Binance faces potential service ban in EU as Greece rejects license

Two people familiar with the matter said Greece's Hellenic Capital Market Commission plans to deny Binance's application for a Markets in Crypto-Assets license. The decision would block the exchange from operating in the European Union after the July 1 compliance deadline.

Binance submitted its MiCA application to HCMC in January 2026 and set up a local holding company called Binary Greece. Co-CEO Richard Teng pointed to Greece's workforce quality as a reason for choosing Athens as the regulatory home base.

The choice carried risks. Germany had issued more than 45 MiCA licenses by early 2026. The Netherlands had approved 22. Greece had not granted a single one.

A rejection means Binance would lose its ability to serve EU customers after July 1, the hard deadline for all crypto-asset service providers to hold proper MiCA authorization. France's Autorité des Marchés Financiers previously flagged Binance among roughly 89 firms operating without proper licensing as the deadline approached.

Binance said it has met all EU authorization requirements. The exchange maintains its application is compliant.

Major consulting firms including PwC and Deloitte have been helping Greek authorities review license applications, the two people said.