PANews reported on January 3rd that according to The Block, Stuart Hoegner, chief legal counsel of Tether and Bitfinex, announced his retirement and Michael Hilliard took over the legal affairs work. This handover coincides with the full implementation of the EU Crypto-Asset Market Regulation (MiCA) on December 30, 2024, which imposes stricter reserve and liquidity requirements on stablecoin issuers. Hoegner has served as the head of legal affairs for Bitfinex since 2014 and has made important contributions to the company's response to the complex regulatory environment over the years.