Binance’s EU Crypto License Bid Faces Fresh Scrutiny After Reported Lagarde Intervention

Binance’s attempt to acquire a pan-European crypto license from Greece came under scrutiny when the Wall Street Journal reported that European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde had urged Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis not to approve Binance’s MiCA application.

According to Greek officials, the report claimed that Binance was close to announcing authorization by late May, with its application complete.

The company had given a pre-prepared statement, describing approval as a “Major Milestone,” and co-CEO Richard Teng was expected to travel to Athens. Lagarde, the ECB and Greece’s Hellenic Capital Market Commission have not confirmed or denied the intervention publicly.

Under the MiCA framework, crypto-asset service provider licenses are not issued by the ECB at the EU level but by the national skilled authorities. The European Securities and Markets Authority promotes supervisory convergence.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Lagarde was concerned about Binance’s compliance record, and broadly about the risks of dollar-pegged stablecoins expanding into the European market. In 2023, Binance pleaded guilty to Bank Secrecy Act violations, money transmission violations, and sanctions violations in the United States, and was fined over $4 billion.