Binance Vows EU Stay, Plans New Licence Bid After MiCA Rejection

Binance plans to stay in the European Union and will make a fresh push for a licence under the region's new crypto-asset rules, a senior executive told Reuters, after its first application under the Markets in Crypto-Assets regulation failed.

The setback threatens the exchange's access to millions of users across the bloc's 27 member states. MiCA, which took full effect this year, requires any platform serving EU clients to hold a licence from a member-state regulator. The executive declined to name the country where Binance applied or the reasons for the rejection.

The company is already working with advisers on a new filing in a different EU jurisdiction, the person said. No timeline was given.

MiCA creates a single passport system: a licence from one EU regulator lets a platform operate across all member states. That makes the stakes high for any exchange that misses the window. Circle and Crypto.com have already secured MiCA licences and can serve the entire bloc from a single approval.

The failed bid is the latest regulatory hurdle for Binance. Over the past two years the exchange has pulled out of several national markets and paid penalties in the United States for previous compliance failures. The EU licence was seen inside the firm as a way to lock in access to one of the world's richest crypto markets and signal a clean break from its earlier approach of operating without local permissions.

Binance still serves EU users through existing operations. Those services could face restrictions if no licence is granted before national regulators begin enforcing MiCA's transition deadlines. Several EU countries have already started withdrawing temporary permissions for unlicensed platforms.

The executive said Binance is not considering an EU exit. The company declined to comment further on the reasons for the first rejection or the jurisdiction for the next attempt.