Crypto.com Delists Tether (USDT) and Nine Other Assets for Customers in the European Union

The exchange will stop USDT purchases on January 31 and fully delist the token by March 31, according to a Cointelegraph report.

Crypto.com, the world's second-largest crypto exchange after Binance, will reportedly delist Tether (USDT) and nine other assets for its customers in the European Union.

According to a report by Cointelegraph on January 19, the exchange will halt USDT purchases on January 31 and fully delist the token by March 31.

EU state regulators responsible for ensuring crypto service providers’ compliance with MiCA

This development follows the coming into effect of the Markets in Crypto Assets Regulation (MiCA) in June 2024.

On January 17, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) called on crypto-asset service providers to comply with the EU’s MiCA rules by restricting non-compliant stablecoins.

ESMA's statement urges immediate action on non-compliant stablecoins, although it does not specify particular issuers or tokens to be restricted.

The authority highlighted the responsibility of EU state regulators to ensure that these providers align their offerings with MiCA by the end of Q1 2025. It also noted that only authorized issuers can offer stablecoins, and others must obtain written consent from these issuers to trade or offer such tokens.

Other tokens impacted by Cypto.com’s decision include Wrapped Bitcoin (wBTC), Dai (DAI), Pax Dollar (PAX) and Pax Gold (PAXG), Liquid CRO (LCRO), PayPal USD (PYUSD), XSGD (XSGD), as well as crypto.com staked ETH (CDCETH) and SOL (CDCSOL).

As previously reported, Coinbase moved to delist tokens like Tether in late 2024 to comply with MiCA, following similar actions by OKX, Bitstamp and Uphold in restricting USDT trading in Europe.

Commerce Secretary pick highlights need for proper audits, fully backed USD stablecoins

In other news, billionaire Howard Lutnick defended his ties to Tether during his confirmation hearing before the U.S. Senate for the role of Commerce Secretary on January 18.

Trump's pick for the post brushed aside questions about Tether's links to criminal organizations, stating that it would be “like blaming Apple because criminals use Apple phones.”

However, he acknowledged the need for proper audits and fully-backing of USD stablecoins.

So far, the crypto industry has had to take Tether’s word on its reserve audits, which some have likened to an “trust me, bro” scenario.

First RLUSD NYDFS-Compliant audit report released

In related news, Ripple's recently launched stablecoin, RLUSD, has reportedly received its first full audit of reserve balances.

Here we now have the first report coming out from Ripple about their RLUSD reserve balances, which looks all fine to me.

Also very fairly weighted and some interests were also accrued already.

BPMCPA LLP did the examination.

San Francisco, California-based accounting firm BPM issued the report, stating that Ripple's disclosed amounts of RLUSD "outstanding and the asset reserves […] are accurate."

According to the BPM accountants, the reserve's market value was "equal to or greater than the nominal value of all RLUSD outstanding" and is fully compliant with the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) guidelines on USD-backed stablecoins.

The notes of the report state that the reserves backing RLUSD are strictly in US dollars, which are held in accounts insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) or approved by the NYDFS, US government-backed money-market funds, or in US Treasury bills with up to three-month maturities.

These reserves are maintained separately from the company's own assets and are specifically for the benefit of RLUSD holders, with their market value assessed on the trade date and their fair value determined on each report date.