Binance Pursues MiCA Approval in Greece As EU Deadlines Loom

Binance submitted an software for authorization underneath the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Property Regulation (MiCA) in Greece as regulators warn of looming compliance deadlines.

A Binance spokesperson confirmed to Cointelegraph on Friday that the trade had filed for a MiCA license in Greece and was working with the nation’s monetary regulator, the Hellenic Capital Market Fee (HCMC).

“We welcome the chance to work carefully with the HCMC as this new regulation takes form in the EU and sit up for contributing to the long-term progress of the EU’s digital monetary ecosystem,” the trade’s consultant mentioned.

France flagged Binance amongst non-MiCA-licensed exchanges final week

The information follows France’s Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF) warning on Jan. 13 that Binance was among 90 crypto companies it had registered, however which stay unlicensed underneath MiCA.

The regulator mentioned it notified the businesses in late 2025 that France’s MiCA transition interval ends on June 30, forcing non-compliant companies to stop operations in July.

Based in 2017, Binance is the world’s largest centralized exchange (CEX) by buying and selling turnover, averaging $11.9 billion in reported each day quantity, according to CoinGecko.

“We see MiCA as a optimistic and essential milestone for the business — one which brings better regulatory readability, stronger person protections, and a transparent framework for accountable innovation,” Binance’s spokesperson mentioned.

Greece is but to difficulty its first MiCA license

Publicly accessible knowledge from the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) indicates that Greece has not issued a single MiCA license for a crypto-asset service supplier (CASP) so far.

As of Jan. 15, Germany and the Netherlands lead the EU in issued CASP MiCA licenses, with 43 and 22, respectively, whereas France’s AMF has granted 11 authorizations.

Final Friday, KBC — one among Belgium’s largest banks — announced plans to launch Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) buying and selling in February.

The financial institution mentioned it anticipated to acquire a MiCA license in Belgium, a rustic that has but to difficulty its first authorization underneath the framework.

Associated: Moldova moves to regulate crypto under EU-style MiCA rules

Binance drew heightened scrutiny from European regulators properly earlier than MiCA entered into full force in late 2024. In 2021, a number of member states flagged Binance as an unregistered exchange.

The platform has since confronted repeated warnings as regulators elevated oversight. In 2023, Binance co-founder and former CEO Changpeng Zhao pleaded guilty in the US to money-laundering expenses and served a four-month prison term, underscoring regulators’ push for stricter compliance.