Tether CEO Says MiCA Reserve Rules Kept USDT Out Of Europe

Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino has defended the decision to keep USDT outside Europe’s MiCA licensing regime, arguing that the bloc’s stablecoin reserve rules create more risk than safety for a dollar token with global scale.

Ardoino said a “MiCA license is very dangerous when it comes to stablecoins” during Token2049 Dubai comments, adding that Tether did not apply because it wanted to protect more than 400 million users. The comments have returned to focus as MiCA’s July 1 transition deadline reshapes exchange access across the European Union.

USDT remains the largest stablecoin in circulation. Tether’s transparency page lists daily token circulation metrics and says issued tokens are backed by reserves, while market data places USDT near the $184 billion range. That size makes the MiCA question more than a regional listing issue because USDT is still one of the main liquidity assets across exchanges, DeFi, market makers and emerging-market payment flows.

Tether has not received MiCA authorization for USDT. That leaves European platforms to decide whether to restrict, delist or avoid offering the token where MiCA rules apply.

Ardoino Points To Bank Deposit Risk

Ardoino’s main objection is the reserve structure. MiCA’s Article 54 requires e-money token issuers to keep at least 30% of funds received in separate accounts at credit institutions, with the rest invested in secure, low-risk and highly liquid instruments.

Ardoino has argued that a large stablecoin issuer could face a much higher bank-deposit burden under MiCA at scale. He said forcing a major issuer to park up to 60% of reserves in European banks could expose both the stablecoin and smaller banks to redemption stress if users demand large withdrawals while banks have lent out most deposited funds.

His earlier WIRED interview used a simple redemption example: a €10 billion reserve could require €6 billion in bank deposits under his scenario, while the bank may hold only a fraction of that as liquid cash after lending. Ardoino said that structure could create additional systemic risk in Europe rather than reducing it.

EU regulators have taken the opposite policy direction. MiCA is designed to bring stablecoin issuers under authorization, reserve, redemption, governance and supervision rules, with the European Banking Authority taking a larger role for significant token issuers. The EBA has also opened a MiCA penalty framework that could fine significant issuers based on turnover or profits from breaches.

MiCA Splits Stablecoin Access Across Europe

Tether’s refusal to seek MiCA authorization has already affected stablecoin access in Europe. Exchanges and brokers serving EU users now need to decide which dollar stablecoins can remain available under the new framework, while users face different token options depending on platform, country and product.

The same deadline has pressured exchanges without full MiCA authorization. Binance entered July with country-specific restrictions after the EU transition ended, while withdrawals and transfers stayed available for affected users. That access split has already turned MiCA into a direct user issue for platforms facing new EU service limits.

Circle has taken the opposite route with USDC, building regulatory access and liquidity inside Europe. Jeremy Allaire recently defended USDC’s network effects after Open USD launched, arguing that stablecoin scale depends on liquidity, developer integrations, licensing, banking infrastructure and global redemption access.