Binance was reportedly close to securing a Greek MiCA license before the application drew the ECB and ESMA into a process formally controlled by Greece.
Key Takeaways
- Lagarde reportedly contacted Greece’s prime minister.
- ESMA reportedly opposed Binance’s application.
- Greek authorization could unlock EU access.
- Binance withdrew before receiving a decision.
The new report describes pressure on Binance’s application
European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde personally intervened as Binance sought regulatory approval through Greece, according to a new Wall Street Journal investigation.
The Journal said Lagarde contacted Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and raised concerns about giving the world’s largest crypto exchange a regulated base inside the European Union. The European Securities and Markets Authority, or ESMA, separately advised against allowing the application to proceed, according to the report.
Binance appeared to be approaching authorization in late May. Greek officials had reportedly indicated that its application was complete, while Binance had prepared an announcement and expected CEO Richard Teng to travel to Athens. Its local operation was also preparing to lease office space.
The authorization never arrived. Greece’s market regulator did not issue a decision, and Binance withdrew the application in June.
The WSJ investigation adds new information about events from earlier in 2026. It is not a fresh ECB action, another Greek licensing decision or a new restriction on Binance users. Neither Binance nor the ECB had published a statement confirming the reported private conversations when checked.
A Greek license would have extended beyond Greece
Binance applied for authorization as a crypto-asset service provider through the Hellenic Capital Market Commission. Although that was a national process, the resulting license could have carried much wider consequences.
Under the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation, an authorized provider can use passporting rights to offer covered services in other EU member states. Greece was therefore a potential entry point into the wider single market, rather than the limit of Binance’s European plans.
Only the Greek regulator could issue the authorization. ESMA develops common standards and promotes consistent supervision across the bloc, while the ECB’s interest lies in financial stability, payments and monetary policy. Lagarde’s reported contact could influence the Greek process, but it could not replace a decision by the country’s market regulator.
| Institution | Role in the application |
|---|---|
| Greek regulator | Held the legal authority to decide Binance’s application. |
| ESMA | Sets common supervisory standards and reportedly advised against approval. |
| ECB | Does not issue MiCA licenses but has an interest in financial stability and monetary sovereignty. |
| Greek government | Did not decide the application, although Lagarde reportedly contacted the prime minister. |
| Binance | Submitted the application and later withdrew it. |
According to the Journal, the opposition centered on two issues: Binance’s compliance record and the monetary role of dollar-denominated stablecoins.
Binance’s compliance history remained part of the assessment
In 2023, Binance pleaded guilty in the United States to violations involving anti-money-laundering controls and sanctions. The company agreed to pay more than $4.3 billion as part of the resolution announced by the US Department of Justice.
The settlement gave European regulators a concrete reason to question Binance’s governance and internal controls. A Greek authorization would not have affected Greece alone; passporting could have allowed the exchange to serve customers across the bloc.
A complete application addressed the paperwork. Regulators still had to decide whether Binance’s compliance record justified access to the wider EU market.
Stablecoins created a separate concern for the ECB
Binance supports extensive trading and payment activity involving dollar-denominated tokens such as USDT and USDC. Wider access to the exchange could therefore expand the role of those tokens among European users.
Lagarde had already addressed that issue in a May speech on stablecoins and the future of money. She said close to 98% of stablecoins were denominated in US dollars and warned that their growth could deepen digital dollarization and weaken European monetary sovereignty.
For the ECB, the issue is where blockchain transactions ultimately settle. Stablecoins increasingly provide the cash side of those transactions. If dollar-b
Alex is Editor-in-Chief of Coindoo and co-founder of Millennial Media Group, with nearly a decade of experience covering financial markets – crypto first, then everything else.
It started in 2016 with Bitcoin. Like most people at the time, he didn’t fully understand it – so he kept digging. Blockchain, tokenomics, the projects, the cycles. That curiosity never stopped, and eventually pulled him into traditional markets too: equities, commodities, macro. Not because he left crypto behind, but because you can’t properly understand one without the other.
What drives him is straightforward: he wants to know why something is happening, not just that it’s happening. Most market coverage stops at the headline – price up, price down, here’s a chart. Alex finds that kind of reporting actively unhelpful. If you walk away from an article without understanding the mechanism behind the move, what did you actually learn?
He holds a degree in Tourism from New Bulgarian University – not the most obvious path into financial markets, but markets have a way of pulling in people who are simply too curious to stay out. He has authored over 200 in-depth analyses and more than 10,000 articles across crypto and traditional finance. He still thinks every day in markets teaches him something new. That’s probably why he hasn’t stopped.
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