It provides a clear route to compliant access to the single market for businesses, while also providing strong guardrails that protect users while supporting innovation, said a spokesperson for Binance. With existing registrations in six EU countries, Binance stands ready to make any necessary changes to our business during the implementation period to fully comply with MiCA’s requirements.
As the world’s largest crypto exchange, Binance is facing regulatory pressure from all directions, including the US and Europe. The company has applied for licenses and registrations in several countries in an effort to serve as many markets as possible, but recent developments have seemingly narrowed Binance’s options in Europe. With the EU’s new Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) regulation coming in, the exchange may be focusing most or all of its efforts on compliance in fewer EU countries.
The MiCA regulation will allow companies to register or get licensed in one country and then provide services across all 27 EU member states. However, not all nations are equally ready to implement MiCA, and some countries like France and Germany have established more robust crypto licensing regimes that involve thorough examinations of the business before approving registration or licenses.
Binance is registered with regulators in France, Italy, Lithuania, Spain, Poland, and Sweden, and the company has said it will be flexible to become a regulated entity. France has been courting crypto firms with its own MiCA-ready licensing regime, and the country is considering a fast-track to licensing for companies already on its vetted registry with the financial watchdog AMF.
Although there’s no saying if or when Binance might finally win a French crypto license, given BaFin’s track record for approving crypto firms, France might be its likely path to MiCA compliance—and that may be the case for many companies looking to enter the single market.