Revolut Hands Tether the €xit: USDT Gets the Boot in Europe by August 🚪

Revolut will delist Tether's $USDT stablecoin for European users on August 31, 2026 at 12:00 PM GMT, the fintech said in a customer notice dated July 3, citing "regulatory and risk considerations" without specifying which rules triggered the move. The London-headquartered platform, which serves more than 75 million customers and carries a $75 billion valuation, told users they can continue buying $USDT until July 6, after which new deposits will be rejected beginning July 30, 2026. Any balances remaining after the August deadline will be automatically converted to the user's base fiat currency at prevailing exchange rates.

The delisting stems from Tether's decision not to seek authorization under the European Union's Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework, which moved into full enforcement on July 1 and now lists 280 licensed providers. Revolut itself received its own MiCA crypto-asset service provider (CASP) license in November 2025, issued by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) and recorded on the European Securities and Markets Authority register. The EU rules require significant stablecoin issuers to hold at least 60% of reserves as bank deposits, a structure Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino has publicly criticized. "I think it's a very not well thought legislation," Ardoino told Cointelegraph in a previous interview, adding that the reserve setup creates liquidity risks.

Tether previously retired its euro-denominated EURT stablecoin in November 2024 rather than adapt it to MiCA, and the company has long relied on quarterly attestations rather than a full independent audit. Consumers' Research flagged that gap in a letter to US governors, stating, "Tether's continual failure to undergo an independent audit raises a distressing red flag for the company and its USDT product. Tether has promised that it would conduct a full audit since at least 2017 but has still failed to do so. … Years later, there is still no audit." In an April 2025 interview, Ardoino said the firm was still seeking a top-tier audit partner and argued major accounting firms remain cautious about stablecoin clients following crypto exchange failures and hacks.

Circle's $USDC, which holds MiCA authorization and remains listed on compliant European venues, stands to benefit from the gap left by $USDT. Coinbase began delisting $USDT in Europe in 2024 to align with MiCA, and other CASPs have followed suit since late 2024. Despite the regional retreat, $USDT remains the third-largest crypto asset with a $184 billion market capitalization, trailing only $BTC and $ETH, while $USDC ranks fifth at $73 billion according to CoinGecko. Revolut has not clarified whether the delisting will extend beyond Europe, and did not respond to requests for comment on the affected jurisdictions.