Binance Blocked in EU Amid Regulator Concerns

“Binance, the world's largest crypto exchange, failed to obtain a license to operate in the European Union after a regulator expressed concerns about its history of financial-crime violations.

 

Binance said last week it withdrew a license application filed in Greece that would have allowed the exchange to offer its services across the EU from July under the bloc's new crypto regulations.

 

The EU's markets regulator had privately advised national authorities to block any Binance application, citing concerns about the exchange's compliance with financial-crime rules, people familiar with the discussions said.

 

Greece's regulator didn't approve Binance's application before a July 1 deadline that requires unlicensed crypto firms to wind down their local businesses. Binance said it would now pursue a license elsewhere in the EU.

 

For now, the trading platform, which has 300 million users worldwide, isn't welcome in one of the world's largest markets, despite years of entreaties to European politicians.

 

Binance emailed EU customers that they would only be able to sell their holdings and withdraw funds after the deadline.

 

A Binance spokesperson said the company's license was "deemed complete and compliant" by Greece's financial regulator and was presented to the EU regulator on that basis, adding that there were no outstanding queries on Binance's compliance.

 

The EU's new crypto rules, known as MiCA, were "designed to create a clear, harmonized framework across Europe -- not a process where applicants can be privately undermined through informal channels," the spokesperson said. "Licensing decisions under MiCA should rest with the relevant national competent authority."

 

Binance pleaded guilty in 2023 to U.S. violations that prosecutors said turned the exchange into a hub for criminals, terrorists and sanctions evaders to launder their funds. The company paid a $4.3 billion fine, and Binance founder Changpeng Zhao pleaded guilty to a related charge, serving four months in a California jail. President Trump pardoned Zhao this past November.

 

This year, the Justice and Treasury departments have been investigating Iran's use of Binance to evade U.S. sanctions since the guilty plea. The Wall Street Journal reported in May that billions of dollars in crypto transactions flowed through Binance to networks financing Iran's regime over the past two years.

 

The Binance spokesperson has said the exchange didn't permit any transactions with sanctioned entities at the time and that Binance took all appropriate actions once they were sanctioned. Binance said it has "zero-tolerance for illicit activity on its platform," and had built a "best-in-class compliance program." Binance filed a lawsuit against the Journal over its reporting in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York in Manhattan. A Journal spokesperson said, "We stand by our reporting."

 

The European Securities and Markets Authority advised national regulators to block Binance's applications late last year, the people familiar with the discussions said. Afterward, several EU national regulators sought information from crypto firms about their exposure to Binance, including the value of their holdings on the exchange, according to a letter and some of the people.

 

ESMA's press office said it can't comment on specific decisions, but in general it works with national authorities "to ensure the consistent application of the rules across the EU and to minimize the risk of regulatory arbitrage." ESMA said it supports national authorities by sharing information and issuing guidance.

 

Binance's rivals pounced on its exit, with exchanges Coinbase and OKX, which have EU licenses, offering bonuses to lure new customers.

 

The move by the EU to keep Binance out is a role reversal of sorts. A few years ago, Binance was all but blocked in the U.S., while it had a freer hand to operate in the EU.

 

In 2022, Binance said it would make Paris its regional hub, following a meeting at the Elysee Palace between Zhao and French President Emmanuel Macron, who had pledged to make France a startup nation. French regulators granted a limited license to Binance to service local customers as the exchange tried to prove it had reformed from its early, freewheeling days. Zhao said he would spend summers in Paris, where he had rented an apartment.

 

However, Zhao's French dalliance withered. Last year, the Paris prosecutor's office said it had begun a criminal investigation into Binance. Binance denied the allegations and said it would fight any charges made against it. The investigation is ongoing.

 

Other EU countries also soured on Binance. The German financial regulator told Binance in 2023 to withdraw a license application, saying Zhao wouldn't pass a "fit and proper" test as owner, the Journal reported. Binance said it withdrew its application for a number of reasons.

 

While the EU is now trying to keep Binance out, the exchange has been making inroads back into the U.S. under Trump. During the months before the pardon, Binance took steps to boost the Trump family's own crypto venture, World Liberty Financial, including by accepting a $2 billion payment using World Liberty's own stablecoin, the Journal has reported. World Liberty has said it didn't facilitate or influence Zhao's pardon, and Binance has said neither the company nor Zhao acted as a financier to World Liberty.

 

Zhao, who remains Binance's majority owner, said last month he plans to reboot Binance's U.S. business. He lives in Abu Dhabi, which now serves as Binance's de facto global base.” [1]

 

1. Binance Blocked in EU Amid Regulator Concerns. Berwick, Angus; Kowsmann, Patricia.  Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.. 02 July 2026: B1.