Revolut Blocks USDT Purchases Amid EU Regulatory Crackdown

The European digital banking service Revolut has announced that it will no longer allow users to purchase Tether's (USDT) stablecoin in the European Union. This decision was made due to new regulations under the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework, which classifies fiat-pegged stablecoins like USDT as e-money tokens.

The regulation requires that any crypto-asset service provider holding a MiCA licence cannot offer an unauthorised e-money token to retail clients. Revolut secured a CASP licence from Cyprus's CySEC in November 2025, which covers roughly 30 European countries through MiCA's passporting mechanism. However, the issuer of USDT, Tether, never applied for MiCA authorisation and holds its reserves in short-dated US Treasury bills, not as required by MiCA.

Tether's CEO Paolo Ardoino has warned against concentrating bank deposits, citing the depeg of Circle's USDC during Silicon Valley Bank's collapse. As a result, Tether chose to retire its euro-denominated EURT stablecoin and launch a new token in the United States, rather than comply with MiCA.