CoinGate Ended USDT & DAI Support: Here's When & Why

The European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulatory framework has changed the rules of the game for stablecoins. Now, under MiCA, stablecoin issuers must meet certain compliance standards.

Tether, the issuer of USDT, did not take the steps needed to meet those rules. That is why we limited support for USDT payments in the first quarter of 2025, in line with regulatory requirements, and discontinued DAI.

We continued to support USDC, and it became the predominant stablecoin at CoinGate, as expected.

Moving your business over to USDC? Start with us.

What Changed, and When

The changes rolled out in two phases.

From February 26, 2025:

• DAI support was discontinued across all CoinGate services.
• Converting other currencies into USDT in the CoinGate dashboard stopped, so buying USDT was no longer possible.
• USDT stopped working as a settlement currency (referred to as “receive currency” in the API). Any APIs or integrations still set to USDT on that date were switched to USDC automatically. Merchants were advised to move to USDC or to EUR/BTC ahead of the deadline.
• Refunds in USDT were only possible where a USDT balance already existed in the account. Merchants could still refund orders originally paid in USDT using USDC or other cryptocurrencies.

Apart from the above, USDT kept working as usual until March 23, when the next changes took effect:

From March 23, 2025:

• Converting USDT into other currencies stopped.
• Deposited USDT was available only for withdrawals or payouts.

On March 24, 2025, we converted all remaining USDT balances into USDC at a 1:1 rate.

USDC is a compliant alternative supported by virtually all exchanges and DeFi protocols, so the switch cost shoppers very little.

USDC Steps Up in Europe

USDC, issued by Circle, achieved MiCA compliance in the summer of 2024 and is fully available at CoinGate. Specifically:

• Payments: USDC payments are supported on Ethereum, Arbitrum, and Solana networks.
• Deposits: You can deposit USDC using Ethereum, BSC, Tron, and Polygon networks.
• Other services: Feel free to use USDC for our currency exchange or payout services.

Don’t have an account at CoinGate yet? Sign up.

We’ll continue to expand our stablecoin offerings in the future, once the regulatory landscape becomes clearer.

Stablecoin Regulation in the US

In addition to MiCA, the United States now has a federal stablecoin law. The stablecoin oversight bill introduced by U.S. Senator Bill Hagerty became the GENIUS Act, which cleared the Senate in June 2025 and was signed into law on July 18, 2025. It:

• Defines what counts as a payment stablecoin.
• Requires issuers to hold a federal licence.
• Requires full reserve backing in liquid assets such as U.S. currency and Treasury bills.
• Demands monthly audited reserve reports, with criminal penalties for false reporting.
• And much more.

That clarity matters well beyond the United States. Whether US-licensed issuers now return to the European market under MiCA is still an open question, and it would change the picture again.

Stablecoins Are Here to Stay

After all, stablecoins have already proven their usefulness. According to the report from Ark Invest, stablecoin transaction value surpassed Visa and Mastercard in 2024, reaching $15.6 trillion. 

They’ve also solidified their role at CoinGate. As we outlined in our yearly data report, stablecoins accounted for 35.5% of all payments in 2024 alone.

Whether you’re a merchant or a crypto enthusiast, stablecoins remain one of the most efficient, reliable, and in-demand payment methods out there. We look forward to supporting more stablecoin options as they become fully compliant in the EU and on the global stage. 

But why wait? If you want to introduce stablecoins into your business, sign up for a CoinGate account today and start right away.