The European MiCA bill creates a "systemic risk" not only for stablecoins, but also for the banking system as a whole. This opinion was expressed by Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino in a Cointelegraph comment.
"Instead of making the system more secure, MiCA creates an incredibly large systemic risk," he said.On April 20, 2023, the European Parliament approved MiCA. On May 16, it was approved by the EU Council. The new rules for stablecoins came into force on June 30, 2024, and the rest from December 30.
https://forklog.com/cryptorium/chto-takoe-markets-in-crypto-assets-micaWhat's wrong with MiCA?
MiCA regulations impose strict restrictions on transactions with stablecoins throughout the European Economic Area. Among them, obtaining a license and storing at least 60% of reserves in EU bank accounts.
Ardoino noted the vulnerability of such financial institutions and cited the example of the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), which led to the USDC stablecoin run. He also stressed that deposits in the EU are insured for up to $100,000. According to the CEO of Tether, this is not enough for large issuers.
"SVB went bankrupt, we all know that, and our main competitor almost died. So I think we have a very recent example of why this is a bad idea," Ardoino explained.In April, the CEO of Tether said that the company had discussed with the regulator the potential risks to stablecoins in connection with MiCA. He called it "not a good idea" to keep reserves in uninsured cash deposits instead of Treasury bills.
https://forklog.com/news/nezdorovaya-konkurentsiya-i-uvelichenie-rashodov-vliyanie-mica-na-bitkoin-industriyuTether will double its staff in 2025
Ardoino spoke in an interview with Bloomberg about Tether's intention to double the number of employees, increasing the staff to 200 people by mid-2025 to strengthen the development, investment and compliance teams.
"Most of all, I hate all these companies, especially from Silicon Valley, who hire hundreds of people during bull markets to fire them as soon as the market starts to decline," he said.In a comment to The Block, Ardoino added that today the company employs slightly more than 100 people in more than 50 countries.
"This approach allows us to optimize operations through technology and external partnerships, focusing on core competencies to provide exceptional value to our customers," he said.Unquestionable leadership
On August 8, the total market value of the USDT stablecoin exceeded $115 billion, according to CoinGecko. This indicator provides the issuer of Tether with almost 70% of the market share of "stable coins".
The chart of USDT capitalization growth for the year. Data: CoinGecko.The nearest competitor, USDC, has a capitalization of $34.4 billion. This is only 21% of the total supply of stablecoins.
Recall that in the first half of 2024, Tether received a record net profit of $5.2 billion.
In June, the issuer introduced the aUSDT token with collateral in the form of Tether Gold (XAUT) in the Alloy line of "linked assets".