Binance to lose EU authorization as MiCA license application faces rejection in Greece

Binance is set to lose the right to offer services to customers in the European Union within weeks, after its MiCA (Markets in Crypto-Assets) license application in Greece was reported to be heading for rejection. For crypto payments and PSPs, the practical point is simple: without that authorization, Binance cannot keep operating in the bloc from early July.

1. According to Reuters, two people familiar with the matter said Binance’s application submitted to the Greek market regulator is expected to be rejected. Under the EU’s MiCA regime, crypto firms have until the end of June to secure a license if they want to continue operating in the bloc.
2. A representative of the HCMC (Hellenic Capital Market Commission) declined to comment on Binance’s application, citing confidentiality rules. Reuters reported that, without a license, Binance will not be able to continue operating in the EU from early July.
3. Binance said it had been working on a MiCA license and had cooperated constructively with regulators over the past 18 months, including what it described as an extensive application process with Greece’s HCMC.
4. A Binance spokesperson said the company believed it had met the requirements for MiCA authorization and understood that the HCMC had completed its review of the application and considered it compliant. The spokesperson added that the HCMC had not given any formal indication to the contrary.
5. Binance’s co-chief executive Richard Teng said in February that Greece’s workforce and security profile gave it an edge over larger financial centers as a place to establish its European regulatory headquarters. Teng, a former regulator in Singapore and Abu Dhabi, said then that the EU would decide whether Binance got its license before the July deadline.

For high-risk operators, this is another reminder that MiCA is not a theoretical compliance exercise. If a major venue like Binance cannot clear a national licensing path on time, the operational consequence is immediate: market access in the EU can disappear on the calendar the same way it does on a risk committee slide.