Binance's Greek Odyssey Hits a MiCA Wall 🏛️

Binance is on course to be shut out of the European Union after Greece's Hellenic Capital Market Commission moved to reject the exchange's application for a Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) license, according to a Reuters report on June 16 citing two people familiar with the matter. The decision would leave the world's largest crypto exchange unable to legally serve EU customers once MiCA becomes fully enforceable at the end of June.

Binance filed its MiCA application in Greece in January after establishing a local holding company, Binary Greece, in Athens. At the time, the exchange said it had spent more than 18 months working through the licensing process and described Greece as an attractive jurisdiction due to its economic growth, regulatory environment and labor force. A Greek publication previously reported that the Hellenic Capital Market Commission was processing the application on an expedited basis, but regulators are now preparing to deny it.

In a Tuesday blog post, Binance said the HCMC had completed its review of the application and "considered it compliant with MiCA requirements," subject to review at the European Securities and Markets Authority. "Binance serves more users in Europe than any other crypto exchange, and any delay or distortion in our MiCA path has consequences beyond Binance," the company wrote. "It risks weakening liquidity, reducing competition and user choice, and pushing activity, jobs, investment, and tax revenue outside the EU." A Binance spokesperson told Cointelegraph that the exchange expected ESMA "intended to progress the licence and move to authorise at an upcoming board meeting," adding that the firm would update users by June 30, the MiCA application deadline.

The HCMC declined to comment on the application due to confidentiality rules, and a Binance spokesperson told Reuters, "HCMC has given no formal indication of the contrary." The $BNB token was down almost 2% as the reports circulated.

A Greek rejection would mark one of the first major enforcement tests of MiCA, which requires crypto firms operating across the EU to secure authorization from at least one member-state regulator before they can "passport" services throughout the bloc. The framework has already drawn political tension inside Europe, with France's financial regulator warning that firms might use lighter-touch jurisdictions to gain broader EU market access, while the European Securities and Markets Authority has pushed for more centralized oversight.

Several large firms, including Coinbase, Kraken, Bitstamp, Circle, eToro and Revolut, have already secured MiCA-related approvals or regulatory positioning inside the bloc. Binance still faces separate scrutiny from US authorities following its 2023 agreement, in which then-CEO Changpeng Zhao stepped down and pleaded guilty to one felony charge and the company agreed to a $4.3 billion settlement with the US Treasury Department and Department of Justice.