Binance is talking to regulators who’ve actually invited the exchange to apply for new crypto licenses. That’s according to co-CEO Richard Teng, who dropped the news at the Reuters NEXT Asia conference in Singapore.
The context matters here. Binance pulled its MiCA license application in Greece back on June 24, after reports suggested Greek regulators were planning to reject it. That was a blow — MiCA is the EU’s single licensing framework for crypto firms, and without it, Binance can’t legally serve EU clients through a local entity after the transition period expired on July 1.
Teng says the withdrawal caught them off guard. “We submitted a fully compliant application. The regulators told us as much,” he said. “We are not quite sure why the approval kept being delayed.”
Here’s the twist. Teng claims most EU users who left Binance didn’t go to MiCA-regulated competitors. “70% of those funds went to self-hosted wallets,” he said. Only 30% moved to MiCA-authorized exchanges. He’s questioning whether the regulation is actually protecting consumers if people are just moving to unregulated self-custody instead.
Binance saw $1.23 billion in net outflows during the week starting June 29 — up 207% from the week before, per DefiLlama data.
Meanwhile, OKX is capitalizing. The exchange says its app downloads jumped 158% between June 24 and July 5.
Beyond Europe, Binance is doubling down on Asia. Japan, Korea, Thailand, Indonesia, Australia, and most recently the Philippines through a partnership with BlockShoals Technologies. Notably, neither Binance nor BlockShoals holds a central bank license for peso transfers in the Philippines — the arrangement operates under SEC jurisdiction instead.
Teng wouldn’t name which European regulators are inviting Binance to reapply. Talks are still “premature,” he said. But the line forms here.
