Coinbase users in Europe shared frustrations over the region’s crypto regulations after the exchange said it is ending its yield offering on the dollar-pegged stablecoin USD Coin USDC$0.9994 for some users.
In a Nov. 28 email that multiple recipients posted on X, Coinbase said due to the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets ( MiCA ) laws for stablecoins, it “will be sunsetting the USDC rewards program” on Dec. 1.
The change will affect customers in the European Economic Area (EEA), a 30-nation bloc that includes all 27 EU member states along with Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein. The email said those eligible will still accrue rewards for the next two days until Nov. 30.
A Coinbase spokesperson told Cointelegraph the change doesn’t impact trading, sending, or receiving USDC on the platform.
“Very grateful to the EU for protecting me against earning a yield on my USDC holdings on Coinbase,” Paul Berg, the co-founder and CEO of crypto infrastructure provider Sablier, wrote in a sarcastic Nov. 28 X post .
“I feel protected,” Trading Strategy co-founder Mikko Ohtamaa wrote on X in a mocking response to the email.
Crypto firms including Coinbase and USD Coin USDC$0.9994 issuer Circle, which are staying in the EU, must fully comply with the MiCA laws by Dec. 30.
The laws, which entered into force in June 2023, saw a wide-ranging and strict set of rules for crypto firms and stablecoin issuers that included a prohibition on offering interest on stablecoins, or so-called “e-money tokens.”
“It’s funny how often regulations prevent companies from doing things that are unarguably pro-consumer,” Ripple Labs technology chief David Schwartz wrote in response to Berg’s post.
Related: EU regulator sets restrictive measure guidelines for crypto providers
Meanwhile, Tether, issuer of the US dollar stablecoin of the same name, said on Nov. 27 that it’s dropping support for its euro-pegged token, citing “the evolving regulatory frameworks surrounding stablecoins in the European market.”
Still, a group of former Binance executives decided to enter the market with a euro-pegged stablecoin. Their firm, Schuman Financial, said on Nov. 26 that its EURØP token will be live sometime in the next two weeks.
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