Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong Confirms Tether (USDT) Delisting If Noncompliant With New Legislation

Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase Global, has confirmed that the cryptocurrency exchange would remove the stablecoin Tether (USDT) from its U.S.

Coinbase Global CEO Brian Armstrong has confirmed that the cryptocurrency exchange would remove the stablecoin Tether (USDT) from its U.S. trading platform if it is required to comply with new legislation.

Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Armstrong highlighted Coinbase’s commitment to regulatory compliance and emphasized the need to provide customers with a secure and legal cryptocurrency trading environment.

At the forum, Armstrong mentioned that Coinbase will follow any U.S legislation on stablecoins and may have to delist Tether if it does not meet new legal standards. Speaking to Charles Forelle, the Deputy Editor-in-Chief of The Wall Street Journal in Davos, Armstrong said,

“There are a lot of people with Tether, and we want to give them an off-ramp to transition into a system that we think is more secure.”

Coinbase had earlier suspended Tether for its European users following the release of new European Union laws on digital currencies. These laws limit the stablecoin issuers to keeping a part of the reserves in cash with the banks. Even though Tether has spoken out against these rules, stating that there are some risks, other stablecoin issuers, including Circle’s USDC, have stated that they will conform to the EU’s MiCA regulation.

Potential U.S. Stablecoin Laws Could Force Industry Changes

In the US, there are two bills that have been proposed in an attempt to regulate stablecoins, one of which seeks to bar offshore and unregulated entities like Tether from issuing the coins. Although these bills have not been moved forward, Armstrong believes that the future legislation will likely support that stablecoin issuers should hold 100% of their reserves in the US Treasury bonds and should also be subjected to frequent audits.