Kraken Delists USDT and Four Other Stablecoins in the EU

Kraken has joined other exchanges in implementing new restrictions on stablecoin trading for users in the European Economic Area (EEA). Starting March 24, 2025, the platform will completely cease support for several stablecoins, including USDT (Tether), PYUSD (PayPal USD), EURT (Tether EURt), UST (TerraUSD Classic), and TUSD (TrueUSD).

The reason: to bring operations into compliance with the new European Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA). According to Kraken, this is a necessary measure to ensure the long-term operation of the exchange in Europe.

Timeline of Restrictions

Kraken has outlined a step-by-step plan for phasing out stablecoins for EU clients:

From February 13, 2025: Margin pairs involving these assets will switch to "reduce only" mode, allowing only the reduction or closure of positions.
From February 27, 2025: On the spot market, trading will be limited to selling only, and new deposits in these assets will become unavailable.
From March 17, 2025: All open margin positions involving the specified stablecoins will be automatically closed.
From March 24, 2025: Spot trading will be completely discontinued—all orders involving USDT and the other stablecoins will be closed.
After March 31, 2025: Kraken will automatically convert any remaining user assets into an alternative stablecoin that complies with MiCA.

The Evolution of Stablecoin Regulation in Europe

Kraken is not the first crypto exchange to take such measures. Similar steps have previously been implemented by Crypto.com and OKX.

Crypto.com began removing USDT and nine other digital assets for EU customers on January 31, and will completely exclude them from the platform starting March 31. Users were advised to convert their stablecoins into supported tokens themselves; otherwise, the exchange would do so automatically.
OKX announced the upcoming delisting of USDT for European customers, also citing MiCA requirements. OKX has already received a preliminary license in the EU and is adjusting its operations to meet the new regulations.

What’s Next

Although MiCA imposes strict restrictions on stablecoins, exchanges continue to adapt by offering alternative solutions for users. The primary beneficiary may be USD Coin (USDC), which meets MiCA requirements and is already supported by many exchanges.