets will take full effect in the European Union. MiCa (Crypto Asset Market)Against the backdrop of complex full-scale deployment, cryptocurrency companies serving EU citizens are beginning to refuse to work with unregulated stablecoins. For example, one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges OKX Cut European users use Tether (USDT), the “stable currency” with the largest capital, for transactions, even surpassing Bitcoin. Other popular trading platform teams Also consider Options to reduce unwanted stablecoin operations.
Circle, the developer of USD Coin (USDC), the second largest stablecoin by market value, has decided in advance to prevent being expelled from the EU market. The company obtains a license Electronic Money Institutions (EMIs), which are allowed to carry out activities in the EU under the requirements of MiCA. certainly Stablecoin issuers without such a license will eventually be kicked out of the EU.
In the EU Life 31 million cryptocurrency users. Losing such a large market could hurt Tether. Experts shared with BeInCrypto editors their thoughts on how this move would affect the market for volatile “stable” tokens, especially USDT.
Can MiCA destroy Tether?
Maxim Kalmykov, CEO of Bitsgap, believes that MiCA can indeed “kill” unregulated stablecoins. According to him, representatives of the regulator openly talk about this. At the same time, in his opinion, Tether will not be destroyed because it is the most popular Stablecoins in the world.
“MiCA representatives will continue to conduct inspections of Tether, but, of course, we have no intention or possibility to completely stop the work of the company,” he noted.
Mike Lvov, EMCD’s director of PR and communications, agreed that MiCA could remove unregulated stablecoins from the EU market. The expert stressed that the license obtained by Circle puts the company’s token in a privileged position.
“I don’t think MiCA will seriously threaten Tether issuers,” he added, suggesting that in the worst-case scenario MiCA would be limited to inspections and fines.
Bitget analyst Ryan Lee highlighted MiCA’s strict requirements for stablecoin issuers, including licensing and the need to maintain liquidity reserves.
“Eligible European exchanges may need to delist USDT,” he warned, recalling Tether’s lack of a license in the EU.
TEHNOBIT CEO Alexander Peresichan believes that MiCA will not threaten the existence of unregulated stablecoins worldwide, but may lead to a redistribution of power in the European market.
Speaking about a possible change in the EU’s stablecoin leadership, he stressed that “USDT’s position will most likely be replaced by USDC, which will comply with MiCA requirements.”
Iwona Gutovic, COO of Green Crypto Processing, does not believe that MiCA currently poses any threat to Tether. She believes that there can be a big difference in the implementation of regulations and their actual application.
“MiCa represents an alternative EU license, the requirements of which may vary from country to country,” she noted, stressing that Tether already has significant infrastructure and operations in various regions.
Financier and asset manager Alexander Ryabinin agrees that it is impossible to “kill” volatile stablecoins.
“Europe is no longer the same. It does not dictate the rules and does not take into account major volumes,” he concluded, noting that poorly regulated stablecoins could clean up the market.
Experts agree that MiCA could significantly influence the regulation of stablecoins in the EU, but Tether, the most popular stablecoin, Stablecoins Despite the possibility of inspections and fines, it is likely to maintain a presence in the region. At the same time, according to our interlocutors, regulatory initiatives do not pose a global threat to USDT