Revolut will remove USDT from its European app by August 31, 2026. Buying the asset will become unavailable from July 6, and deposits in this stablecoin will be stopped on July 30. The decision is related to MiCA rules, under which the token issuer did not receive permission to operate in the EU.
Users Given Time Until the End of August
European Revolut clients will no longer be able to buy or hold new USDT through the app after the transition period ends. The company has already warned users about the phased deactivation of the asset and referred to an internal review of the supported coin list.
The notification also mentions regulatory and risk factors. In other words, the service is bringing its crypto direction in line with European requirements. After the new rules take effect, licensed platforms cannot offer stablecoins if their issuer has not completed the required procedure in the EU.
The first restriction will take effect on July 6 at 12:00 GMT. From that moment, the buy button will stop working. Starting July 30, the app will no longer accept USDT deposits. The final date is set for August 31. After that, any remaining balance will be automatically exchanged into the account’s base currency at the market rate.
The EU License Changed the Rules for the Platform
The reason for the decision lies in European regulation. In November 2025, Revolut’s crypto division received a digital asset service provider license from the Cyprus regulator CySEC. This gave the company the right to operate in about 30 European countries under the unified MiCA regime.
After obtaining this status, the platform must comply with listing restrictions. Only those stablecoins whose issuers meet the European regulatory model can be supported. In the case of USDT, this permission is not in place.
MiCA classifies fiat stablecoins as electronic money. For major issuers, there is a separate reserve requirement: at least 60% of funds must be held in EU banks. This point has become one of the most controversial for Tether.
The company’s head, Paolo Ardoino, previously criticized this arrangement. In his view, concentrating reserves in European banks may not reduce but increase liquidity risk, especially if a large number of clients start redeeming tokens at the same time.
Tether Chose a Non-European Scenario
The issuer of the largest dollar stablecoin did not completely restructure its model for MiCA. Back in November 2024, the company discontinued EURT, its euro-pegged token. This was an early signal that the European direction would not develop under the old scheme.
The transition period for crypto companies ended on July 1, 2026. Until this date, some services could operate under previous authorizations. After the deadline, requirements became stricter and the room for exceptions narrowed.
Against this backdrop, Revolut’s decision does not look sudden but is technically tied to the MiCA calendar. The company maintained access to USDT longer than many competitors, but after obtaining the license, the choice became limited.
The Market Started Moving Away From USDT Earlier
Other major platforms began cleaning up their European lists even before Revolut. Coinbase removed USDT for clients in the region in December 2024. Then similar steps were taken by Kraken, Crypto.com, OKX, and Binance.
Kraken completed the removal of USDT and several other stablecoins in the European Economic Area by March 31, 2025. Binance restricted affected trading pairs during the first quarter of 2025. For the industry, this became a general trend, not a separate decision by one company.
At the same time, this is not about blocking users’ funds. Clients can hold tokens in external wallets, transfer them from platforms, or exchange them independently. The restrictions apply specifically to access to the asset through licensed European services.
USDC Gets an Open Niche
The main beneficiary of demand in the regulated segment is Circle. Its USDC and EURC tokens comply with MiCA and remain available on platforms operating under the new rules. For the European market, this is an important distinction.
Globally, USDT still holds the lead. According to analysts as of July 4, the asset’s capitalization was about $184 billion, and daily trading volume was around $33 billion. USDC’s figures are lower: about $73 billion in capitalization and about $5.7 billion in daily turnover.
However, within the EU, the ratio is changing. Here, not only liquidity but also legal status comes to the fore. For a licensed platform, an authorized stablecoin becomes a more convenient product, even if globally it lags behind its competitor in turnover.
Europe Narrows the Stablecoin Market
The story with Revolut shows how MiCA is changing the market through requirements for intermediaries. Users are not prohibited from owning USDT directly, but major apps and exchanges are gradually removing it from regulated access.
For Tether, this means losing part of the European infrastructure. The asset will retain global significance, but its presence on licensed EU platforms will be reduced.
For Circle, the situation is the opposite. The company gets a clearer path to banks, fintech services, and institutional clients. As a result, the European stablecoin market may become less broad but more predictable for those operating within regulation.
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