Binance withdrew its MiCA license application in Greece last week, formally removing the pending Greek application after a sustained period of regulatory engagement. The action followed months of discussions with regulators, during which Binance engaged with relevant regulatory authorities on compliance and the status of its application. The company notified affected users less than ten days before the July 1 deadline, providing under-ten-days’ notice to those customers ahead of that compliance cutoff.
Binance withdrew its MiCA license application in Greece. The company suspended some services and said it would no longer accept new user registrations until further notice, affecting users in the relevant jurisdictions. Greece’s licensing requirements were met by Binance.
Binance said it offboarded accounts and reported them to law enforcement as soon as problematic activity was identified, and it rejected characterisations in recent reporting about how accounts were identified, reviewed and acted upon. The firm stated that affected accounts were handled promptly under its procedures. Binance previously sued the Wall Street Journal over reporting on Iran-linked accounts earlier in the year.
The Wall Street Journal reported that ESMA privately advised national regulators to disapprove Binance’s MiCA applications. Binance said the reporting mischaracterises how these accounts were identified, reviewed and acted upon.
“With regards to the cases raised in recent reporting, as soon as Binance uncovered these complex patterns of activity, it offboarded all accounts involved in those transactions and reported them to law enforcement. This is the complete picture that the headlines omitted.”
The company also described aspects of the reporting as categorically false.
Binance previously sued the Wall Street Journal over reporting on Iran-linked accounts earlier in the year. The firm reiterated that its account-handling statement showed a fuller picture than recent headlines.
Industry figures note there are roughly 3,000 registered virtual asset service providers (VASPs) operating in the EU. Erald Ghoos estimated that almost 80% of those VASPs may not survive after MiCA. Gillian Lynch said MiCA’s success should be measured by how many firms it brings inside the regulated market.
Lynch asked: “Is the success of MiCA that we have regulation, or is the success that the players are regulated?”
These points were presented by named industry figures in the article.
Binance withdrew its MiCA license application in Greece after months of regulatory discussions and made service adjustments including suspending some services and halting new user registrations until further notice. The company disputed recent reporting about its account reviews, stated it offboarded and reported problematic accounts to law enforcement, and its situation highlights broader regulatory scrutiny and compliance challenges facing firms under MiCA in the EU.
