Revolut To Remove Millions Of Users’ Access To Tether’s USDT

• Revolut announced the delisting of Tether’s USDT stablecoin, citing “regulatory and risk considerations.”
• The delisting affects its millions of customers in the EEA and the UK.

Tether’s defiance of the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) Regulation in the European Union (EU) is about to hit hard on its flagship stablecoin, the USDT. Various European crypto exchanges have begun off-loading their assets, and the latest to do so is Revolut, which could cost the digital asset millions of users.

USDT Delisting From Revolut

Revolut is a crypto-friendly digital banking platform headquartered in the United Kingdom (UK). It operates across the 30 countries in the European Economic Area (EEA), with 27 of them within the EU sphere of influence.

On Friday, the digital bank notified its users that it will completely delist Tether’s USDT stablecoin starting on August 31. To facilitate its seamless transition before the deadline, it will no longer allow users to buy USDT starting July 6.

ADVERTISEMENTThe company informed customers that it will automatically convert their remaining USDT holdings to their base currencies by the August deadline. Hence, it advised them to convert, sell, or withdraw their USDT holdings before that point.

Revolut serves 75 million customers worldwide. It announced the launch of its banking services in the UK last March, making its deposit accounts protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS).

Reason for the Move

Revolut cited “regulatory and risk considerations” for its decision. It didn’t elaborate on the specific reason for the USDT delisting, but it stated that it was a result of a “regular review.”

ADVERTISEMENT“To provide a secure, transparent, and responsible trading experience, we regularly review the tokens available on our platform and may adjust our selection,” said Revolut in the notice it sent to customers. “Based on regulatory and risk considerations, we’ve decided to remove USDT from our offering.”

Interestingly, Revolut’s delisting also applies to its UK operations, which are not subject to MiCA. However, despite not mentioning any law or regulation in its recent advisory, the crypto community took the company’s move as a sign of its alignment with broader MiCA standards.

Tether’s Response

Tether has yet to address its issue with Revolut. Nonetheless, the company’s CEO, Paolo Ardoino, has stood firm about their decision to steer clear of the EU’s MiCA licensing regime.

Ardoino argued that MiCA’s stablecoin reserve rules are “dangerous.” Additionally, he called it poorly thought-out legislation.

EU’s MiCA rules require issuers to back stablecoins with 1:1 asset reserves. Stablecoins should also maintain strict liquidity buffers and must be issued by authorized banks or Electronic Money Institutions (EMIs). Furthermore, it prohibits issuers from paying yields, requires 24/7 redemptions, and subjects stablecoins to the supervision of national authorities or the European Banking Authority (EBA).

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