Crypto exchange Kraken has ‘no plans’ to delist USDT in Europe for now
Cryptocurrency exchange Kraken has “no plans” to delist Tether (USDT) in Europe at the moment despite a recent report claiming the firm was “actively reviewing” the decision to remain legally compliant.
“[Kraken] continues to list USDT in Europe and we have no plans to delist at this time,” stated Mark Greenberg, Kraken’s global head of asset growth and management in a May 18 X post.
The firm will continue to follow all legal requirements — even those that it disagrees with — Greenberg iterated. “But the rules are not finalized yet and we continue to do everything we can to continue to offer all relevant stablecoins to our European customers.”
A May 17 article from Bloomberg reported Kraken was “actively reviewing” plans to comply with the European Union’s upcoming Markets in Crypto Assets Regulation (MiCA) framework.
“We’re absolutely planning for all eventualities, including situations where it’s just not tenable to list specific tokens such as USDT,” said Marcus Hughes, Kraken’s global head of regulatory strategy at the time.
“It’s something that we’re actively reviewing, and as the position becomes clearer, we can take firm decisions on that.”
The rules applicable to stablecoins under MiCA will come into force on June 30, while cryptocurrency service provider rules will take effect six months later on Dec. 30.
Related: Kraken exchange rolls out self-custody crypto wallet, following other CEXs
One of Kraken’s biggest competitors, OKX, made the move to delist USDT in Europe in March.
Binance announced plans to make a similar decision last September — citing a need to comply with MiCA — but the firm hasn’t followed through with those plans yet.
Kraken recently ended support for the Monero privacy token (XMR) for its Belgium and Ireland customers in April.
Meanwhile, the crypto exchange has continued to expand its services in Europe.
It recently secured a virtual asset service provider registration in Spain and the Netherlands, as well as an electronic money institution license in Ireland.
Magazine: ‘Crypto is inevitable’ so we went ‘all in’: Meet Vance Spencer, permabull
