ESMA clarifies the status of stablecoins in Europe

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has issued new comments regarding the status of stablecoins that do not comply with the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA). This has further increased uncertainty surrounding their classification and use within the European Economic Area (EEA).

Binance Removes Non-MiCA-Compliant Stablecoins

On March 3, Binance announced plans to delist nine stablecoins that do not meet MiCA requirements. Among them is Tether’s USDT, which will no longer be available to European users on the platform.

Despite this, Binance stated that it will continue to support deposits and withdrawals of such stablecoins even after the official delisting, which is scheduled for March 31.

ESMA’s Position

According to ESMA, providing custody and transfer services for stable assets that do not comply with MiCA does not violate the new European cryptocurrency regulations.

“Under MiCA, custody and transfer services alone do not constitute a public offering or admission to trading of non-compliant tokens,” stated an ESMA representative.

ESMA also clarified that these services are not explicitly prohibited under Sections III and IV of MiCA.