Binance co-CEO remains 'committed' to securing EU license after exchange withdraws Greece bid

Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, said Wednesday it's committed to serving European customers, but the path to legally doing so remains unclear.

Binance said Wednesday it had "decided to withdraw its MiCA license application in Greece and pursue authorisation in another EU Member State." Co-CEO Richard Teng attempted to address the confusion about Binance securing the necessary EU permissions.

"We understand regulatory uncertainty can be frustrating," Teng said in a post on X. "We remain committed to securing a MiCA license in the coming months, while providing clarity, minimizing disruption, and keeping users informed directly."

Binance's most pressing problem in the ongoing EU licensing challenge is that it has only one week to secure a license. If it fails to secure one, the exchange would be required to cease operations in the region.

On Wednesday, before Binance's official update on its Greek application, the company's Head of Europe and the United Kingdom Gillian Lynch said the exchange was not leaving Europe. Lynch also said if the application in Greece didn't pan out, Binance would pursue alternatives.

"Two people with knowledge of the process told Reuters that Binance ​has held talks with regulators in Ireland, Latvia and Greece but faced resistance in all three countries," Reuters reported.

In January, Binance chose Greece when applying for the European bloc's Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regime, the license crypto exchanges need ahead of a July 1 deadline.

"We will take the necessary steps before 1 July to remain compliant with applicable requirements," Binance said Wednesday. "This means some users may be impacted, and we will communicate directly with affected users to provide clear information on next steps."

The European Parliament approved MiCA in April 2023 in order to establish a comprehensive framework for regulating crypto. The regime requires crypto-asset service providers to obtain authorization from a national competent authority in an EU member state.

While heralded as an achievement by some, becoming MiCA compliant has potentially been more difficult than some exchange executives expected. An OKX executive has estimated that about 80% of crypto exchanges will not survive MiCA.

In the case of Binance's application, Reuters said Wednesday that "officials were concerned about the company's ⁠past penalties for money laundering, its complex international structure and what they viewed as a risk-taking culture."

Binance says it has over 300 million users and that "Europe remains an important market for Binance.