Can I still buy USDT in Germany or anywhere in the EU after MiCA — and is it legal to hold?
Not from a regulated provider. Tether has no EU authorisation, so under MiCA exchanges and brokers serving EU customers — including Coinbase, Kraken and Binance — no longer sell USDT, although it is the largest stablecoin in the world. Holding USDT is not illegal, and you can still swap into it on a decentralised exchange from a self-custody wallet, without KYC. For an EU-compliant dollar or euro stablecoin, the alternatives are USDC, EURC, EURCV, USDCV, USDG.
Under MiCA, the EU’s crypto regulation, a stablecoin tied to one currency counts as an e-money token. It may only be offered to the public or traded on an EU platform if its issuer is authorised in the EU as a bank or electronic money institution. Tether is not. Regulated exchanges stopped selling USDT to EU customers from early 2025, and on 8 October 2026 ESMA went further: EU crypto firms should also wind down custody, transfers and any remaining client holdings of unauthorised stablecoins, at the latest by 8 January 2027. The rules bind issuers and service providers, not individuals: holding USDT in your own wallet is not prohibited.
Figures from our live dataset · page generated 2026-10-11 · not investment advice
| Token | Issuer | Yield / return | Minimum | KYC to buy | EU (MiCA) | Chain |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USDT Tether | Tether | No yield | — | No KYC on a DEX | Not authorisedsource | Tron / Ethereum / BSC (+127) |
| USDC USD Coin | Circle | No yield | — | No KYC on a DEX | Authorised · ACPR (France) Circle Internet Financial Europe SAS source | Ethereum / Solana / Hyperliquid L1 (+152) |
| EURC EURC | Circle | No yield | — | No KYC on a DEX | Authorised · ACPR (France) Circle Internet Financial Europe SAS source | Ethereum / Base / Solana (+9) |
| EURCV EUR CoinVertible | Societe Generale FORGE (SG-FORGE) | 0% (settlement asset) | None | No KYC on a DEX | Authorised · ACPR (France) Societe Generale-FORGE source | Ethereum |
| USDCV USD CoinVertible | Societe Generale FORGE (SG-FORGE) | 0% (settlement asset) | None | No KYC on a DEX | Authorised · ACPR (France) Societe Generale-FORGE source | Ethereum |
| USDG Global Dollar | Paxos (Global Dollar Network) | No yield | — | No KYC on a DEX | Authorised · FIN-FSA (Finland) Paxos Issuance Europe Oy source | X Layer / Robinhood Chain / Solana (+3) |
Side by side
| USDT | USDC | EURC | EURCV | USDCV | USDG | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Where the yield comes from | — | — | — | None — non-interest-bearing by design | None — non-interest-bearing by design | — |
| Risk (our label) | — | — | — | Low | Low | — |
| Custody | — | — | — | Self-custody | Self-custody | — |
| Liquidity | Traded on public markets — venues not verified | Traded on public markets — venues not verified | Traded on public markets — venues not verified | On-chain transfer; listed on Morpho and Uniswap | On-chain transfer; listed on Morpho and Uniswap | Traded on public markets — venues not verified |
| KYC to mint with the issuer | KYC required | KYC required | KYC required | KYC required | KYC required | KYC required |
| KYC to buy on a market | No KYC | No KYC | No KYC | No KYC | No KYC | No KYC |
| KYC to redeem | KYC required | KYC required | KYC required | KYC required | KYC required | KYC required |
| Assets under management | $183,374,039,133 circulating | $74,733,401,183 circulating | $537,963,826 circulating | EUR 138.7m in circulation | $10.6m in circulation | $3,200,524,171 circulating |
| Jurisdiction | United States | United States | Euro area | France (EU, ACPR-supervised issuer) | France (EU, ACPR-supervised issuer) | United States |
| How to buy | On any exchange (KYC there) or on a DEX with a self-custody wallet (no KYC). Minting and redeeming directly with Tether needs a verified account and is aimed at large amounts. | On any exchange (KYC there) or on a DEX with a self-custody wallet (no KYC). Minting and redeeming 1:1 runs through Circle Mint, which is open to approved institutions only. | On exchanges (KYC there) or on a DEX with a self-custody wallet (no KYC). Minting and redeeming 1:1 runs through Circle Mint, which is open to approved institutions only. | Uniswap; direct issuance requires KYC with SG-FORGE | Uniswap; direct issuance requires KYC with SG-FORGE | On exchanges (KYC there) or on a DEX with a self-custody wallet (no KYC). Minting and redeeming with Paxos needs an institutional account. |
How to choose
If you live in the EU and want a dollar stablecoin you can buy, hold and sell through a regulated provider, USDC is the direct replacement; for euros, EURC or EURCV. USDT remains the most traded stablecoin worldwide, so if you use exchanges or counterparties outside the EU it may still be what they quote in — but then every euro you put in or take out goes through a route that EU rules do not cover.
More questions
Is it illegal to hold USDT in Germany?
No. MiCA regulates who may issue a stablecoin and which services may be offered around it in the EU. It does not forbid private persons from holding USDT in their own wallet or sending it between wallets. What ends is the service around it: EU-regulated firms may no longer sell it, and under ESMA’s opinion of October 2026 they should also stop holding it for clients.
Can I still buy USDT on Coinbase, Kraken or Binance as an EU customer?
No. Platforms licensed in the EU had to delist USDT for EU customers, because selling it to them counts as offering it to the public. Most did so in late 2024 or by the end of March 2025; Revolut stopped USDT purchases in July 2026. ESMA’s opinion of 8 October 2026 adds that these firms should also end custody and transfers of USDT for EU clients, by 8 January 2027 at the latest.
Can I buy USDT on a decentralised exchange from the EU?
Technically yes: a swap on a DEX from your own wallet needs no account and no KYC, and MiCA does not address individuals doing this. Some DEX websites block EU visitors, and you carry the full risk yourself — including that you will need a non-EU or compliant route to turn USDT back into euros.
What happens to the USDT I already hold?
It depends on where it sits. In your own wallet, nothing changes on-chain: the tokens stay there and keep their value as long as Tether holds the peg. On an EU-regulated exchange, expect the platform to convert it or ask you to withdraw or sell it — ESMA wants remaining holdings resolved by 8 January 2027, and your national supervisor can set a shorter window. To get back to euros, swap USDT into a compliant stablecoin such as USDC or EURC first and sell that.
Which stablecoins are MiCA-compliant alternatives to USDT?
USDC and EURC from Circle, whose EU entity is an electronic money institution authorised in France, EURCV and USDCV from Societe Generale’s SG-FORGE, and USDG from Paxos’ Finnish entity. They are listed in the table with their size and how to buy them.
Which is the largest?
By size, USDT at $183.4B, followed by USDC at $74.7B and USDG at $3.2B. Size is not safety, but a larger product usually means a deeper market to sell into.
How risky are they?
EURCV: Low. USDCV: Low. The risk label is ours, in plain language, and is explained on each token page.
Sources
- ESMA: supervisory expectations on services related to unauthorised stablecoins (opinion, 8 October 2026)
- ESMA: guidance on non-MiCA-compliant ARTs and EMTs (17 January 2025)
- MiCA — Regulation (EU) 2023/1114, Article 48 (EUR-Lex)
- Cointelegraph: Revolut ends USDT purchases for EU users (2026)
- Circle: MiCA compliance of USDC and EURC