France Denies Binance EU License as MiCA Deadline Forces Exchange Out of Spot and Margin Trading

Binance, the largest crypto exchange by trading volume, did not get approval from France’s AMF, which was the last European jurisdiction where it was still trying to secure an EU license. Under MiCA (Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation), the company had to either obtain a license by 1 July or stop operating in the EU, and it has now suspended spot and margin trading for European users.

1. Binance submitted its application to the French regulator just weeks before the deadline, but the AMF did not grant permission for it to operate in the European Union.
2. From 1 July, Binance suspended spot and margin crypto trading in the EU. Users in France and other EU countries can only withdraw assets from the platform. In June, the exchange told EU customers to withdraw their funds urgently.
3. France had been the last known EU jurisdiction that had not rejected Binance’s license attempt. Greece and several other EU countries had already refused the exchange before that.
4. Binance said Europe remains an important market because of the MiCA framework and stated that it expects to receive a MiCA license in the coming months, adding that it will name the state that issued the approval only after that happens.
5. The exchange served about 2 million users in France. At the same time, Binance said it had entered the Philippine market: BlockShoals Technologies, a local fintech partner, received approval to test financial products and services in a regulatory sandbox, and BlockShoals Stratbox will act as an intermediary giving Filipinos access to crypto through Binance infrastructure.

For PSPs and banking partners, the useful detail is not the headline refusal itself but the operating consequence: Binance has already shut off spot and margin trading for EU users, and the exchange’s European footprint now depends on whether and where it eventually secures a MiCA license.