Binance and Tether Ghosted: 53 Crypto Upstarts Crash EU MiCA Party 🎉

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  • More than fifty crypto firms get the “official” EU blessing (no, not from the Pope) under MiCA.
  • Approved stablecoins are now modeling an array of fiat looks. Très chic, darling—more currency diversity than a central banker’s fever dream.
  • Big-name crypto brands clutch new licenses, ready to waft across all of Europe like eau de decentralization.

Well, pop the Prosecco—or perhaps the crypto equivalent, a disappointingly non-fizzy meme token—because the EU has just handed out MiCA licenses like free tote bags at an insurance conference. There are now 53 extremely smug crypto companies, flouncing about with their shiny new regulatory clearance, able to operate across 30 EEA countries in a single regulatory swoop (it’s all very Eurovision, but for blockchain).

The inner circle: 14 stablecoin issuers + 39 crypto-asset service providers (CASPs). But please contain your gasps—no Binance, no Tether. That’s right, the cool kids are standing outside in the rain, noses pressed against the MiCA-licensed window. Awkward! 😬

MiCA: Regulation’s New Black (And You Thought Last Season’s GDPR Was Strict)

The MiCA regime began strutting its stuff on December 30, 2024. Now, half a year later, those 53 licensed crypto firms stroll through Europe with nary a meandering queue or a dreaded “your application is still under review” email in sight. As for the EU, this is all about proving they’re not just regulating for the sheer sport of it—they’re boosting transparency, maybe saving us all from a FOMO-induced rug pull, and keeping things as market-integrity-adjacent as possible.

Among the proud list of stablecoins: 20 pegged to beloved fiat currencies (mostly euro or USD, because nobody asked for a Lithuanian Litas coin). Circle, Soci dacancaelli mixasi… sorry, had to check my spelling, and Membrane Finance are in on the act. Only one brave soul attempted the Czech koruna. All of them meeting capital, governance, and disclosure requirements more rigorous than a Bake-Off technical challenge.

If you see Coinbase, Kraken, Bitstamp, N26, OKX, Robinhood, Trade Republic, or BBVA doing the can-can, it’s because they’re in the licensed club now. Germany and the Netherlands are hogging the regulatory limelight, issuing 12 and 11 licenses respectively, while France still tries to look effortlessly fashionable. Stablecoin issuance decisions, meanwhile, are clutched tightly by these same countries.


Source – X, because apparently “Twitter” is so 2022.

Patrick Hansen, who must have the longest job title in Europe by now (EU Strategy & Policy Director at Circle), shared the updated numbers and assured everyone that MiCA compliance is hotter than a Parisian boulangerie in August.

Tether and Binance: The Big “NOPE”

Comedy moment: Despite being name-checked in every crypto headline since 2017, neither Tether nor Binance features on the desired MiCA license list. Tether’s USDT—the stablecoin equivalent of that mate who always shows up uninvited—hasn’t nabbed a license. Cue dramatic delistings on exchanges like Coinbase and Crypto.com, their faces doing their best “we’re not crying, you’re crying” impression.

Tether’s EU dreams hit a wall named “reserves must live in boring European banks now” (a full 60% of them!) and are required to expose themselves more completely with audits and disclosures—something Tether appears to find as appealing as public karaoke.

Enter Binance, the world’s busiest crypto exchange, also found missing from the regulatory guest list. They’ve recruited Gillian Lynch to spruce up their EU respectability, but sadly still no MiCA, so for now their business in the EU is as legit as a “Rolex” in a tourist bazaar.

So, for everyone keeping score: the great MiCA dancefloor is full, but Binance and Tether are outside, awkwardly scrolling through the party pics on Instagram. Will they get in next time, or is it time for them to rebrand themselves as “regulated adjacent”? Pass the popcorn. 🍿

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2025-07-08 22:26