Binance’s stalled application for a European Union Cryptocurrency Market Regulation (MiCA) license in Greece has raised questions about whether the bloc’s central bank played an informal role in the process, despite having no formal authority over licensing decisions.
Although MiCA assigns the approval of crypto asset service provider (CASP) licenses to national competent authorities (NCAs), its language does not prevent other EU institutions, including the European Central Bank (ECB), from communicating with regulators during the review process, lawyers told Cointelegraph.
“There is nothing in the MiCA framework that prevents third parties such as the ECB from submitting opinions to national authorities regarding Binance’s application,” David L’Esperance, founder of L’Esperance & Associates, told Cointelegraph.
The Big Whale newspaper reported on Wednesday, citing unnamed sources, that ECB President Christine Lagarde told Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis that Binance is not welcome in Europe. The report followed a Reuters article on Tuesday that said Greece’s market regulator plans to reject Binance’s MiCA application.
The report surfaced less than two weeks before MiCA’s transition period ends on July 1. This transition period is a deadline to determine which crypto companies can continue to operate across the EU under their licensing regime.
Who actually makes the decisions in MiCA?
Under MiCA, CASP licenses are granted by national regulators rather than by EU-level institutions such as the ECB. In the case of Binance in Greece, that authority rests with the Hellenic Capital Market Commission (HCMC). The exchange announced in January that it had applied for a MiCA license in Greece.
“It is our understanding that Ho Chi Minh City has completed its review of the application and deemed it compliant with MiCA requirements. We also understand that the application was subject to review at the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) level,” Binance said in a blog post following the Reuters report.
A Binance spokesperson told Cointelegraph that the company believes ESMA intends to proceed with the application and approve it at a future board meeting. The company did not respond to requests for further explanation. ESMA itself does not grant CASP licenses under MiCA.
Yury Brisov, a lawyer at Digital and Analog Partners, said Ho Chi Minh City has not yet announced a decision on Binance’s application.
Brisov said MiCA “contains nothing that prevents the ECB from discussing, advising and sharing concerns with national regulators.” However, he pointed out that the ECB’s involvement is only explicitly defined in certain parts of MiCA, particularly the rules governing stablecoin issuers, and not in the CASP licenses of exchanges like Binance.
sauce: eurolex
“It is a concern that MiCA remains in the stablecoin chapter and not in the exchange license chapter,” Brisov added.
Stablecoins raise political stakes
The ECB has consistently expressed concerns about privately issued stablecoins, favoring instead tokenized financial infrastructure backed by central bank money. According to The Big Whale, the intervention reported by Lagarde was related to stablecoins.
Lagarde argued that Europe should prioritize regulated payment systems rather than relying on private stablecoins, while ECB board member Isabel Schnabel warned that stablecoins could further strengthen the dollar’s dominance.
At the same time, market data highlights Binance’s position as the world’s largest stablecoin exchange and dominant hub for stablecoin liquidity.
sauce: Binance
According to CryptoQuant data reported in February, Binance holds approximately $47.5 billion in USDT and USDC combined, representing approximately 65% of the total stablecoin reserves across centralized exchanges. This figure was up from approximately $35.9 billion in the same period last year.
Big Whale also reported that France could be the remaining route for Binance, although no formal application has been submitted there.
ESMA and Ho Chi Minh City did not immediately respond to Cointelegraph’s request for comment. The ECB and the French Monetary Authority (AMF) declined to comment.
