Binance Holdings Ltd. is set to halt key crypto trading and exchange services for users across the European Union starting July 1, 2026, as the bloc’s MiCA (Markets in Crypto-Assets) regulation takes full effect.
A few days ahead of the deadline, the company withdrew its MiCA crypto license in Greece. The decision came after the Hellenic Capital Market Commission (HCMC), the country’s primary financial regulator, signaled serious concerns over Binance’s complex corporate structure and past regulatory issues.
“Binance has decided to withdraw its MiCA license application in Greece and pursue authorization in another EU Member State,” Binance noted.
The move could see Binance seek a MiCA crypto license in France. Furthemore, the crypto exchange admitted that the EU bloc could benefit from its deep liquidity, which former CEO and founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) reiterated on June 26, 2026.
“Sad to see the EU cutting its users off from the best liquidity in the world. Liquidity is the best consumer protection,” CZ noted on X.
Binance outlook amid EU regulatory headwinds
At press time, Binance had more than 322 million users across over 18 licensed jurisdictions. For instance, Binance is regulated by Abu Dhabi Global Markets (ADGM) and is a Digital Asset Service Provider (DASP) in France and Italy, and a Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) in Spain and Poland.
As such, the delay in obtaining the MiCA application license may only be a temporary setback. Moreover, Binance recently launched its stock trading service, enabling users to seamlessly interact with traditional finance (TradiFi) through tokenization.
As such, Binance users can seamlessly trade AI stocks across different jurisdictions using crypto assets. Meanwhile, the crypto exchange may not seamlessly offer trading services for users trading EU stocks, thereby making the MiCA crypto license a priority for near-term growth.
