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Binance license fight
Binance founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao said Binance was “days from MiCA approval” before politics hit, describing how two EU states competed to host Binance’s MiCA bid through Greece before opposing forces triggered last week’s withdrawal.
Zhao said Binance quietly pulled its Greek filing “just days before the bloc’s deadline,” with the filing withdrawn “just days ahead of the Jul. 1 licensing deadline.”
The setback comes as MiCA’s July 1 deadline approaches, with PaymentsJournal saying firms without a MiCA licence must cease operating in the EU or risk legal action and that authorization in a single EU member state allows passporting across the bloc.
Cointelegraph added that under MiCA, crypto companies offering services to EU-based users in 27 countries must be licensed as a Crypto-Asset Service Provider (CASP) by a regulator in one of the member states.
Yellow also reported that Zhao would not verify speculation tying the rejection to European Central Bank chief Christine Lagarde, saying he could point to no documents verified by either side.
Bonuses and competing bids
As Binance faced MiCA service limits, PaymentsJournal said the scramble among licensed exchanges included bonuses, promotions, and cash incentives, framing the shift as a push to win over Binance’s customers.
CoinDesk reported that ESMA called on unauthorized crypto-asset service providers to wind down their businesses in an orderly manner as the MiCA transitional period ends on July 1, and it quoted OKX Europe CEO Erald Ghoos estimating that “80% of the crypto players won't survive after MiCA.”
Crypto.news said Coinbase and OKX moved fast as Binance prepared to restrict several EU services, with Coinbase offering a “5% transfer bonus” for users who move funds before July 13 and OKX promoting “deposit matching of up to 8%.”
Cointelegraph described the licensing requirement across 27 countries and noted that while Coinbase, FalconX, Kraken and OKX have obtained licenses to operate after the June 30 deadline, the absence of others could impact the region’s crypto market.
Yellow also said Binance told users that access to some services would change because it had not secured a MiCA license in time, while Binance said assets “remain accessible at all times.”
Licensing outcomes and stakes
While the deadline looms, Finance Magnates reported that FalconX secured EU authorization under MiCA from the Malta Financial Services Authority, allowing the institutional digital asset prime broker to expand regulated services across the European Economic Area ahead of the July 1 expiry of the MiCA transition period.
Finance Magnates said the approval lets FalconX provide trading, custody, and liquidity services to institutional clients throughout the EEA under MiCA’s unified framework, and it quoted FalconX’s Chief Compliance Officer, Europe, Maruska Buttigieg Gili, saying institutional clients increasingly expect “trust, transparency, and well-defined rules.”
TradingView reported that Germany led MiCA approvals with 57 MiCA-authorized crypto-asset service providers (CASPs), about 23% of the 244 total licenses issued, while France followed with 26 companies, or roughly 11% of all approvals.
TradingView also said five EU member states, including Greece, Hungary, Poland, Portugal and Romania, had not issued any MiCA licenses as of June 26, and it highlighted Greece after Binance applied for authorization but later withdrew its application.
CoinDesk warned that after July 1, their permission expires for firms licensed by national regulators before MiCA, and it said MiCA licenses allow companies to operate throughout the European Economic Area, which comprises the 27-nation European Union as well as Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein.
