Spain says 'no exceptions or extensions' for Binance, other crypto firms ahead of MiCA deadline

Spain's securities regulator said crypto firms that fail to secure licensing under the European Union's MiCA framework will not receive extra time or special treatment, adding to the pressure on Binance and other platforms to keep serving EU customers ahead of the July 1 deadline.

Carlos San Basilio, chair of Spain's CNMV, said on Friday that there would be "no exceptions or extensions" for firms that have not obtained authorization under the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets regime, according to Reuters. He added that the regulator is in close contact with firms that have not received licenses to assist in orderly wind-downs and protect customers during the transition.

The comments come after Binance withdrew its application for a MiCA license in Greece on Wednesday, saying it would look to get authorization in another EU member state. The exchange added that it remains committed to Europe and expects to secure a license "in the coming months," but warned that some users may be affected in the meantime.

Binance customers in Poland, Italy, Spain, and France have begun to receive emails on how to withdraw their funds, the Financial Times reported earlier on Friday.

MiCA criticisms and praises

Binance founder Changpeng Zhao criticized the potential loss of access, writing on X that it was "sad to see the EU cutting their users off from the best liquidity in the world" and arguing that "liquidity is the best consumer protection."

OKX founder and CEO Star Xu shot back in a reply to Zhao's tweet, accusing Binance of "ignoring laws and regulations" and citing past allegations of "money laundering, sanctions violations and market manipulation." 

Despite the MiCA licensing scramble, other platforms are embracing the framework.

"One rulebook and one passport across thirty countries is what European crypto has been missing," Kraken's head of policy and government relations for EMEA, Beata Sivak, said in a statement. "MiCA gives serious operators something solid to build on, and gives customers a way to tell a regulated firm apart from an unregulated firm."