Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, and Tether, the issuer of the dominant stablecoin USDT, have been excluded from the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) licensing framework.
Six months after MiCA’s full enforcement, the EU has authorised 53 crypto firms, including 14 stablecoin issuers and 39 crypto-asset service providers (CASPs), to operate across the 30-country European Economic Area (EEA) under a unified regulatory system.
Circle’s EU policy chief shared the update on Monday via X
According to a post shared on Monday on X by Patrick Hansen, Director of EU Strategy & Policy at Circle, the approved firms, such as Coinbase, Kraken, Bitstamp, and traditional finance players like BBVA and Société Générale, now benefit from passporting rights, allowing them to offer services across the EEA without country-by-country approvals.
Germany and the Netherlands lead in licensing, accounting for 23 of the 39 authorised CASPs, while France, Malta, and the Netherlands dominate stablecoin approvals, with euro-pegged tokens making up 12 of the 20 authorised fiat-backed stablecoins.
Sadly, Tether’s USDT, the world’s most traded stablecoin, has been delisted from major EU platforms like Coinbase and Crypto.com due to its failure to meet MiCA’s transparency and governance standards.
The company has resisted MiCA’s requirement that 60 percent of stablecoin reserves be held in EU-regulated institutions, opting instead to focus on less stringent markets in Latin America, Africa, and Asia.
Binance, on the other hand, faces deeper structural challenges. The exchange has withdrawn applications or shut down operations in multiple EU regions, including Germany, the Netherlands, and Cyprus, amid ongoing investigations into money laundering and compliance failures.
MiCA’s demands for robust governance and anti-money laundering controls have proven difficult for Binance’s complex corporate structure, despite recent efforts to appoint regional leadership and engage with regulators.
Effects of the EU’s strict regulatory enforcement
The EU’s strict enforcement has already reshaped the crypto space, with non-compliant tokens like USDT being phased out and market share consolidating around regulated players.
Notably, no firms have applied to issue asset-referenced tokens (ARTs), suggesting limited demand under current compliance costs.
Meanwhile, over 35 companies have been flagged as non-compliant CASPs, with Italy’s CONSOB leading in enforcement.
The next regulatory license update is expected in late September, giving Binance and Tether another opportunity to adapt or risk permanent exclusion from the EU market.