German regulator halted USDe token offering, citing serious compliance failures and potential securities law violations.
BaFin, the German financial regulatory authority, has prohibited all public sales of Ethena GmbH’s USDe — a synthetic dollar — claiming that the token violates the European Union’s MiCAR regulations and accused the firm of selling unregistered securities in the region.
According to the announcement from the regulator, BaFin has ordered the firm to freeze the reserve assets that back the token, close down the website portal, and has ordered the firm to stop taking new customers. In a translated statement, the regulator wrote:
“The USDe and sUSDe tokens are interconnected in such a way that investors can receive a sUSDe token in exchange for a USDe token,” the regulator continued.
