Binance Pulls Back From EU Services as MiCA Deadline Hits

Binance halts EU services ahead of July deadline

Binance, the world's largest crypto exchange by trading volume, told customers in France, Italy, Poland and Spain that it will suspend some services from 1 July. The Abu Dhabi-based company said it would not hold a Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) licence in place by the deadline. It has already stopped accepting new EU registrations. The notice arrived a day after the exchange publicly stated it was "not leaving Europe". Binance must now wind down its unlicensed activities across the 27-nation bloc.

Greek licence bid withdrawn as France becomes target

On Wednesday, Binance withdrew its MiCA licence application in Greece, which it had filed in January 2026 with the Hellenic Capital Market Commission through a local holding company. The regulator never issued a formal decision. Binance said it acted after weighing the status and timeline of the Greek process. The company plans to seek authorisation in another EU member state. According to the Financial Times, Binance intends to approach France, citing people familiar with the plans.

One licence is needed to serve all 27 states

MiCA comes into full force on 1 July. Under its passporting rules, a crypto firm must hold a licence from at least one of the 27 EU member states to provide services across the entire bloc. Firms without that authorisation must halt their EU operations. The national registrations that gave Binance a legal foothold in markets such as France, Italy, Spain and Poland expired with the end of the MiCA transition period. The exchange emailed clients days before a 30 June deadline.

Rivals secured MiCA approval months earlier

Several competitors moved faster on the licence. According to Unchained, rivals including Kraken, Coinbase, OKX and Crypto.com secured their MiCA authorisations months ago. Their head start leaves Binance unable to serve EU clients until it obtains a licence through a new member state, a step that may take months.

BNB trades near 561 dollars at publication time

BNB, the exchange's native token, traded at $561.15 at the time of publication, up 1.86% over the past 24 hours (CoinPaprika, 26 June 2026). Its market capitalisation stood at about $78.1 billion, ranking it the fourth-largest cryptocurrency. The token has fallen 2.7% over the past seven days (CoinPaprika, 26 June 2026).

Binance says user assets stay safe during wind-down

Binance told affected users their funds were not at risk. "Your assets remain safe and secure, and will remain accessible at all times," the email to clients said. The company said it would not ask customers to remove their assets before the deadline. Binance described the change as an orderly wind-down and said it would contact affected users directly with next steps.

"Our ambitions in Europe remain the same, and we are confident we will secure a MiCA licence in the coming months", 26 June 2026. — Binance, statement to CoinDesk

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