Binance is withdrawing its MiCA license application filed with Greece’s Hellenic Capital Market Commission and plans to seek authorization elsewhere in the European Union, the company said Wednesday.
The move comes just days before the July 1 deadline when the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation transitional period ends. After that date, unauthorized crypto firms must begin winding down their EU operations immediately, according to the European Securities and Markets Authority.
Binance’s head of Europe and the UK, Gillian Lynch, told Reuters the exchange is “not leaving Europe” and has already contacted other regulators. The company reportedly held talks with Ireland, Latvia, and Greece but faced pushback related to its past money-laundering penalties, international structure, and what officials saw as a risk-taking culture.
“When we are ready to announce that Member State, we will do so publicly,” Binance said in a statement.
The exchange pushed back on a June 16 Reuters report that EU regulators were preparing to reject its application, saying the Greek authority had found it compliant pending further ESMA review. Now the company says it will take “necessary steps” before July 1 to stay compliant, which may impact some users.
“All user funds remain safe and secure,” a Binance representative said, without providing further details.
Euro-denominated trading pairs account for roughly 1% of Binance’s global spot volume, according to CryptoQuant. Still, the exchange handles between $100 million and $250 million in daily euro-pair trades, with occasional spikes around $600 million. Binance held an estimated 18.5% share of euro-denominated spot trading this year, trailing Kraken’s 43.3%.
Binance’s licensing troubles could ripple outward. At least 380 of 867 MiCA white-paper entries tracked by the EU Crypto Register were notified by third parties — mostly exchanges — rather than token issuers themselves. Kraken, LCX, OKX, and Bitstamp accounted for 271 of those notifications.
