Crypto.com Delists Tether (USDT) For Canadian Users

By Kevin • January 13, 2023 3:46 pm • Comments

One of the largest exchanges in the world, Crypto.com, just announced that it will be delisting Tether’s stable coin (USDT) from its exchange.

Apparently, this decision was not made by the exchange itself, but was due to an order from the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC).

Many have had concerns in the past regarding stable coins like Tether as there has been many past debates on whether or not Tether actually had the reserves to back each stable coin up to have a $1 value.

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So far, the exchange is scheduled to delist the stable coin in Canada by January 31st so customers are encouraged to either move their assets off the exchange or convert it into other digital assets.

It is unclear whether or not the rules and regulations regarding Tether will change in the near future.

CoinDesk reports:

Crypto.com’s action comes as regulators around the world are increasing their scrutiny of centralized exchanges in the wake of the collapse of FTX and as competition between the top stablecoins grows.

The Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA), the country’s top securities regulatory body consisting of regulators from 10 provinces and three territories , said last month it would strengthen its oversight over crypto exchanges by “expanding existing requirements” for trading platforms operating in the country.

The CSA said that it “continues to monitor and assess the presence and role of stablecoins in Canadian capital markets,” according to a press release.

USDT is the most popular stablecoin with a market capitalization of $66 billion, and it competes with USDC ($44 billion market cap) and the Paxos-issued binance USD ($16 billion market cap).

The token is an integral tool for the cryptocurrency market to facilitate trading, but controversies around its issuer, Tether, and the assets ostensibly backing its value have abounded for as long as it has been around.

If stable coins such as Tether have been delisted from the platform, some users are also questioning if its only a matter of time before other stable coins will be delisted.

The CSA may start to consider all stable coins to be considered securities which will likely block a lot of innovation and growth within the crypto industry.

After all, stable coins constitute a significant amount of value in the crypto markets and many use them to preserve value without having to use fiat currencies.

It is possible that this is a warning sign of what may happen in the future if regulations start to become even more strict.

Something similar could also happen in the United States where it involves the SEC instead of Canada’s CSA.

CryptoPotato concludes:

Others argued that the cause of the delisting was Crypto.Com’s good relationship with Circle, the issuer of USDC and that it was all a “business deal” to eliminate competition. Something very similar to what Binance did against USDC.

User zoomercoomer9000 added that “Tether has a pretty shady history,” explaining that they previously lied about their 1:1 peg to the US dollar and did not disclose their association with Bitfinex until it was exposed in the Paradise Papers.

Meanwhile, other users reported that the delisting of USDT is “a big problem for Canadians,” as it leaves them with fewer options for earning interest on their money.

While the vast majority were unhappy with the actions taken by Crypto.com, other users indicated that regulations are the only way for cryptocurrencies to become more widespread and for big players to enter the ecosystem.

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