Binance withdraws Greek MiCA bid, faces EU exit by July 1 deadline

Binance has one week to secure a European license or wind down operations for millions of users across the 27-nation bloc.

Binance withdrew its Greek MiCA license application on June 24, leaving the world's largest crypto exchange with one week to find an alternative EU home base before the bloc's July 1 regulatory deadline.

"Binance is not leaving Europe," Gillian Lynch, head of Europe and the United Kingdom at Binance, told Reuters. "We may just have a different pathway to being authorized."

The exchange had worked with Greece's Hellenic Capital Market Commission for months and believed approval was imminent, Lynch said. Regulators in Greece, Ireland and Latvia coordinated their assessments, raising concerns about Binance's past anti-money laundering violations, its complex corporate structure and what they viewed as a risk-taking culture, according to two people with knowledge of the process. Binance employs about 1,500 compliance staff and has no outstanding issues related to its application, Lynch said.

The European Securities and Markets Authority has directed unlicensed crypto firms to "take immediate steps to wind down their EU activities in an orderly manner." Binance's app was downloaded more than 4 million times in the bloc last year, with most downloads in France, Germany and Spain, according to Sensor Tower. Euro-denominated trading pairs account for about 1% of Binance's global spot volume, or $100 million to $250 million daily, per CryptoQuant — but losing access could push millions of users to competing platforms.

Binance said it will pursue authorization through another EU member state but declined to name which one. The company has contacted four or five regulators but submitted only one application, to Greece, Lynch said.

The setback revives scrutiny of Binance's regulatory track record. Founder Changpeng Zhao pleaded guilty in 2023 to violating U.S. anti-money laundering laws as part of a $4.3 billion settlement with the Department of Justice. He served nearly four months in prison before receiving a presidential pardon from Donald Trump in October 2025. Lynch said Zhao is "100% removed" from the company's operations, though he remains the ultimate beneficial owner.

Under MiCA, which took effect last year, crypto firms must obtain a license from one member state to passport services across all 27 EU countries. The transition period ends June 30. Binance's failure to secure approval in Greece tests whether regulators can enforce what would amount to a de facto ban on the exchange in Europe's largest economic bloc.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.