Tether CEO Criticizes EU MiCA Regulation as 'Very Dangerous' for Stablecoins

Reserve concentration is the dispute

Ardoino’s criticism is aimed at the reserve architecture embedded in the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets framework. The reported issue: stablecoin issuers must hold 60% of reserves in deposits at European banks.

For a stablecoin issuer, that is not just a compliance line item. It changes the balance-sheet map.

Key variables for USDT holders and counterparties:

• where reserve assets sit;
• how much collateral is exposed to commercial bank balance sheets;
• whether redemption liquidity is diversified or concentrated;
• whether regulatory compliance creates a new single-region dependency.

Ardoino’s position, as reported, is that this deposit requirement creates systemic risk. The claim is structural: if a large share of reserves must be parked inside one banking perimeter, issuer risk becomes linked more directly to EU credit institutions.

Cointelegraph also cites Ardoino’s earlier criticism of MiCA, including his view that the legislation was “very not well thought.” That framing matters because Tether’s issue with MiCA has not been limited to one operational clause. It is about how reserve custody, liquidity, and regulatory eligibility are being forced into a specific model.

Revolut adds a distribution shock

The regulatory pressure is already showing up at the access layer.

Cointelegraph reports that Revolut has notified European users it will phase out support for USDT by August 31, 2026, citing regulatory and risk considerations after MiCA implementation. Users will no longer be able to buy USDT starting July 6. USDT deposits will no longer be supported after July 30. Incoming USDT transfers after that date will be rejected. Remaining USDT balances not sold or withdrawn by the end of August will be automatically converted into users’ base currency at the day’s exchange rate, according to the notice seen by Cointelegraph.

Scope remains unresolved. Revolut has not clarified whether the delisting applies globally or only in specific jurisdictions. Cointelegraph said it approached the company for comment and did not receive a response by publication.

For market structure, the relevant point is narrower than the headline. A regulated fintech rail is removing USDT access for at least some European users. That affects on-ramp and off-ramp convenience, not necessarily the token’s global liquidity base.

Still, the liquidity delta is real for affected accounts:

• buy function stops first;
• deposits stop next;
• remaining balances face forced conversion if no action is taken;
• jurisdictional perimeter is not fully disclosed.

Cointelegraph also notes that Coinbase began delisting USDT in Europe in 2024 to align with MiCA requirements, and that USDT has been gradually delisted by crypto asset service providers in Europe since late 2024 as Tether refused to comply with MiCA.

UK divergence widens the regulatory spread

The EU is not the only rulebook moving.

Risk.net reports that the UK Financial Conduct Authority published amended proposals for non-systemic stablecoin issuers on June 30, 2026, halving capital requirements to balance innovation and risk. The source does not provide further detail in the available snippet, so the conclusion must stay limited: UK and EU stablecoin treatment is diverging at the capital-requirement level.

That divergence matters for issuers, exchanges, and treasury desks. Stablecoin regulation is no longer a single compliance question. It is a jurisdictional routing problem.

Europe is tightening access around MiCA eligibility. The UK is amending capital proposals for non-systemic issuers. Revolut, licensed as a MiCA crypto asset service provider in November 2025 through CySEC, is now moving against USDT access for some European users.

The market-cap baseline remains unchanged in the available data. Cointelegraph cites USDT as the third-largest crypto asset, after Bitcoin and Ether, with a market value of $184 billion. USDC is cited at $73 billion and ranked fifth.

Practical read: monitor venue-level USDT support, not just issuer statements. The next stress point is not the peg headline. It is distribution fragmentation: which regulated platforms allow buy, deposit, withdrawal, or only conversion. For reserve analysis, the unresolved question is whether MiCA’s bank-deposit requirement reduces risk through supervision or adds concentration through collateral placement. Current facts confirm the conflict. They do not yet confirm the outcome.