Binance Lost Its EU License but Kept Its Users. ESMA Wants Answers

ESMA questions how Binance still serves EU users

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) and national regulators in France, Germany, and Greece are examining how Binance keeps serving customers in the European Union without a licence. The inquiry centres on the exchange's use of a reverse solicitation exemption, a narrow carve-out that lets some non-EU firms accept EU clients. Regulators have asked Binance for details of its model and warned that continued non-compliance could trigger enforcement, including fines. The Financial Times first reported the inquiry on 1 October 2026. Earlier coverage: Binance's EU Licence Collapsed Over a Phone Call, WSJ Reports →.

Binance lost its licence when the MiCA transition ended

Binance has operated without a licence under the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) since the bloc's transitional period ended on 1 July 2026. The company withdrew its MiCA application in Greece in June 2026, closing its main route to authorisation. Binance had held registrations in six EU member states — France, Italy, Lithuania, Poland, Spain, and Sweden — and all have since lapsed. Spain's securities regulator ruled out exceptions or extensions before the July deadline.

Reverse solicitation applies only in narrow cases

The exemption, set out in Article 61 of MiCA, lets a non-EU firm serve an EU client only when that client makes contact at their own exclusive initiative. ESMA detailed the limits in guidelines published in December 2024. The regulator treats websites, apps, advertising, and influencer campaigns aimed at EU users as solicitation that voids the exemption, and it states that contractual disclaimers cannot override the facts of how a client was reached.

"This exemption should be understood as very narrowly framed and as such must be regarded as the exception; and it cannot be assumed, nor exploited to circumvent MiCA.", December 2024. — European Securities and Markets Authority, Guidelines on reverse solicitation under MiCA

Binance routes some EU trades through Abu Dhabi

Some trading involving EU customers has been routed through a Binance entity in Abu Dhabi, which the company gained authorisation for in December 2025. Binance said it "complies with applicable regulatory requirements" wherever it operates. The exchange added that it is "actively working toward becoming MiCA-authorised," though it has not set out a timeline for a new EU licence.

BNB traded near $769 at time of publication

BNB, the exchange's native token, traded at $769.01 at the time of publication, up 0.45% over the past 24 hours, with a market capitalisation of about $102.4 billion (CoinPaprika, 1 October 2026). The token sat roughly 44% below its record high set on 13 October 2025. The regulatory inquiry had no immediate visible impact on the price.

Regulators warn that enforcement could follow

National authorities, including the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM), have stressed that firms cannot simply claim the exemption to keep operating after losing authorisation. The requests for information signal that supervisors want to test whether Binance's model meets the exclusive-initiative standard. ESMA has not announced a formal action, and the outcome depends on what the national regulators conclude.

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