ECB President Christine Lagarde intervened to block Binance’s EU MiCA license: WSJ

European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde personally intervened to forestall crypto speech Binance from obtaining a Markets successful Crypto-Assets (MiCA) licence successful Greece, according to a Wall Street Journal report that cited radical acquainted with the process.

A elder Greek regulator told Binance that Lagarde wanted the determination delayed until the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) takes implicit licensing decisions for crypto exchanges nether a projected EU betterment that has yet to beryllium adopted, the Journal reported.

MiCA support is granted by the fiscal regulators of idiosyncratic European Union (EU) countries. Approval successful 1 state gives the recipient a licence to run crossed the bloc. The ECB is influencing decisions due to the fact that of concerns implicit stablecoins and the integer euro, the Wall Street Journal said.

Lagarde was acrophobic that Binance’s standard arsenic the world's largest crypto speech and however it could deepen the usage of dollar-based stablecoins successful the region, undermining the cardinal banks' integer euro task and euro-denominated alternatives.

"We volition not remark connected speculation," a Binance spokesperson said. "In Europe, Binance remains committed to operating connected a long-term, compliant ground nether the EU’s Markets successful Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA)."

The institution said it inactive intended to prosecute a license.

“We are actively moving toward becoming MiCA-authorised and presumption this arsenic an important measurement successful providing users with a consistent, regulated, and trusted work crossed the European market,” the spokesperson said.

Binance withdrew its Greek exertion successful mid-June and began winding down operations aft officials astatine the Hellenic Capital Market Commission (HCMC) decided not to o.k. Binance’s MiCA licence petition astatine the past minute. The institution vowed it would stay successful Europe.

Gillian Lynch, Binance’s caput of Europe, told CoinDesk successful aboriginal July that the speech had met each of the HCMC’s requirements.

“We were deemed to person a implicit application," Lynch said. "Nothing was missing, thing worldly was outstanding."

The WSJ besides reported ESMA privately advised nationalist fiscal regulators to cull Binance’s MiCA applications implicit concerns with the exchange's past compliance issues.

An ECB spokesperson declined to remark erstwhile contacted by CoinDesk. However, the root shared accusation that states that the ECB has nary organization relation with regards to the authorising of Crypto-Asset Service Providers (CASPs). That remains the competence of nationalist competent authorities, successful this lawsuit the Hellenic Capital Market Commission (HCMC).

Changpeng "CZ" Zhao, the laminitis of Binance, pleaded blameworthy successful the U.S. successful 2023 to violating the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and agreed to wage $4.3 cardinal successful fines. He served a four-month situation condemnation successful California successful 2024 and was pardoned by President Donald Trump successful October 2025.