Seychelles-based cryptocurrency and digital assets exchange OKX has reportedly stopped support for Tether (USDT) trading pairs in the European economic area, according to images shared on the X social media platform. 

A message shared by X user MartyParty showed a screenshot of a customer support message that appears to confirm that USDT trading pairs are no longer supported in the European market.

Per the post:

“We would like to inform you that the availability of USDT trading pairs in your current region has been discontinued. Please note that not all tokens are supported in all markets due to regulatory requirements. […] Moving forward, only EUR and USDC pairs will be accessible for spot trading.”

The message went on to mention that over 30 new euro spot trading pairs will launch on OKX amid the USDT trading pair removals.

It remains unclear as of the time of this article’s publication exactly what provoked the reported delistings. Neither OKX nor Tether sent immediate responses to requests for further information by Cointelegraph.

Speculation abounds on social media that the delisting is related to stablecoin rules included in the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulatory framework. While the aforementioned customer support message didn’t specifically state this to be the case, it did mention that “regulatory requirements” were responsible for the disparity in token listings across geographic areas.

As Cointelegraph recently reported, EU regulators published draft rules for stablecoin issuer complaint procedures on March 14. While an update to complaint reporting seems relatively innocuous, the push for further legislation this late into the first quarter of 2024 could be troublesome for exchanges attempting to align compliance with the new rules.

The EU’s MiCA legislation is expected to take effect by the end of 2024, but stablecoin rules are slated for launch ahead of the comprehensive laws package in the second quarter of 2024.

Related: Binance to delist several TrueUSD trading pairs