Does Regulation Bite at Gateways? Evidence from MiCA and Stablecoins

Abstract

Gateways are trading venues where regulation can change the assets investors can trade. We study this margin using MiCA-EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation-which led several exchanges to delist USDT pairs for European Economic Area users, while USDC obtained MiCA authorization. First, aggregate market shares and trading volumes barely move. Second, comparing Regulated-facing exchanges with globally oriented exchanges where MiCA is less likely to bind, we show that the cross-section shifts toward USDC-USDC share rises by 0.82 and relative trading volume by 0.54 pre-event standard deviations. Both reflect USDT trading contracting where it is delisted.