Tether to invest in Quantoz to support MiCA-compliant stablecoins

Tether will invest in Quantoz Payments to support the launch of euro and U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoins, EURQ and USDQ.

In an announcement on Nov. 18, Tether revealed plans for an upcoming investment in the Netherlands-headquartered payments firm to facilitate the issuance of the fiat-referenced e-money tokens.

Quantoz, licensed as an Electronic Money Institution by the Dutch Central Bank, launched the two MiCA-compliant stablecoins on Monday, Nov. 18, 2024. Crypto exchanges Kraken and Bitfinex are set to list EURQ and USDQ on Nov. 21.

Quantoz leveraged Hadron by Tether to issue the EURQ and USDQ coins, signaling Tether’s growing presence in the real-world asset tokenization market.

The launch contributes to the $200 billion stablecoin market, where Tether (USDT) holds the largest share, valued at over $127 billion at the time of writing. Key players in the sector include Circle and Paxos, alongside newer entrants like Ripple, all aiming to promote crypto and blockchain adoption through stablecoins.

Commenting on the investment in Quantoz, Tether’s chief executive officer, Paolo Ardoino, stated:

“By supporting Quantoz and bringing technology solutions like Hadron by Tether, we reinforce our dedication to expanding reliable, compliant financial tools that empower users and build trust across the digital ecosystem.”

In addition to Tether, Quantoz Payments has received investment backing from venture capital firm Fabric Ventures and crypto exchange Kraken. The company noted in a press release that EURQ and USDQ will be fully backed 1:1 by fiat reserves.

Reserves will also include liquid financial instruments such as government bonds, held in segregated accounts in compliance with regulatory requirements. Additionally, the payments firm will maintain another 2% of reserves on its balance sheet to meet MiCA obligations for stablecoin issuers.