Circle’s USDC and EURC stablecoins lead the way in compliance as the initial fiat digital currencies under MiCA regulations. On July 1, 2021, Jeremy Allaire, co-founder and CEO of Circle, revealed that Circle became the first stablecoin issuer in the EU to receive the MiCA permit.
Circle convinces the investors that USDC and EURC can carry on being regulatory compliant under new rules meaning that there is no need to redeem or transfer money in order to ensure compliance.
Allaire explained that Circle chose France as its EU headquarters due to stringent regulations regarding digital assets and cooperation with the ACPR.
The Circle co-founder expressed his views on the EU’s groundbreaking regulation, which was a turning point in the modern history of digital assets from their earliest stages.
“The entire concept of fiat digital currency did not really even exist outside of very early crypto circles. The concept of seeing major global laws that enshrined stablecoins into the financial system was inconceivable.”
Navigating MiCA: Effect on Other Stablecoins
Four of the major exchanges are modifying their stablecoin regulation and product portfolios in response to the EU change.
Notably, Uphold announced in June the withdrawal of six stablecoins for European members, which include Tether USDT, Dai (DAI), TrueUSD (TUSD), Pax dollar (USDP), Gemini dollar (GUSD), and Frax Protocol (FRAX).
One of the first Bitstamp exchanges to list Tether’s EURT stablecoin, it had to delist the token later that month due to regulatory and other changes across the market.
For certain stablecoins, Binance offers “sell only” services in Europe, classifies fiat pegged tokens into compliant and non-compliant, and also limits some aspects of the markets.
