As a seasoned crypto investor with a keen interest in regulatory developments, I find Uphold’s decision to suspend support for certain stablecoins due to MiCA regulations both intriguing and concerning.
Some Uphold users have received communications from the cloud-based multi-asset platform announcing their plan to discontinue support for Tether’s USDT and Gemini’s GUSD, along with other stablecoins.
Uphold, a multi-asset trading platform, is discontinuing its support for a selection of stablecoins in response to the European regulatory framework called MiCA, or the Markets in Crypto-Assets Act.
Based on an email announcement from Uphold, as mentioned in a post by Antony Welfare of Commercializing Blockchain Research Centre (CBRC), the company will cease support for USDT, GUSD, DAI, FRAX, TUSD, and USDP starting July 1. This decision is attributed to recently implemented European Union regulations on stablecoins.
The regulatory framework for #Mica stablecoins doesn’t apply uniformly to all US Dollar ($ USD) stablecoins. It’s intriguing to find out which ones meet the requirements.
— Antony Welfare (@AntonyWelfare) June 17, 2024
At the moment of writing this piece, Uphold has remained silent regarding the issue at hand. I’ve attempted to contact their team for clarification and will make sure to include any responses in this article as soon as they become available.
After the suspension, Uphold will still process transactions for Circle’s stable coins USDC and EURC, along with Paxos’ PYUSD for PayPal. The platform requested users to exchange their holdings in the affected stable coins by June 27. Any unused balances in these coins will be changed to USDC on June 28, according to Uphold.
‘Extremely vulnerable’ regulation
As a crypto investor, I’m excited about the MiCA regulation that came into effect in June 2023. However, it’s important to note that some provisions, specifically those related to asset-referenced tokens and e-money tokens, will only apply from June 30th.
Some crypto leaders are expressing apprehensions about the new regulatory environment, specifically the MiCA legislation. According to Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino in an interview with The Block, this regulation could significantly increase the complexity of stablecoin issuance for EU-licensed entities and potentially heighten operational risks.
As a researcher studying the impact of MiCA regulations on the cryptocurrency market, I can explain that some stablecoins may be classified as unauthorized under the new rules. For Binance, this means they won’t remove these coins from their platform entirely but will instead restrict their usage for European Economic Area (EEA) users in certain areas like launchpool and earn products. Additionally, Binance plans to propose further actions.
— Binance (@binance) June 3, 2024
Binance announced in early June that it wouldn’t remove unauthorized stablecoins from its main trading platform but would restrict their usage in specific products for users residing in the European Economic Area (EEA). Simultaneously, they encouraged the adoption of regulated stablecoins as viable alternatives.
Around the middle of May, there were allegations that Kraken, a crypto exchange based in the U.S., was considering delisting USDT, a stablecoin issued by Tether. However, Kraken’s global head of asset growth and management business, Mark Greenberg, subsequently refuted these rumors, stating that the exchange is still evaluating different possibilities for offering USDT under the impending regulatory framework.
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2024-06-18 12:48