MiCA cracks down on USDT in Europe... but no one else cares
USDT is disappearing from regulated European platforms, but there is little sign that it has resulted in weakening global demand for Tether.
The EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation has forced significant USDT delistings on major European platforms. However, despite the crackdown, USDT's global demand appears resilient, according to data from Artemis Analytics. Artemis research analyst Alex Weseley stated that there's no indication that MiCA has led to a major shift in USDT activity or supply-demand dynamics.
The EU transition period for MiCA ended on July 1, intensifying pressure on platforms to remove non-compliant tokens. Despite these changes, USDT remains popular in certain regions, particularly in emerging markets like Argentina. In Argentina, stablecoin activity has grown even as restrictions on accessing physical dollars have eased.
In 2025, Argentina's crypto platform Lemon processed $9.3 billion in total volume, up 60% year-on-year, with stablecoin transaction volume increasing 45%. Lemon's business manager Ignacio Gimenez noted that the role of USDT is evolving beyond being a mere store of value to becoming a key financial infrastructure for payments and cross-border transfers.
Meanwhile, Artemis data reveals a rise in Binance Smart Chain users and Tron users, indicating a shift toward low-fee, widely-used chains for day-to-day stablecoin transactions. However, while MiCA is reshaping the stablecoin landscape within Europe, it's unlikely to alter the dollar's dominant position in global crypto markets.
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