Ripple Shares First RLUSD Audit as Crypto.com Axes USDT in Europe Over MiCA Concerns

The second largest global crypto exchange after Binance, Crypto.com, will delist Tether USDT and nine other assets for customers in the European Union.

The exchange will stop USDT purchases on January 31 and fully delist the token by March 31, according to a Cointelegraph report.

Users holding these tokens will have until the end of Q1, 31st of March, to convert them to MiCA-compliant assets, otherwise they will be automatically converted to a compliant stablecoin or asset of corresponding market value.

Crypto.com

EU State Regulators Responsible for Compliance

This comes after the Markets in Crypto Assets Regulation, or in short MiCA, came into effect in June 2024.

On January 17, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) urged crypto asset service providers to adhere to the EU’s MiCA rules by limiting stablecoins that do not comply.

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ESMA’s statement calls for immediate action against non-compliant stablecoins, though it does not specify particular issuers or tokens to be restricted.

The authority emphasised the responsibility of EU state regulators to ensure that these providers align their offerings with MiCA by the end of Q1 2025, highlighting that only authorised issuers can offer stablecoins, and others must obtain written consent from these issuers to trade or offer such tokens.

Other tokens affected by Cypto.com’s decision include Wrapped Bitcoin (wBTC), Dai (DAI), Pax Dollar (PAX) and Pax Gold (PAXG), Liquid CRO (LCRO), PayPal USD (PYUSD), XSGD (XSGD), as well as crypto.com staked ETH (CDCETH) and SOL (CDCSOL).

Coinbase moved to delist tokens like Tether in late 2024 to comply with MiCA after OKX, Bitstamp and Uphold had already restricted trading of USDT in Europe.

Commerce Secretary Pick Highlights Need for Audit

In a confirmation hearing in front of the US Senate, billionaire Howard Lutnick defended his ties to Tether. Trump’s pick for Commerce Secretary brushed aside questions about Tether’s link to criminal organisations saying it would be “like blaming Apple because criminals use Apple phones”.

He did, however, acknowledge the need for proper audits and that USD stablecoins should be fully backed.

I believe U.S. dollar stablecoins should be audited, [and] should be completely backed by U.S. Treasuries, 100%.

Howard Lutnick

So far, the crypto industry had to take Tether’s word for it when it comes to reserve audits, almost like a “trust me bro”.

First RLUSD NYDFS-Compliant Audit Report Released

Meanwhile RLUSD, Ripple’s recently launched stablecoin, has just received its first full audit of reserve balances.

San Francisco, California-based accounting firm BPM issued the report stating that Ripple’s disclosed amounts of RLUSD “outstanding and the asset reserves […] are accurate”.

According to the BPM accountants, the reserve’s market value was “equal to or greater than the nominal value of all RLUSD outstanding” and is compliant with New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) guidelines on USD-backed stablecoins.

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The notes of the report state that the reserves backing RLUSD are strictly in US dollars, held in accounts insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) or approved by the NYDFS, US government-backed money-market funds, or in US Treasury bills with up to three-month maturities.

These reserves are maintained separately from the company’s own assets and are specifically for the benefit of RLUSD holders, with their market value assessed on the trade date and their fair value determined on each report date.