Tether CEO: EU MiCA regulations are "very dangerous" for stablecoins; abandoning the application was to protect users.
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Binance CEO responds to EU MiCA regulations taking effect: Will fully support user transition.
According to Mars Finance, on July 1st, Binance Co-CEO Richard Teng stated, "With the MiCA-related changes taking effect in the EU today, I want to personally assure affected users that we will fully support you through this transition in a prudent, clear, and responsible manner. After July 1st, affected users will continue to have access to the informed options, including applicable withdrawals. Binance is working diligently behind the scenes, including working closely with regulators to responsibly address this transition and continue to serve users in the best possible way. Binance is communicating directly with affected users about next steps and alternative solutions. The EU's Crypto Asset Markets Regulation (MiCA) framework came into effect on July 1st, and the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) called on unauthorized crypto asset service providers (CASPs) to orderly exit their businesses by the end of the MiCA transition period."
Binance co-CEO responds to MiCA's new rules taking effect: Transition support will be provided to affected users.
Odaily Odaily reports that Binance Co-CEO Richard Teng responded to the EU's MiCA regulations taking effect, stating that Binance will continue to provide transition support to affected users, including providing follow-up procedures and alternative solutions to ensure asset security and service continuity. He also advised users to seek account support and assistance through official customer service channels. Richard Teng acknowledged that regulatory changes may bring some uncertainty and user inconvenience, and that Binance is currently maintaining close communication with regulators to ensure a responsible compliance transition.
Circle CEO Responds to Competition Concerns Regarding OUSD: Stablecoins are Winner-Take-All! USDC's Decade-Long Network Effect Creates a Triple Moat
According to Mars Finance, on July 1st, Circle co-founder and CEO Jeremy Allaire responded to investors' questions regarding the competition from the emerging stablecoin OUSD, emphasizing that stablecoins are a business built on long-term platform and network effects, with a significant winner-takes-all characteristic. USDC's network strength stems from three barriers: First, the network effect of developer and application integration: thousands of services have integrated USDC, each integration amplifies network utility, forming a positive flywheel of developer preference and user stickiness; Second, the liquidity network effect: USDC is currently the third most liquid digital asset globally, alongside BTC and USDT, while other USD stablecoins have only one-tenth of its liquidity and are highly concentrated on promotional accounts on a single trading platform. USDC's liquidity is dispersed across dozens of exchanges, and it took nearly a decade to build this global liquidity foundation; Third, deep integration of policy and regulation: USDC is the only large-scale global stablecoin simultaneously covering Europe and Japan, and Circle continuously invests in the global banking system, reserve management, and near-24/7 liquidity infrastructure. Artemis data shows that USDC processed nearly $30 trillion in on-chain transactions in Q1 2026, accounting for 80% of all USD stablecoin transactions. Allaire addressed OUSD's core selling points point by point: First, while free minting and redemption are theoretically attractive, the market reality is that stablecoins with strong redemption capabilities, high liquidity, and zero fees naturally become exit channels for competitors. Circle addresses this issue through contractual mechanisms rather than general fee waivers. Second, while "everyone sharing the profits" sounds appealing, Circle has already distributed most of its revenue to distribution partners, while retaining sufficient revenue to continuously invest in the infrastructure that makes USDC a global utility—"distributing all revenue will only starve the infrastructure." Third, while the consortium governance model is attractive, its history of scaling and product agility is extremely poor. Large corporations often suffer from poor coordination, inconsistent incentives, and self-interest that stifles consortium operational investment. Circle attempted a similar model in the early days of USDC, encountering immense challenges even on a small scale; small, focused strategic partnerships and independently driven business partnerships almost always prevailed. Allaire also explicitly stated that Circle's stablecoin partnership with Coinbase remains strong, with both parties seeing significant opportunities to expand the USDC network. He expressed optimism about the overall growth of the stablecoin ecosystem, welcomed OUSD, and revealed that Circle is continuously expanding its partnerships with dozens of other stablecoin issuers through platforms such as Arc, CCTP, CPN, StableFX, and Agent Stack, even though some of these partners compete with Circle in other areas of their business. Last night, Open Standard announced the launch of OpenUSD, a new stablecoin backed by over 140 companies including Visa, Stripe, Mastercard, BlackRock, and Coinbase. According to BIT (bit.com) market data, Circle's stock price fell over 16% on Tuesday as a result, but has since rebounded briefly to a 1.55% gain in pre-market trading.
Tether CEO warns AI giants' computing power subsidy model: Multiple cycles of mismatch continue to accumulate industry risks.
On July 4th, PANews reported that Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino published an article on the X platform, questioning the current expansion model of AI giants subsidizing computing power in exchange for user scale. He stated that leading global AI technology companies are continuously increasing their investment in computing infrastructure to seize market share, resulting in huge capital expenditures. However, the economic depreciation cycle of computing assets such as GPUs and servers is only 3 to 5 years, and the hardware depreciates extremely quickly. This creates structural mismatch risks: token prices are decoupled from the real value of assets, the profit realization cycle lags behind the capital investment cycle, and the cost of capital does not match the debt repayment period. At the same time, open-source AI models continue to divert market demand and compress commercial revenue space.
Crypto payment card top-ups surpass $10 billion for the first time; stablecoins drive application growth.
According to Mars Finance, on July 2nd, Paymentscan data showed that the cumulative top-up amount for cryptocurrency payment cards surpassed $10 billion for the first time, reaching approximately $10.33 billion, an 82% increase since the beginning of the year and a year-on-year increase of approximately 250%. This data reflects the cumulative top-up volume of cryptocurrency payment cards and related payment projects, not the trading volume of cryptocurrency exchanges. The report states that stablecoins are becoming a major driving force behind the widespread adoption of cryptocurrency payment cards. Compared to volatile assets like Bitcoin, stablecoins can complete payment settlements through traditional bank card networks, lowering the barrier to entry for merchants and making them more suitable for cross-border payments, remittances, and daily consumption scenarios in high-inflation regions. As payment companies, crypto exchage, and asset management institutions continue to improve stablecoin infrastructure, cryptocurrency payment cards are gradually becoming an important entry point for connecting digital assets with real-world consumption. However, as the scale of application expands, regulatory agencies will pay closer attention to issues such as consumer protection, sanctions screening, tax reporting, reserve asset transparency, and transaction monitoring.
Binance Co-CEO: MiCA ensures user asset security during the transition period; withdrawal functionality remains available.
PANews reported on July 1st that Binance co-CEO Richard Teng issued a statement regarding the MiCA regulatory transition, stating that user assets are safe and affected users can continue to use the previously announced options, including withdrawals, after July 1st. Binance is directly communicating with affected users about subsequent steps and available options, and advises users to contact customer service through official channels. Teng stated that the team's focus is on providing users with clear guidance, service continuity, and confidence during the transition period.