The German financial supervisory authority BaFin said it identified “serious deficiencies” in Ethena’s USDe token, which the company calls a synthetic dollar, and forbade the issuer from offering it to the public with immediate effect.
The European Union’s Market in Crypto Assets (MiCA) regulations for issuers of stablecoins, tokens whose value is tied to another asset, took effect on June 30 last year. Ethena GmbH has been issuing USDe since June 28, according to BaFin. Companies were allowed to continue issuing their tokens while applying for a MiCA license, unless ordered to stop.
“During the ongoing licensing process, BaFin has identified, among other things, serious deficiencies in the bank’s business organization and violations of MiCAR requirements, such as those regarding asset reserves and compliance with capital requirements,” the regulator said.
USDe counts as an asset-referenced token because it is “a crypto asset whose…
