Reports suggest that OKX, a cryptocurrency exchange headquartered in Seychelles, has ceased support for Tether (USDT) trading pairs in the European Economic Area.
A screenshot shared by X user MartyParty displays a customer support message indicating the discontinuation of USDT trading pairs in the European market.
Breaking: @Tether_to $USDT pairs have been removed by @okx in the EU 👀
Only $EUR and $USDC @circle pairs now allowed. Huge news. pic.twitter.com/E1HNHRaLkB
— MartyParty (@martypartymusic) March 18, 2024
According to the post:
“We would like to inform you that the availability of USDT trading pairs in your current region has been discontinued. Please note that not all tokens are supported in all markets due to regulatory requirements. […] Moving forward, only EUR and USDC pairs will be accessible for spot trading.”
The message further mentions the launch of over 30 new euro spot trading pairs on OKX following the removal of USDT trading pairs.
The exact reason for the reported delistings remains unclear at the time of writing. OKX and Tether have not responded immediately to requests for further information.
Speculation on social media suggests that the delisting could be linked to stablecoin regulations outlined in the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework. While the customer support message did not explicitly cite this as the reason, it did refer to “regulatory requirements” influencing token listings across different regions.
EU regulators introduced draft rules for stablecoin issuer complaint procedures on March 14. While the update to complaint reporting may seem relatively minor, the continued push for legislation in the first quarter of 2024 could pose challenges for exchanges striving to comply with new regulations.
The MiCA legislation in the EU is expected to be enforced by the end of 2024, with stablecoin regulations scheduled for introduction ahead of the comprehensive laws package in the second quarter of 2024.