Binance has kept its European licensing plans open after declining to address a report that European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde intervened in its failed Greek MiCA application.
Summary
- Binance declined to comment on a report that Christine Lagarde intervened in its Greek MiCA application.
- Greek officials reportedly told ESMA in early June that the HCMC intended to approve the Binance license.
- Binance withdrew its Greek application on June 24 and said it would pursue authorization in another EU jurisdiction.
- The exchange remains without MiCA authorization after missing the July 1 licensing deadline.
According to a Sept. 18 Wall Street Journal report, a vice chair of Greece’s Hellenic Capital Market Commission told Binance that Lagarde had asked Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis not to approve the exchange’s application. The account has not been publicly confirmed by Lagarde, the ECB or the Greek regulator.
“We will not comment on speculation,” a Binance spokesperson said in response to the report. The exchange maintained that it remains committed to securing authorization under the European Union’s Markets in Crypto Assets Regulation, or MiCA.
“In Europe, Binance remains committed to operating on a long-term, compliant basis under the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation,” the spokesperson said.
Binance Greek MiCA bid was reportedly close to approval
Greek officials had informed the European Securities and Markets Authority in early June that the HCMC intended to approve Binance’s application, according to the Wall Street Journal. The exchange had been preparing for approval weeks earlier and drafted an announcement describing the expected authorization as a major milestone.
Binance co-CEO Richard Teng was expected to travel to Athens for a meeting and photograph with Mitsotakis as part of the planned announcement, the newspaper reported. Approval from Greece would have given the exchange a regulatory route to provide covered crypto services across the EU through MiCA’s passporting system.
The process changed course before the authorization was issued. The Wall Street Journal reported that Lagarde raised concerns about Binance’s compliance history, including the exchange’s 2023 guilty plea in the United States over anti-money laundering and sanctions violations. Binance agreed to pay roughly $4.3 billion as part of its settlement with U.S. authorities.
Concerns around stablecoins were part of the discussions as well, according to the newspaper. Lagarde has pushed for a stronger European payments system as the ECB develops the digital euro, while dollar denominated stablecoins remain dominant in global crypto markets.
The reported intervention came despite licensing authority under the existing MiCA framework resting with national regulators. Once a crypto asset service provider receives authorization from a competent authority in one member state, the license can be used to provide covered services elsewhere in the bloc.
Binance withdrew its Greek application before the MiCA deadline
Questions around the application had surfaced publicly by mid-June. As crypto.news reported at the time, Binance faced a potential rejection of its Greek application even as the exchange maintained that it had received no formal indication from the HCMC that approval would be denied.
Binance said at the time that it had worked with regulators for around 18 months and submitted what it considered a complete application. Its understanding was that the HCMC had completed its review and considered the filing compliant with MiCA requirements, while the application had undergone review at the ESMA level.
Reports of Lagarde’s involvement emerged soon afterward. The exchange’s Greek licensing route stalled as the July 1 deadline approached, leaving little time to obtain authorization before national transition arrangements expired.
Binance formally withdrew the application on June 24. The company said the decision followed a review of the status and timing of the Greek process and confirmed that it would pursue authorization in another EU member state. It did not identify the jurisdiction.
The exchange told users that their assets would remain safe and accessible while warning that services available to some customers could change depending on their country and account status. Binance continued to say that its long term plan was to secure a MiCA license and maintain operations in Europe.
The withdrawal came days before the July 1 deadline, when crypto firms that had relied on national registrations during MiCA’s transition period needed authorization to continue providing regulated services under the new framework. Binance subsequently suspended several EU services after failing to secure a license in time.
Binance remains without MiCA authorization
The licensing issue has continued beyond the July deadline. Binance was still opening and verifying some European customer accounts more than seven weeks later despite remaining absent from ESMA’s register of authorized crypto providers, according to tests conducted in August.
Some restrictions remained in place during those tests. One account opened through Austria using a Spanish identity document could not deposit euros through bank transfer after a third party provider flagged an address mismatch, although cryptocurrency deposits remained available.
By early September, Binance was continuing to serve some EU customers through regulatory provisions including reverse solicitation, which can permit services when customers approach an overseas provider on their own initiative. Some activity was being routed through an Abu Dhabi entity while the exchange continued seeking European authorization. Binance’s EU operations remained under regulatory attention, with ESMA seeking confirmation that the company was properly winding down activities requiring MiCA authorization.
Binance has not announced a new MiCA authorization since withdrawing its Greek application. Its June 24 update said another member state would be named when the company was ready to disclose its next licensing route.
