Crypto
exchange
OKX
has
ceased
support
for
cryptocurrency
trading
pairs
with
Tether’s
USDT
stablecoin
for
users
based
in
the
European
Union
and
the
European
Economic
Area
(EEA),
the
exchange
confirmed
to
CoinDesk.
As
of
Monday,
OKX’s
platform
offered
spot
crypto
trading
only
with
USDC
and
euro
pairs,
while
USDT
could
only
be
traded
against
USDC
and
euro,
CoinDesk
confirmed
via
an
E.U.-based
OKX
account.
The
shift
emerged
earlier
in
the
day
after
a
trader,
on
X,
posted
a
note
about
the
change
from
customer
support
citing
regulatory
compliance
and
security
of
the
platform.
An
OKX
spokesperson,
however,
said
that
the
action
was
driven
by
OKX’s
decision
to
focus
on
euro-denominated
liquidity
in
the
region.
“This
year
our
focus
is
to
expand
EURO
pair
liquidity
and
become
the
preferred
venue
for
EURO
to
crypto
spot
trading,”
the
statement
from
the
exchange
said.
“We
evaluated
this
decision
and
delisting
the
current
USDT
pairs
only
impacts
a
small
subset
of
our
user
base.
Importantly,
we’ve
recently
expanded
our
product
offering
in
the
EEA
by
introducing
a
variety
of
Euro
fiat
onramps
and
Euro
pairs.”
USDT
remains
available
on
the
platform
for
EEA-based
users
to
deposit
and
withdraw,
and
buy,
sell
and
convert
on
over-the-counter
(OTC)
trading,
the
exchange’s
representative
added.
Tether
has
not
yet
commented.
Screenshot
of
OKX
trading
platform
The
$100
billion
USDT
is
the
largest
stablecoin
by
trading
volume
and
a
key
piece
of
infrastructure
for
crypto
trading
on
centralized
exchanges,
being
the
most
liquid
trading
pair
for
bitcoin
(BTC)
and
other
crypto
assets.
The
crypto
exchange’s
action
could
foreshadow
regulatory
headwinds
in
the
region
for
the
world’s
most
popular
stablecoin,
as
the
E.U.
is
poised
to
put
its
comprehensive
digital
asset
regulatory
framework
called
MiCA
into
effect
later
this
year.
The
new
rules
will
require
stablecoin
issuers
to
be
regulated
as
electronic
money
institutions,
Jón
Egilsson,
co-founder
and
the
chairman
of
Monerium,
explained
in
a
CoinDesk
article.
Hence,
many
stablecoins
currently
offered
in
Europe
are
illegal
because
they
are
not
authorized
and
regulated
as
e-money
transmitters,
he
added.
Circle,
the
issuer
behind
the
second-largest
stablecoin,
USDC,
and
the
euro-pegged
token
EURC,
won
conditional
registration
for
digital
asset
services
in
France
and
applied
for
an
electronic
money
institution
license
in
the
E.U.
