Oct 4 (Reuters) - Coinbase will delist certain

stablecoins in the European Economic Area by year's end, the

cryptocurrency exchange said on Friday, as the industry braces

for tougher regulation in the region.

The European Union's landmark crypto regulatory framework,

known as the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation,

introduced in early 2023, is set to be fully applied by

December.

It requires issuers of stablecoins - crypto tokens whose

monetary value is pegged to a stable asset to protect from wild

volatility - to meet strict transparency, liquidity, and

consumer protection standards.

"Given our commitment to compliance, we intend to restrict

the provision of services to EEA users in connection with

stablecoins that do not meet the MiCA requirements by December

30, 2024," the top U.S. crypto exchange said in an emailed

statement.

Coinbase plans to offer in November impacted EEA customers

options to switch to authorized issuers like fintech firm

Circle's USDC and EURC, whose value is pegged to the U.S. dollar

and euro, respectively.

Stablecoins have gained significant popularity in recent

years, as financial heavyweights such as PayPal ( PYPL ) adopt

them and the rapid integration into mainstream finance of the

once-nascent digital assets sector.

(Reporting by Manya Saini in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj

Kalluvila)