MiCA Deadline Triggers USDT Delistings Across EU Exchanges

The European Union's Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation has reached its deadline of July 1, marking the end of a transitional period for crypto firms to secure licenses. With no extensions on the table, about 194 companies have managed to obtain a MiCA license by May 2026, out of more than 3,000 that once held national registrations across the region.

Supervisors expect roughly 75% of those older firms to lose the right to serve EU clients. Tether's stablecoin, USDT, which is the world's largest with a value of around $175 billion, has been delisted by major exchanges Binance, Coinbase, Kraken, and Crypto.com after its issuer declined to seek authorization.

The squeeze on USDT has been building for over a year. Its delistings started in late 2024 when Coinbase dropped it for European users, followed by Crypto.com in January 2025, and Binance and Kraken closed their spot markets in March 2025. The broader licensing cutoff now finishes the job.

France has taken a particularly hard line, warning that firms still serving EU customers without a license after the cutoff face criminal charges, with penalties running to two years in prison and a €30,000 fine.