Binance Hits Greece Hurdle, Says It's Not Going Anywhere Except Maybe Literally

Binance is withdrawing its Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) application filed with Greece's Hellenic Capital Market Commission (HCMC) and will pursue authorization in another EU member state, the company said Wednesday, days before the framework's July 1 transitional deadline. "When we are ready to announce that Member State, we will do so publicly," a Binance representative said. Gillian Lynch, Binance's Head of Europe and the United Kingdom, separately told Reuters the exchange is "not leaving Europe" and described a possible alternative path to compliance. "We may just have a different pathway to being authorized," Lynch said.

The exchange said it contacted regulators in Ireland, Latvia and Greece but only submitted a formal application in Greece. Talks with those jurisdictions reportedly stalled over Binance's prior anti-money-laundering penalties, its international corporate structure and a risk-taking culture cited by officials. On June 16, Binance pushed back against an earlier Reuters report that EU regulators were preparing to reject the application, saying the HCMC had reviewed the filing, considered it compliant and referred it for further review by the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA). The exchange had said at the time it expected the process to advance toward authorization.

The European Securities and Markets Authority said on Tuesday that crypto service providers that remain unauthorized by the July 1 deadline must take "immediate" steps to wind down their EU activities. Binance said it plans to take the necessary steps before that date to remain "compliant with applicable requirements," adding that "all user funds remain safe and secure" and that it will contact affected users directly. The company did not provide additional details on which products could be curtailed.

Data from CryptoQuant indicates euro-denominated pairs account for about 1% of Binance's global spot trading volume, a figure CryptoQuant analyst Maartunn cited on Monday as a sign that a European licensing setback may have a limited effect on the business. Binance handled between roughly $100 million and $250 million in daily euro-pair volume in 2026, with occasional spikes near $600 million, and held an estimated 18.5% share of euro-denominated spot trading during the year, placing it behind Kraken's 43.3% share, according to CryptoQuant. The MiCA transitional period ends on July 1, after which unauthorized crypto service providers must begin winding down operations in the bloc.