Brussels, 1 October, (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – European regulators are scrutinising Binance EU operations after the cryptocurrency exchange continued providing some services to customers in the bloc without securing authorisation under the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets regulation, known as MiCA. The regulatory questions focus on Binance’s reliance on a tightly defined exemption for services initiated exclusively by customers.
The development places renewed attention on how the EU intends to enforce its landmark crypto framework against major international platforms. Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, says it remains committed to securing MiCA authorisation and complying with applicable European rules.
Binance EU operations come under regulatory scrutiny
The Financial Times reported that European authorities are examining Binance’s continued activities after the exchange failed to secure MiCA authorisation before the end of the relevant transitional period. Reuters subsequently reported the scrutiny, citing the FT report.
Binance had pursued authorisation through Greece’s Hellenic Capital Market Commission. However, on 24 June, the company announced that it had withdrawn its Greek application and planned to seek authorisation in another EU member state.
Binance said the decision followed an assessment of the status and timetable of the Greek process. It has not publicly identified the other member state in which it intends to seek authorisation.
MiCA exemption becomes central to questions
At the centre of the issue is MiCA’s “reverse solicitation” provision.
Article 61 permits a company based outside the EU to provide a crypto-asset service without MiCA authorisation when an EU customer initiates that service entirely on their “own exclusive initiative”.
However, the exemption is deliberately restrictive. If a third-country company solicits European customers through promotion, advertising or other communications, the service cannot be treated as having been provided exclusively at the customer’s initiative.
The European Securities and Markets Authority has also developed guidelines intended to prevent companies from using reverse solicitation to circumvent MiCA requirements.
Regulators are therefore examining whether Binance’s continuing European activities fall legitimately within that exemption. The Financial Times reported that authorities including regulators in France, Germany and Greece have questioned the company’s approach.
Binance says it remains committed to European market
Binance has maintained that it intends to secure European authorisation.
In an official update issued in June, the company said: “We remain committed to securing our MiCA license and remain ready to operate under a fair, predictable, and genuinely harmonized European framework.”
When announcing the withdrawal of its Greek application, Binance also said customers’ assets would remain accessible and that users affected by regulatory changes would receive information directly about their available options.
MiCA creates common rules across EU crypto market
MiCA represents the EU’s attempt to establish a harmonised regulatory regime for crypto-assets and service providers rather than relying primarily on different national frameworks.
The rules establish requirements covering authorisation, governance, customer protection and other areas of crypto activity.
For international exchanges, obtaining authorisation can provide a regulatory route to serving customers across the single market. The scrutiny surrounding Binance EU operations also illustrates the importance regulators are placing on preventing the reverse-solicitation provision from becoming a broad alternative to authorisation.
What happens next for Binance in Europe?
European authorities can continue examining whether Binance’s activities comply with MiCA and whether its reliance on reverse solicitation satisfies the regulation’s strict conditions. Reuters reported that regulators could consider enforcement measures, including potential fines, if they are dissatisfied with the company’s explanations. No such final enforcement finding was reported on 1 October.
Binance, meanwhile, is continuing its effort to obtain MiCA authorisation through another EU jurisdiction. Until that process is resolved, the dispute is likely to remain an important test of how European regulators apply MiCA to large global crypto exchanges seeking to serve customers within the bloc.
