OKX Drops Support for Tether Trading Pairs in European Market Amid Regulatory Challenges
Summary:
Seychelles-based digital asset exchange OKX has reportedly ceased supporting Tether (USDT) trading pairs in the European economic area, according to social media posts. Spot trading will now only support EUR and USDC pairs. The reason for these changes is unclear, though regulations have been mentioned as a possible cause. Furthermore, EU regulators have been pushing for more legislation about stablecoin, possibly affecting exchanges struggling to stay compliant.
The Seychelles-based digital asset exchange, OKX, reportedly discontinued support for trading pairs involving the cryptocurrency Tether (USDT) in the European economic territory, as per images circulating on the X social media network attributed to @MartyPartyMusic. The images show a screen-captured customer care response, highlighting the suspension of USDT trading pairs for the European zone. The message reads, "Your current region no longer supports USDT trading pairs. Regulatory obligations render it impossible to support all tokens across every market... Spot trading will only support EUR and USDC pairs moving forward." Over 30 new EUR spot trading pairs will become available on OKX, compensating for the terminated USDT trading pairs. The cause for these alleged delistings hasn't been clarified at present. Neither OKX nor Tether have responded directly to inquiries by Cointelegraph demanding more data. Social media speculations suggest that the delistings are possibly linked to the stipulations for stablecoin found in the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulatory framework. Even though the customer support message did not explicitly verify this, it does cite "regulatory requirements" as the cause for the variance in token listings by region. As reported by Cointelegraph, EU regulators released an initial set of guidelines surrounding stablecoin issuer grievance procedures on March 14. Though these regulations may seem harmless, the demand for increased legislation in Q1 2024 may pose a challenge for exchanges striving to maintain compliance with the new set of rules. The MiCA legislation by the EU is predicted to be operational by the end of 2024, however, the rules for stablecoin are scheduled to be launched ahead of the comprehensive laws bundle in Q2 2024. Related: Trading pairs for several TrueUSD will also see a delisting by Binance.
Published At
3/18/2024 11:18:37 PM
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