Kraken to delist Tether USDT, 4 other stablecoins in Europe

Cryptocurrency exchange Kraken is moving to comply with European crypto regulations by preparing to delist five stablecoins, including Tether’s USDt.

Kraken will fully delist USDt (USDT) on March 31 to comply with the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA), according to an official announcement by the exchange.

Alongside USDT, the exchange will gradually remove support for PayPal USD (PYUSD), Tether EURt (EURT), TrueUSD (TUSD), and TerraClassicUSD (UST) in the European market.

“These changes ultimately ensure Kraken remains compliant and is able to provide its exceptional trading experience to European clients for the long term,” the company said.

Gradual delisting process

In line with the provisions set by the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) to ensure a smooth and orderly delisting process, Kraken will drop USDT support in stages.

First, Kraken will set margin pairs involving the affected assets to “reduce-only” mode for clients in the European Economic Area (EEA) on Feb. 13. Following this restriction, EEA users will be only able to reduce or fully close out existing margin positions.

By Feb. 27, Kraken will put the affected tokens in “sell-only” mode, restricting EEA clients from generating deposit addresses for tokens like USDT but still supporting trading.

On March 24, Kraken will halt all spot trading for the affected assets, closing all open orders and exchanges into other coins or fiat currencies.

“All remaining EEA client holdings for these assets as of March 31, 2025, will be converted to an equivalent stablecoin,” Kraken stated, adding:

“Any impacted assets for EEA clients deposited to existing addresses after the above deadlines will only be able to be withdrawn.”

Kraken emphasized that the delistings would only impact clients in the EEA, with affected jurisdictions including 30 countries, such as Austria, Cyprus, Czechia, Malta, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and others.

ESMA urged to avoid “disorderly markets” with abrupt delistings

Kraken’s announcement comes as Crypto.com — another major exchange — confirmed the delisting of USDT and nine other stablecoins starting Jan. 31, 2025.

Crypto.com will also give its users until the end of the first quarter of 2025 to convert the affected tokens to MiCA-compliant tokens. “Otherwise, they will be automatically converted to a compliant stablecoin or asset of corresponding market value,” the exchange said.

The ESMA, which is a key supervisor of MiCA compliance, urged European crypto asset service providers (CASP) to start restricting MiCA noncompliant stablecoins in mid-January.

Related: Tether disappointed with ‘rushed actions’ on MiCA-driven USDT delisting in Europe

The agency highlighted the importance of a gradual delisting process to avoid potential market disruptions, calling for CASPs to start with a “sell-only” mode first:

“Sudden actions to align with MiCA, as clarified in the European Commission’s guidance, could potentially lead to disorderly crypto-assets markets. […] To mitigate potential disruptions and ensure a smooth and orderly transition, National Competent Authorities should ensure compliance […] no later than the end of Q1 2025.”

Kraken and Crypto.com are among the first CASPs in the EU to announce delistings of MiCA noncompliant coins in 2025. Previously, the US-based exchange Coinbase delisted eight tokens, including USDT, in December 2024.

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