OKX has made the decision to discontinue Tether’s USDT trading pairs within the EEA, in line with the EU’s upcoming MiCA regulation.

The EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation will bring in various restrictions and obligations, specifically targeting stablecoins and crypto-asset service providers.

While the regulation does not explicitly ban Tether (USDT), it does impose stringent requirements on stablecoin issuers, especially those deemed significant due to their size, user base, or market impact. This is why market leaders like OKX are removing USDT trading pairs from their platform.

This move by OKX comes ahead of the expected enforcement of the MiCA regulation by the EU, scheduled to be fully operational by December 30th of this year. OKX customer support has communicated this update to several users today, although USDT trading pairs are still visible on the platform.

Furthermore, OKX, known as the second largest offshore exchange, has notably refrained from listing any recent Solana-based meme tokens. Despite the rising popularity of meme coins like Bonk and Dogwifhat, this decision has surprised the crypto community.

OKX’s listing team focuses on discovering valuable and early-stage utility tokens for their customers. They do not accept pitches for listings but instead conduct research on potential projects in the market and monitor token performance over time.

Users have been urging OKX to list these popular tokens, but in a statement today, OKX CEO Star Xu reiterated the platform’s commitment to prioritizing tokens with proven utility and potential for early-stage investment. Xu also addressed community efforts to influence listings through social media, stating that such actions would not sway the committee’s decisions and encouraging an end to these practices.

This response from Xu is a surprising strategy from the exchange, especially considering that major competitors like Binance have been quick to list trending meme coins early on. The latest Solana meme coins, such as BONK and WIF, have seen over a 3,000% rally since their launch. By choosing not to list these tokens, OKX has opted out of profiting from some of the largest trading activities in the current bull market.

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